Chapter 1 - The Most Unique Art Discipline

Abstract

Forensic art is the only artistic profession where the image can be poorly done, sketchy, unfinished, and otherwise flawed yet become perfect if it generates a successful outcome. However, the highest degree of difficulty in forensic art is the elusive task of pulling a face from a witness's memory. The goal of this chapter is to make sketching with witnesses not only doable but also so comfortable for the artist that it becomes his or her life's work. It presents techniques and methods which will allow an artist to truly master the art of sketching from someone's memory. The beginning forensic artist should understand that he can start working in this field with at least the caliber of drawing skill and be successful. Investigators understand that a sketch does not need to be perfect to help them find the person for whom they search. It is a forensic sketch. In the profession of forensic art, if the sketch helps identify the person being described, the artist is free to sketch in any manner. The first consideration in this art is that 100% of the information the forensic artist needs is in the mind of the witness, so the artist must do everything possible to make it conducive for his or her witness to remember the face of the perpetrator. This chapter reveals the most basic rules of composite sketch creation. Since relaxation is the best enhancement to memory, the sketch should be done with only the witness and the artist in the room. The placement of the witness in relation to the artist in the interview area should be done with the goal of maximizing the witness's relaxation. Further, the majority of forensic artists use graphite pencils on white paper, usually Bristol board with a vellum finish.