Foreshortening
Foreshortening is an optical illusion created from a compressed looking drawing in perspective. This perspective is distorted in order to create a false sense of depth.
This subject is very difficult to master but is very important since it will give your human figure a more dynamic pose.
If we compare the two sketches, one is not foreshortened the other is not. I’m sure you can tell which one is better.
Let’s take a look at an action scene. Foreshortening the figures makes the scene come alive. Just remember to duck if you’re drawing something like this.
Since foreshortening involves perspective techniques, try to imagine that the human figure is like a building. In perspective, objects that are farther away are smaller and recede into space.
Spheres and cylinders. This is one of the techniques I used when I was learning foreshortening. Draw the human figure using basic geometric shapes. This will help you understand how to foreshorten your figure.
Sketching the human figure from life will help you. If you don’t have a lot of money to hire a model you can always look for photos on the internet. I hope these photos are not copyrighted. They’re not mine; I got them from a friend.
Please watch the video below. It will show you how I draw foreshortened figures
Take a look at how the limbs of this figure are foreshortened. I’m showing the limbs as basic geometric shapes (red lines). By the way, this guy is happily running away from zombies.
Practice makes perfect. This is a collection of sketches of the foreshortened human figure. This is a good exercise if you have nothing else to do.
The female figure on the lower right side of the image looks like she was pushed by the male figure from behind. I didn’t notice that until I was finished with the sketch.
