IAI Forensic Art key terms

The application of artistic skills and visual communication techniques to legal investigations and court proceedings, including composite imagery, age progression, postmortem reconstruction, and demonstrative evidence preparation.

A hand-drawn or digitally rendered likeness of a suspect or missing person assembled from witness descriptions, typically combining individual facial features into a single coherent image.

A structured witness questioning method that uses memory retrieval cues, context reinstatement, and open-ended prompts to elicit more complete and accurate descriptive information than standard questioning.

A witness interview protocol that systematically collects descriptions of individual facial components such as hairline, eyes, nose, mouth, and jaw, rather than asking for an overall impression first.

The tendency to process faces as integrated wholes rather than as collections of separate features, which can make it difficult for witnesses to describe individual components accurately.

The phenomenon in which verbally describing a face impairs later recognition memory for that face, potentially reducing the accuracy of subsequent identification attempts.

The process by which a witness recognizes and selects a person from a lineup, photo array, or showup as the perpetrator of a crime.

A forensic art technique that modifies a photograph or likeness to depict how a person's appearance may change over time due to aging, used for long-term missing persons cases.

A forensic art technique that modifies an image to depict how a person may have looked at an earlier age, often used to identify unidentified decedents or missing children.

The pattern of change in skull and facial dimensions across the lifespan, including differential growth of the mandible, maxilla, and nasal structures, used to guide age progression and regression.

The measurement and study of skull and facial proportions from radiographs or photographs, used to estimate growth patterns and support accurate age progression work.

A verified image of a person used as the starting point for age progression, regression, or reconstruction, ideally showing clear facial features, neutral expression, and even lighting.

The process of building or sculpting a likeness of a face onto a skull or from photographs to aid identification of unknown decedents.

Average thickness measurements of soft tissue over specific landmarks on the skull, used to guide the placement of modeling material during facial reconstruction.

Photographic or radiographic documentation of a deceased person's face and body for identification, reconstruction, and investigative purposes.

A photograph of a person taken while alive, used for comparison with postmortem images or as a reference for reconstruction and identification.

The technique of overlaying an antemortem photograph onto a postmortem skull radiograph or photograph to assess whether facial features are consistent with the skeletal structure.

A method of estimating facial appearance from skeletal remains using average soft-tissue depths and anatomical principles, producing a likeness rather than a definitive portrait.

Visual materials such as diagrams, maps, models, or animations created to help a judge or jury understand testimony, spatial relationships, or technical facts at trial.

Sketches or drawings made by an artist during legal proceedings to document testimony, participants, and events when cameras are not permitted in the courtroom.

A scaled or not-to-scale drawing that records the layout of a scene, the position of evidence, and spatial relationships, often used to support investigative reports and testimony.

The use of photographs to measure and reconstruct three-dimensional spatial relationships, such as estimating a person's height or the position of objects at a scene.

A specific anatomical point on the face, such as the inner canthus or the alar crease, used as a reference for measurement, description, and reconstruction.

The relative size and placement of facial features, often described using vertical thirds and horizontal fifths, which guides accurate drawing and reconstruction.

A systematic account of the shape, size, and arrangement of facial features, as distinct from color or texture, used to build accurate composite images.

A distinctive, unusual, or memorable physical characteristic such as a scar, tattoo, birthmark, or asymmetric feature that aids identification and composite accuracy.

Computer applications that assemble facial features selected from libraries into a composite image, allowing rapid editing and versioning of suspect likenesses.

A trained forensic artist who draws suspect or missing-person likenesses from witness descriptions, often working interactively with the witness during the drawing process.

A composite technique in which the artist draws while the witness observes and provides corrections, allowing iterative refinement of the likeness in real time.

The documented chronological record of who handled, transferred, and stored evidence, ensuring its integrity and admissibility in legal proceedings.

A person with specialized knowledge, skill, or training who may offer opinion testimony to assist the court in understanding evidence beyond common experience.

A legal test for admitting expert testimony that considers whether the method is testable, peer-reviewed, has a known error rate, and is generally accepted.

A systematic influence on perception, memory, or decision-making, such as confirmation bias or interviewer suggestion, that can distort witness descriptions and composite accuracy.

A procedure in which a witness views a suspect among known innocent persons, used to test identification while reducing suggestive influence.

A one-person identification procedure in which a witness views a single suspect, generally considered more suggestive than a lineup and subject to stricter scrutiny.

Automated systems that analyze facial features to compare or identify individuals, increasingly used alongside forensic art to generate investigative leads.

A public-facing document combining a likeness, physical description, and circumstances of disappearance, designed to solicit information from the public.

A deceased person whose identity has not been established, often the subject of facial reconstruction, postmortem imaging, and public identification appeals.