Pencil Sketch

Medium: Pencil 

Technique: Foreshortening 




Foreshortening is a way to render an object or figure that shows its depth.

When we draw something that's foreshortened, it's basically an optical illusion that's created because something looks compressed.


Effects of Foreshortening
Here are the main effects of foreshortening:
  • Objects appear to get smaller as they recede into the distance.
  • Objects appear to be shorter or more compressed than they actually are.
  • Objects at the front will overlap objects behind.

  • The extent of these effects will vary based on the extent of the foreshortening.

  • Going back to my drawing example (below), notice how:
  • The shapes get smaller as they recede into the distance. If the shape continued, it would eventually converge at a single point on the horizon line (vanishing point).
  • The shape appears shorter than it actually is.

Foreshortening Tips

Here are some tips for rendering a foreshortened object:

Where is the object in space? Understanding the object's position in space relative to your own position is essential for accurate foreshortening. Ask yourself: Is the object coming back at me, away from me, up, down?

Use perspective lines (lines that extend from a single point on the horizon line). You can use these lines to determine the relative size of objects as they recede into the distance.

Draw through the object. Imagine the object is transparent. Allow your pencil to draw through the object, following the contours over, under, and around. This will help you better understand the form of the object and how it is positioned in space.

Edges and contours. What are the important edges and contours? Some edges are more important than others. It can be effective to narrow down on those important edges and accentuate them.

Continuity. Foreshortening typically comes with many overlapping shapes and therefore many broken edges. This can interrupt the sense of continuity throughout the object as a whole.