Art Careers / Forensic Artist
What Does a Forensic Artist Do? An Art Career for Kids
Curious about this job? Here is what the work looks like, a typical day, the tools, where people do it and how to get started, plus a small activity so you can try it yourself.
What a forensic artist does
A forensic artist helps police and investigators by drawing faces. They can draw a person from a witness's description, or show how a missing person might look years later.
Real-world examples: Lois Gibson, who holds a Guinness World Record for police sketches that helped identify suspects.
A day on the job
- Interview a witness and ask careful questions about a face
- Draw a composite sketch, one feature at a time
- Create age-progressed images of people who have been missing
- Work with police and other investigators
Tools of the job
- Pencils and drawing paper
- Facial feature reference books
- Digital imaging software
- Drawing tablet
- Clay and sculpting tools for some cases
Where they work
- Police and sheriff departments
- Medical examiner and coroner offices
- Freelance work for agencies
The path in 4 steps
Start now
- Practice drawing faces from photos
- Play a describe-and-draw game with a friend
- Study how faces change as people grow up
In your teens
- Take drawing, portrait and biology classes
- Practice portraits from life
- Learn about careers in law enforcement and science
Training
Strong portrait-drawing skill comes first. Forensic artists build on it with specialized courses, and many learn on the job. Certification is available through the International Association for Identification and requires a portfolio, case experience, and written and practical tests.
Build a portfolio
Portrait and figure drawings, and for certified artists, examples of case work.
Skills that help
- Portrait drawing
- Listening
- Asking careful questions
- Calm and kindness with stressed people
- Attention to detail
Try this job
A small taste of the real work, using things you already have.
Sit back to back with a partner. Your partner looks at a photo of a face (from a magazine) and describes it: the shape of the eyes, nose, mouth, hair and face. You draw only from their words, and you can ask questions. Then compare! Forensic artists know that asking good questions is just as important as drawing well.
Ms Artastic lessons
Lessons that practise skills this career uses.
Watch with Ms Artastic
Videos from my YouTube channel that practise skills from this job.
Related art careers
Learn more
For more about this career, read the International Association for Identification: forensic art.
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What does a forensic artist do?
A forensic artist helps police and investigators by drawing faces. They can draw a person from a witness's description, or show how a missing person might look years later.
How do you become a forensic artist?
Strong portrait-drawing skill comes first. Forensic artists build on it with specialized courses, and many learn on the job. Certification is available through the International Association for Identification and requires a portfolio, case experience, and written and practical tests.
What skills does a forensic artist need?
Portrait drawing, Listening, Asking careful questions, Calm and kindness with stressed people and Attention to detail.
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