The fastest way to make your figure leap off the page

The fastest way to make your figure leap off the page is through foreshortening.

Foreshortening makes figures jump out at you by creating the illusion that forms are moving toward (or away from) the viewer. When parts of the body come closer to the eye, they appear shorter, wider, and more dominant, while distant forms compress and recede.

Here’s how to use it effectively:

• Shorten forms that face the viewer. An arm reaching forward will look much shorter than it actually is, even though it feels counterintuitive to draw it that way. Trust what you see, not what you know.
• Overlap shapes boldly. Let closer forms partially cover those behind them. Overlap is one of the strongest depth cues you have.
• Think in simple 3D forms. Cylinders for arms and legs, boxes for the torso, spheres for joints. Rotate these forms in space before adding details.
• Vary size and thickness. Forms closer to the viewer should be thicker and larger; those farther away should taper and shrink.
• Use perspective lines. Lightly sketch a horizon and vanishing points to help align limbs and guide depth.

A quick practice exercise:
Draw a hand or foot coming straight toward the viewer using only basic shapes. Don’t worry about anatomy—focus on size shifts, overlap, and compression. Five minutes a day is enough to train your eye.

Master foreshortening, and even simple poses will feel dynamic, immersive, and alive.

👉 Click here for a video tutorial.

If you enjoy the technique, that’s only a small tip of how you can transform your art. I go much deeper. I cover more about anatomy, perspective, foreshortening in my book below.

$10
68 Pages

👉 How To Draw Dynamic Poses eBook

Have a great day,
Jae