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IAI Forensic Art study materials
IAI Forensic Art study resources

IAI Forensic Art: Forensic Art

IAI Forensic Art · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Forensic Art

Forensic Art

The IAI Forensic Art certification exam tests the full scope of forensic facial imaging: composite imagery, age progression, facial reconstruction/approximation, image analysis and enhancement, superimposition, and demonstrative evidence. It rewards precise vocabulary-craniometric landmarks, tissue-depth tables, holistic versus featural processing-and defensible, documented methods over artistic flair. Candidates must show they can choose the correct technique for the case, not merely draw well.

Core rules and concepts

  • Composite art is witness-driven: use a cognitive interview to separate recall from recognition, build general-to-specific, and avoid leading the witness toward a suggested feature.
  • Facial approximation rests on skull anatomy. Tissue-depth data are population-, sex-, and age-specific; the result is an approximation, never a portrait or identification.
  • Age progression follows predictable change: craniofacial growth is largely complete by the late teens/early 20s; later changes include gravity, fat redistribution, hairline recession, and skin texture.
  • Every alteration must be documented-source file, software, operator, steps, and reversibility-to withstand a Daubert-style admissibility challenge.
  • Superimposition and comparison require consistent scale (1:1), pose, and focal-length correction; otherwise landmarks misalign and the comparison is worthless.
  • Demonstrative exhibits must be accurate, relevant, and non-prejudicial; label orientation and scale, and never alter the underlying evidentiary image.

Worked example

A detective requests an age progression of a child missing since age 6, now 14. Reasoning: first verify the source photo's date and metadata; apply growth to the lower face (mandible, chin, nose) rather than just aging skin; reference age-, sex-, and ancestry-matched data; produce a layered, documented age-14 image labeled as an investigative lead. Do not add glasses or smooth skin-those are cosmetic filler, not growth.

Traps that cost marks

Treating a composite as a portrait or positive identification; applying adult tissue depths to a child; omitting the "approximation" caveat; enhancing pixels beyond the original data; and confusing 2D photo superimposition with 3D craniofacial reconstruction.