Hands Over MouthPose Reference
Camera angles
Hands Over Mouth presses two loose fists side by side against the mouth and chin, elbows tucked low, while the head dips shyly forward over them.
Tags: upper bodyhand gesturehands over mouthshy
How to draw the Hands Over Mouth pose
three-quarter view 
side view 
back view 
high-angle view
Both elbows hang low and close together in front of the stomach, and the forearms angle up and inward so the hands meet on the centre line of the face. Each hand is a loose fist: the fingers fold at all three knuckles, the curled fingers face the lips, and the backs of the hands turn outward, so a viewer in front sees two rows of knuckles. The thumbs tuck along the sides of the index fingers, and the two fists touch where the index fingers meet. The upper back rounds slightly and the head bends forward to meet the hands, the look of someone hiding a giggle, a gasp or a blush. The legs, out of frame, stand relaxed with the weight on the right leg.
Block each fist as a small box with a softened front edge, then set the two boxes against each other so their shared seam runs down the middle of the face. They cover the mouth and chin but leave the nose clear. From the front the forearms run almost parallel and hide the centre of the chest. In the three-quarter view from the figure's front-left the near fist overlaps the far one and the knuckle rows step back in depth. The side view from the left is the best angle for the forward dip of the head and the gentle curve of the upper back. The high angle looks down over the crown onto the row of knuckles, and the low angle hides the chin completely behind the fists.
More on angles and common mistakes
Clench the fists tightly and the mood turns to fear or anger; keep a small hollow inside each one. Lift the elbows outward and the gesture becomes a boxing guard. Hold the head bolt upright and the shyness disappears, because the dip toward the hands carries most of the emotion.
A hands over mouth pose fits surprise reactions, shy confessions in romance comics, fans squealing at a concert and sticker sets. In Edit this pose, lower both fists to chin height and raise the head a few degrees: the mouth shows, and the reaction reads as delight rather than hiding.
Free to use (CC0). The pose images on this page are released under CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Use them for drawing practice, commercial illustration, reference sheets or AI image generation; no attribution is required. A credit to PoseMaker is appreciated but optional.
Hands Over Mouth pose prompt
Copy a prompt for your AI image generator. Pair it with the OpenPose skeleton in ControlNet so the generated character matches this exact pose.
General prompt
A waist-up view of a person with both hands over the mouth: two loose fists held side by side against the mouth and chin, curled fingers toward the face, elbows low and close in front of the chest. The head dips slightly forward over the fists, shy and excited, plain background.
Midjourney
upper body portrait, person covering mouth with two loose fists side by side, curled fingers toward face, elbows low and close together, head dipped forward, shy excited expression, plain background --ar 4:5 --style raw
Stable Diffusion
1person, upper body, hands over mouth, covering mouth, two fists, loose fists, hands together, elbows together, head down, shy, blush, looking at viewer, front view, waist-up shot, plain background, simple background, natural proportions
Negative prompt
tight clenched fists, elbows flared out, boxing guard, open palms, covered nose, head tilted back, wrong finger count, fused fingers, extra hands, full body, nsfw, deformed hands, blurry
OpenPose skeleton for ControlNet
Load the PNG into a ControlNet OpenPose unit (preprocessor: none), or import the JSON into an OpenPose editor.
Have a photo of the pose you want?
Upload it to Photo to Pose. We detect the pose in your browser and put it on the mannequin, ready to adjust.