Hi everyone, my name is Bev and you’re listening to How to make a living being creative on Radio Carrum.
Over the past few years, I have always relied on casual jobs to keep me afloat. I have even written a book about it!
But now I have cut ties with my main job which was in a call centre and decided to take a chance on myself.
It was scary and I shed a few tears, but I realised that if I did not do this now, I might never leave and discover my true potential.
During the next few weeks, I will share my journey seeking a more creative path, I’m not sure if I’ll be successful but I sure will have a lot of fun along the way!
I’ll be exploring a few passion areas like art, drawing, voice acting, and of course writing!
For my fifth episode I’ll be talking a little about a fascinating career, the role of being a forensic artist who are creative professional who helps law enforcement officials by creating drawings or 3D models of potential suspects, missing persons, and crime victims.
What I find intriguing is that forensic artists manage to sketch an image of a person from a description of their features to help in huge investigations. Such as Lois Gibson who is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as The Worlds Most successful forensic artist. Her sketches have helped solve more than 1000 crimes during her 30-year career.
Lois specializes in the art of pulling images out of someone’s subconscious memory, an image of a person she has never seen before so that her sketches can be used as evidence to help arrest and solve brutal crimes.
Lois has the talent of being able to pinpoint specific features from the minds of the people she speaks with. It can be tough working with victims of these horrific crimes, and she makes sure the space she works from is comfortable and puts the person at ease.
She has the type of personality that is empathetic and caring, customizing interviews for each witness. Lois says if the person needs to scream and cry to remember that’s what they will do. While most people are traumatized too much to remember much about the criminal’s looks. Lois has the knack to help the terrified victim remember the small details and the last thing they would ever want to remember. Such as the type of hair the suspect has can help trigger the start of a portrait.
It’s amazing that her tools of the trade are quite simple. To do this important job Lois needs her specialized glove, a red velvet bag full of hundreds of pastels, charcoals, felt grey paper, and an easel. She also has a specialized book of facial features where the victims pick characteristics of the person who did the crime.
For Lois, it all boils down to her personality and her specific way of transferring descriptions to a portrait that can be used to find the criminal.
Another way forensic artists use their work is to show what missing persons can look like over time.
On the Australian Federal Police website, they have a video that documents how a digital artist created a series of unique age-progressed images that captured how seven Australians who have been missing for up to 40 years could look today.
Forensic artist Sean Carling says the process relies heavily on input from the family of the missing person.
He says they closely replicate the person’s appearance when they went missing with a similar hairstyle. If the person’s hairstyle has severely dated, then they may update the style to a more recent look.
Sean says he relies on families to gather as much information as possible. If available, families are asked if photos can be provided showing the missing person’s parents at around the age the person would be now. They are also asked if they have any images of any siblings from both past and current, to demonstrate how the missing person’s siblings have aged.
Sean then tries to replicate what the missing person would look like in the present.
Sean says the AFP forensic artists generally have a background in Fine arts, graphic art, or digital imaging and receive extra training in anatomy, especially the head and neck to better understand the aging process.
Another interesting forensic artist discipline is postmortem rending and reconstruction. This involves forensic artists creating images based on the remains of crime victims that police have discovered.
Forensic artists may use traditional methods or modern computer imaging to reconstruct faces or other body parts. They will also have to use their knowledge of anatomy to reconstruct a face from a skull estimating the way the person’s brow, jawline and other bone structures might have looked. In some cases, the forensic artist may collaborate with a forensic scientist who sometimes use biological samples from the remains to determine the person’s age, hair colour and other distinguishing characteristics.
Usually, it takes a forensic artist between three and five years to complete their undergraduate education and training courses. Often Forensic artists might have a degree majoring in an art field like studio or graphic design, or criminal justice.
Some students decide to major in one subject such as criminal justice, and minor in another subject like art allowing the diversity of building skills in both areas. A degree in forensic art or forensic science with a focus on facial reconstruction may also be beneficial.
You must be a talented artist and it’s important to build and keep practicing your drawing and sketching regularly. Also pay close attention to facial features, proportions, and the ability to capture likeness accurately.
Like any industry-based job, you can build a portfolio showcasing your best work and include examples of facial reconstructions and any related artwork.
While you are studying go out and seek opportunities to gain practical experience such as volunteering or interning with law enforcement agencies or forensic departments.
It’s important to note that the field of forensic sketch artistry is small and job opportunities may be limited. Persistence, dedication, and a strong portfolio are crucial for success in this field. Additionally, consider seeking guidance from professionals already working in forensic artistry for personalized advice.
It’s been so interesting exploring the world of forensic artists, the first time I saw this type of job role was on the TV show Criminal Minds and I’ve been fascinated ever since about how important this role plays in capturing criminals.
On a random topic, I’ve just finished working at the Melbourne Cup Carnival and I have noticed the fashion of men not wearing socks. What is up with that? I really do feel sorry for those fancy leather shoes.
Just like the ladies in the morning, the men look all bright-eyed and excited to take on the day with their ankles glowing in between their beautifully tailored pants and shoes.
I often thought of these men’s feet becoming so sweaty and gross throughout the day and I shudder. Their leather shoes become the prime environment for blisters.
Random fact: Did you know the earliest pioneer of the no-sock movement was menswear designer Thom Browne who was GQs Designer of the Year in 2008.
Regardless of this I really hope these men are wearing sockettes or no-show socks. For those who are not familiar with scockettes, they are low-cut socks designed to be worn with shoes that expose the top of the foot, such as loafers, boat shoes, or sneakers. Sockettes provide the benefits of wearing socks, such as moisture absorption, reduced friction, and improved comfort, while remaining discreet and hidden within the shoe.
There are four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and I must say every day I was disappointed in men’s fashion. The men put in such an effort with their tailored suits and ruin everything with the no-sock look. I was not amused…
However, the ladies always put in an effort even though some of the outfits did leave little to the imagination, I lost count of all the bits and bops that popped out.
I love the bright designs that portray elegance and class these outfits always make me smile.
Even though, some of the high heels looked painful! With some ladies struggling to get past the gate to enter the racecourse!
There are some smart ladies who carry slip-on ballet flats in their bags for when their feet hurt too much. These ladies are smart and always get the nod of approval from me.
At the end of the day when all the races are over, that is when you could see the day’s toll on the people. After drinking a few too many champagnes these ladies are now holding their high heels dragging their feet along the ground. The soles of their feet were stark black from walking across the Flemington racecourse, mascara running down their faces, and a totally blank look on their face. With some ladies doing the ow, ow, ow I’m so hot, the concrete is too hot dance.
I hope these ladies went home and chilled out in their pajamas and watched Netflix. That’s what my preference would be after such a huge day!
Now the men could have been comfortable all day, but they choose not to wear socks. I’ve lost count of how many times I have seen men groan and sit down on the concrete while taking off their shoes and complain about the pain from the blisters on their feet. These men often ask first aid if they have band-aids to help with the pain.
This situation could have been avoided by wearing fun socks such as those by The Business of Smiles a not-for-profit organization based in Frankston. These socks are designed to positively bridge the gaps that exist on many fronts in the community, symbolic in their brightness and smiling face, the socks also have black polka dots to represent the hard times we all endure.
The Business of Smiles Co-Founder Scott Carson says these socks are a tool to connect with people’s hearts and to thank people for doing their best in life.
To check out these smiling socks visit www.ihopeyouaresmiling.com
Now you can’t unsee the whole men not wearing socks thing… bahahhahahha.
Thanks for listening to How to Make a Living Being Creative- Join me on my journey at www.bevwilkinson.com.au. Cheers till next time. BYEEEEEEEEE.
One of my many idols is Andrew Denton who I grew to admire while I was studying feature writing at university.
When I was writing stories I would delve through his interviews and learn simply through combing every sentence. He had this beautiful engaging way of making people feel comfortable and came up with the most interesting questions. He has a way of connecting with people that I admire and aspire to be.
Even years after graduating from university, Andrew would continue to inspire me! I even created a fun workshop for Laneway Learning where I featured some of his interview techniques. It was fun to see total strangers ask each other questions and find out interesting facts about each other!
A few years ago, I decided to spoil myself and pay a fair bit for a dinner that he spoke at. I felt so posh surrounded by all these rich socialites and journalists and honestly a bit of place. I literally could not stop smiling when within metres he was on stage.
When he finished talking it was weird my heart was pounding. That moment where I could ask for his autograph arose. I felt my hands literally sweating when I was holding a book for him to sign.
In my head, it felt like I was meeting a famous popstar. I nearly did not summon enough courage to ask him to sign the book and pose for a photo with me. I eventually took that step, I’m sure I looked like a dork. A literal fan girl. I had to wait he was busy chatting to people. Those few minutes felt like a lifetime. Then he looked my way and said Hi and asked how I was. I was over the moon but played it cool even though I had met my idol who had inspired my way of engaging with people from many generations over the years. I asked someone to take my photo and with a simple click, that moment was recorded. And I was smiling like a dork for the rest of the evening. That was one of the best moments in my life.