The foreshortening problem

Foreshortening is a persistent challenge. We seem to have a contrary voice in our brains which subverts the actuality of what we see.

Julie posed in a series of positions in which foreshortening was part of the viewpoint of every artist. Yet, even though everybody was conscious that this was a foreshortening exercise, most drawings fell short of dealing with the problem.

I’ve taken the liberty of making photoshop adjustments to these images to address the foreshortening. I don’t of course have the model in front of me to refer to, so the emphasis is on what ‘seems right’ to me, what gives the figures more ‘presence’ on the page. You may feel I have overexaggerated, but I always feel that is a lesser sin than the flattening and deadening effect of underplaying the foreshortening.

Roger’s drawings (below) demonstrate another aspect of foreshortening, the telescoping of the figure when it extends away from us. In this case (below) Julie’s back needs to be telescoped, ie the distance between shoulders and hips shrinks.