The lengths of lines and the sizes of angles were measured in freehand
drawings of cubes produced by 190 children and 158 adults. The length
s of oblique lines depicting receding cube edges were foreshortened re
lative to horizontal lines showing nonreceding edges. In the drawings
from children aged 9 and 10 years the obliques were foreshortened by a
bout 40%, compared with 30% in adults' drawings. The amount of foresho
rtening was not correlated with the angle at which the obliques were d
rawn. Line lengths were also foreshortened in 'transparent' drawings,
which are often said to show 'what is known' about cube structure. One
explanation of the results is that line lengths are foreshortened by
children and adults to create the visual impression of equal-length cu
be edges, even in transparent drawings. This foreshortening fits with
how the receding edges of a square face of a cube project to a vantage
point. Children and adults who use foreshortening are not depicting t
he structure of cubes by matching features such as equal-length edges
with similar features in the physical lines on the page, as has been s
uggested in some recent approaches to drawing development.