Forensic arts

The term "forensic" comes from the Roman forum where law and politics were debated. From this beginning, the word "forensic" now means anything pertaining to law or law enforcement or debate. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/forensic] Forensic art, therefore, is any art used in law enforcement or legal proceedings. Within this field are such skills as composite drawings, crime scene sketching, crime scene reconstruction, image modification and image identification, courtroom drawings, demonstrative evidence, and postmortem and facial reconstruction aids. Not every forensic artist performs all of these skills. [http://www.theiai.org/disciplines/art/history.php]

The skill of facial reconstruction is closely associated and related to Forensic anthropology in that an artist specializes in the reconstruction of the remains of a human body. Generally this discipline focuses on the human face for identification purposes. The Forensic Artist can create a facial reconstruction in a number of ways to include 2D (drawing), 3D (sculpture) and by methods using new computerized technology.

The Forensic Artist generally can add greater character to a subject by use of their artist talents in order to make their subjects come back to "life".