Identification of human figure drawings through questioned document examination techniques

Abstract

Two cases were submitted for questioned document examination involving human figure drawings. As there was little information on ‘artist’ identification in the questioned document examination literature, a sample of 107 individuals was selected to participate in a study. The respondents were requested to draw two cartoons, one naturally and one disguised, in order to determine if standard questioned document examination methods could be employed to identify the ‘artists’. The findings indicated that ‘artists’ of human figure drawings could be identified using standard handwriting identification techniques.