Why Hands Are the Hardest Part of the Frame
You have a nearly usable anime shot: the face is on model, the jacket color matches the character asset, and the camera lands on the right beat. Then you zoom in. One hand has six fingers, the other melts into the phone, and the elbow points the wrong way. If you polish that take, the audience will look at the mistake first.
Hands fail because they sit at the intersection of action, anatomy, camera, and props. A prompt that says "hands visible" is rarely enough. The model needs to know what the hand is doing, which palm surface is visible, how many fingers should be readable, what the wrist connects to, and whether the pose carries body weight. Pose failures are the same problem at a larger scale: the character's intention is not readable through shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and the center of gravity.
This guide covers both jobs: writing hands and pose prompts from scratch, and repairing AI anime hands after a draft goes wrong. Use it for hidden hands, claw fingers, twisted wrists, unclear prop grips, stiff shoulders, or weightless poses. For a first asset, start with character profile fields. To choose text, pose reference, or storyboard control, use Reference Type Per Shot. For sequence repair, keep the approved take inside ArcLoop Worlds.
The useful repair is small. Keep the approved parts still, simplify the gesture, and make the final pose reviewable.
Rules for Describing What a Hand Is Doing
Prompt the action before the anatomy. "Right hand holding a cracked transit card between thumb and index finger" is stronger than "beautiful hand, accurate fingers" because the model can see a job. The hand belongs to an action, not to a checklist.
Make the palm side explicit when it matters. A visible palm, back of hand, side grip, relaxed fist, two-finger pinch, or open hand reaching forward all create different silhouettes. If the camera cannot see the palm or fingernails, do not ask reviewers to judge finger count from a blur.
Connect the wrist to the body. Many bad hands are actually bad arms. Add elbow angle, shoulder direction, forearm line, and weight shift when the pose carries story meaning.
Reduce gesture complexity before adding negative constraints. Five separated fingers, crossed arms, a prop, jewelry, sleeves, rain, and a close camera can overload one clip. Simplify first, then add "no extra fingers."
Use cropping as a creative decision, not an escape hatch. A waist-up crop can hide feet, but it should not randomly hide the hand that sells the scene. If the hand matters, frame it deliberately. If the hand does not matter, crop it cleanly so half-formed fingers do not steal attention.
Repair locally. If the face, costume, lighting, and camera are approved, say so. A hand repair pass should name what stays fixed and what changes.
How to Write a Hand-and-Pose Prompt from Scratch
Start with the failure sentence: "left hand has too many fingers," "prop grip is unclear," "wrist disappears into sleeve," or "weight does not sit on the supporting leg." This keeps the next pass specific.
Lock the approved anchors. Name the face, hairstyle, outfit, prop, palette, camera, and setting only when they already work. The repair pass should not invent a new character while fixing fingers.
Choose one gesture type: open palm showing the ticket, relaxed hand on a railing, two-finger pinch on a ribbon, firm grip around a wrench, hand tucked in pocket, or fist pressed against a door. Add elbow angle, shoulder line, stance, and weight shift when the pose carries the scene.
Set camera distance by priority. Close-ups help finger and prop repair. Wide shots help full-body balance. Pick one review goal for the pass: finger accuracy, prop grip, full-body stance, or emotional silhouette.
Add only matching constraints: no extra fingers, no fused fingers, no hidden thumb, no broken wrist, no sleeve covering the hand, no prop merging with palm, no cropped hand. Then compare the draft against the shot card before polishing.
How ArcLoop Keeps Hand Fixes Attached to the Shot
ArcLoop keeps the repair inside the same production path. The character asset holds identity, the shot card holds the action and camera, and the generated take shows exactly where it broke — so you mark the failure against that same shot card and regenerate, instead of hunting the fix somewhere else.
A practical loop is simple: open the character asset, generate a rough shot, mark the failed hand or pose, duplicate the take, and change only hand wording, pose reference, or crop rule. If the same failure repeats, the gesture is probably too complex, the prop grip lacks contact points, or the camera hides the wrist.
For sequences, write the recurring hand habit directly into the character's description in My Assets rather than treating it as a separate setting. Build the asset in character profile fields. Every shot that pulls it in with @ then carries the habit automatically. Test it in ArcLoop Worlds.
Start the fix in My Assets, not in the prompt. Build the character once, bind a clean image as the Main image, and add any turnaround or pose shots you already like as Reference images — that's what a shot card pulls in with @, so you stop retyping hair, outfit, and face every time you touch a hand.
Open the Episode and go to Storyboard, then find the shot card that came back with the broken hand or stiff pose. Edit only that card's description: name the failed hand, the palm direction, or the missing weight shift. Leave the camera, setting, and outfit lines alone if they already worked.
Generate the still image first. Check the finger count, palm direction, and wrist angle before you spend a video generation on it — a hand that reads wrong in a still will read wrong in motion too.
Once the image holds up, generate the video for that one shot. If the same failure hit several shots, open the AI Chat Panel and batch it: "Generate videos for Shots 2, 4, and 6." Then drop the new take into the Edit timeline in place of the old one — the rest of the sequence doesn't need to move.
Example 1: Ticket Booth Palm Reveal
Locked medium close-up on @Keina behind the ticket counter as dawn light comes through the frosted station windows. She slides a paper ticket across the counter, then turns her right hand palm-up so the ticket rests flat across her fingers — thumb clearly separated from the index finger, wrist straight into the forearm, elbow bent near 90 degrees. Her left hand stays flat on the counter, fingers together, not spread. Soft winter light, the ticket rustling once against the wood. No extra or fused fingers, no ticket sinking into the palm, no cropped hand.
This prompt focuses on one readable hand: an open palm reveal.
Example 2: Rooftop Kettle Prop Grip
Three-quarter waist-up shot on @Orlan on the sunlit rooftop, stable camera, both hands visible around @Copper Kettle. He lifts the kettle off the low stove, checks the rising steam, then pours a short stream into the ceramic cup at frame's edge. His right hand wraps the handle, thumb visible on top, wrist straight; his left hand supports the base, palm mostly hidden but wrist and thumb line clear. Knees bent slightly, weight on his back foot, elbows close to the body so the pour reads controlled. Soft steam hiss, distant train clatter. No extra fingers, no handle fused into the palm.
Here the hand repair is a prop problem, so the prompt defines contact points.
Example 3: Skate Ramp Landing Pose Revision
Revision pass on @Nessa's skate-hall landing shot: keep the same setting, camera, and color palette from the approved take, and fix only the pose. Low full-body three-quarter shot, locked camera, skates visible from wheels to head. Nessa lands the ramp jump and settles into a stable crouch — knees bent in line with the skates, hips low, torso forward, weight clearly over the front skate. Her left hand rests open near her knee, palm down, fingers grouped naturally; her right hand loosely fists near her hoodie pocket, thumb visible, elbow out. Wheels scrape softly on landing. No backward wrist, no floating stance, no hidden hands.
This protects the approved take while fixing the exact pose failure.
The Most Common Ways Hand Prompts Fail
The first mistake is asking for hand quality without giving the hand a job. "Good hands" is not visible. "Left hand presses a folded map flat against the table" is visible.
The second mistake is using only negative prompts. "No extra fingers" helps, but it does not explain palm direction, prop contact, wrist angle, or body weight.
The third mistake is hiding the hand halfway. Either show the hand clearly or remove it cleanly from the shot.
The fourth mistake is separating every finger when grouped fingers would read cleaner. Use relaxed fingers, thumb-visible grouping, or a simple fist when detailed finger acting does not matter.
Finally, do not repair hands while changing the entire shot. If a revision changes camera, costume, lighting, and pose together, you will not know what fixed the problem.
FAQ
How do I fix AI anime hands without regenerating everything?
Keep the approved character, camera, setting, and action, then name only the failed hand layer: extra fingers, hidden thumb, prop merging, or broken wrist.
Should I ask for five visible fingers every time?
No. Five visible separated fingers are harder to control than a grouped relaxed hand, simple fist, palm on surface, or clear prop grip. Ask for visible finger count only when the shot is close enough for the viewer to inspect it.
What is the best prompt for hands holding props?
Describe contact points: which hand holds the prop, where the thumb sits, how the fingers wrap, what remains visible, and whether the wrist is straight.
How can I keep poses from looking stiff?
Give the body a weight rule. Name the supporting foot, hip direction, shoulder tilt, elbow bend, and final hold. A readable weight shift makes the pose feel intentional even when the motion is small.
Where does ArcLoop fit in the hand repair workflow?
Bind a pose reference to the character asset, then regenerate only the shot that came back stiff. You mark the hand or pose failure directly there, run a narrow repair pass, and continue from the approved take instead of planning in one place and repairing somewhere else.
