♦♦[ART] Foreshortening: Compressing 2D Space To Bring Drawings To Life

Artists struggle with foreshortening because the eye tells the truth, and the brain edits it. But foreshortening isn't just ONE thing... It's Optical and it's Cognitive Neuroscience. Short Version...

This is the TLDR version of the article. Want more depth, jump the the three star article posted the day after this one.

Foreshortening is what happens when an object angles toward you and its depth looks visually shorter than it really is.

• The closest part looks bigger.

• The far part looks smaller.

• The depth dimension gets compressed.

Perspective is the overall geometric system that causes this effect.

• Vanishing points

• Convergence

• Diminishing size

• Viewer position

• Picture plane

You cannot have perspective without foreshortening.

If there’s depth in the drawing, something is being foreshortened — even if the main surface you’re looking at (like the front of a cube or a figure facing straight forward) doesn’t show it dramatically.

There are two forces behind foreshortening:

1. Optical Foreshortening (Geometry)

The physical projection:

• Closer = bigger

• Farther = smaller

• Vanishing points control how strong the effect is

  • Closer VPs = more distortion + stronger foreshortening

  • Distant VPs = flatter space + gentler foreshortening

2. Cognitive Foreshortening (Brain Perception)

The mental correction:

• Your brain tries to keep sizes stable

• Extreme “accurate” foreshortening can look wrong

• Artists often cheat (lengthen, clarify overlaps, soften extremes) so the viewer’s mind reads the form correctly

The Goal for Artists

Use both truths:

• Geometry gives you the mechanics

• Perception tells you how much exaggeration or correction the viewer will accept

When You Draw With Intention

Foreshortening becomes a tool, not an accident.

You decide whether the moment needs:

• Clarity (gentle foreshortening)

• Realism (accurate foreshortening)

• Drama (Kirby-level exaggeration)

Foreshortening = controlled compression.

Perspective = the engine behind it.

Your job is choosing how powerful that engine feels in the final drawing.

Charles

20 November 2025