Viewing Force Portraits from Different Perspectives

since forces exist in three dimensions, we project them into two dimensional images for better analysis there are three key perspectives to view a force portrait rear view best for observing symmetry and stabilization forces displays how forces distribute from left to right harder to gauge acceleration and deceleration in this view side view most clearly shows the phases of the running cycle right side of the portrait represents accelerating forces left side represents decelerating forces upwards forces indicate weight loading during stabilization downwards forces appear when the runner is in free fall side to side asymmetries are harder to see from this angle top view best for analyzing forward, backward, and lateral forces helps visualize symmetry during the landing phase side to side forces are more apparent in this perspective