Career Blog Post - Sketch Artist

There are a lot of careers that I find interesting, such as interior design, 2d animation (digital), 3d sculpting (digital) and a scenic or model photographer.

I have found that being a sketch artist, being forensic and courtroom sketch artists, may be a good and interesting career option for me.

A sketch artist is basically what the name is, as an artist of this type will sketch people and scenes for their career. The ability to draw from memory both quickly, precisely, and to match the description that is given are the requirements and expectations. This is because these people help to draw criminals based off given description for police. They are also used to sketch the courtroom and the people in it if the court has no cameras; called a courtroom sketch artist. These artwork are typically made with graphite and charcoal, and sometimes colored pencil, pastels, oil pastels, paints, or ink.

Courtroom artwork by Dana Verkouteren.

Sketch artists typically don't need any formal education, but experience from an art school will show their capabilities needed for the job. Forensic artists specifically require an associates or bachelors degree in graphic art or design. The completion of an apprenticeship or internship is very recommended to match the needs of the profession and reliability.

A very good portfolio is needed, especially showing skills of human portraits and realistic scenarios. Tolerance of hearing cases such as murder and rape is also needed emotionally if someone were to take this career. A lot of the well done works are put up as wanted posters or on magazines or newspapers. Freelance artists also get commissioned and their pay can be varied.

Schools that have this program is the National University and Southern New Hampshire University, who are the top from what I saw.

https://www.crimesceneinvestigatoredu.org/forensic-artist/#:~:text=Typical%20educational

%20requirements%20required%20for,coursework%20specific%20to%20this%20field.

https://theartcareerproject.com/careers/sketching/.