“What should I do first if I want to do composites? Take a class?”

No. But keep reading!

Basically, composites are the “bread and butter” of the field; you will likely do many more of these than any other type of forensic art. Not to say that you won’t grow into doing post-mortems or facial reconstructions, but if you’re starting from scratch, you will most likely start out with doing composite drawings.

So, that being said, what would be the first step? Yes, I know I said there was no step-by-step method, and that’s true, but you have to start somewhere, right? So, what would you think would be your first, logical step?

If you were to ask most people, or go to a forensic art website, they will most likely tell you that you need to take a class first. Their class, probably.

I know a number of people that have done just that, and it got them nowhere. They’ve ended up spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the process, but they are still no closer to their dream than when they started. So what is my advice for your first step in doing composite sketches, regardless of whether you are in law enforcement or not?

Do your homework. Research.

Where you do live?In a nice quiet town, where everybody knows everybody else, you feel 100% safe at night in every neighboorhood, and nothing really bad ever happens? Great place to live, but not much work for a composite artist. You don’t have to live in a festering, crime-ridden area (well, you may have to live close to one!) but there has to be enough stuff going on to make it worth the police agency’s time to consider even sending out a composite artist in the first place. Many times, to the frustration of composite artists everywhere, sometimes the agency just doesn’t think of it. We are constantly reminding people of what we can do, and how it can be successful.

Check the newspaper, watch the news. Do you see composite drawings posted every once in a while? Are they hand-drawn? If they’re hand-drawn, then obviously the agency is using a composite artist…..do you think there’s enough room in your town for one more?  If the composites are done by a computer assemblage program, the agency might just think they are just fine and dandy and see no reason to have them done by an artist. (Most of the computer programs are marketed to agencies specifically because “no artistic skills are required.”)  But, maybe the agency would prefer an artist. How will you know which it is?

That right there shows the advantage that someone working in law enforcement has over someone on the outside trying to freelance: they know their agency, they can go down the hall and ask about the computer composite that was done last night, and did it get any leads, or maybe would they prefer it be done by an artist next time? If you’re not in law enforcement, you just don’t have access to that information. And I really don’t advise calling them and asking, by the way.

If you never see any composites in the news, and you know there are robberies or assaults or other types of violent crime in your area, then your town sounds like it just may be in dire need of a composite artist. I can tell you it pains me when I see an article about a victim that says they got a great look at the bad guy, and a lengthy verbal description follows, but there is no composite. I can only figure that they just don’t have an artist available. Maybe that’s where YOU could step in.

My point in all this is: know your “market.” Know your area before you attempt to jump in and find work in this field. You can be a terrific artist, and you can even be working at an agency…..but if not much ever happens where you are, or your boss thinks composite drawings are a lot of hooey, or won’t consider using anything other than a computer program…well you just may have spent $1000 bucks on a class for nothing.

So…you’ve done your homework? Willing to join law enforcement? Great! Check out my Training Page to get started on your education!