Some of you were interested in the reconstruction I posted last month. Click here if you missed it.Some of you wanted more information on the process. Here's one sheet that is used in determining the skin thickness to measure marker for placement on the skull.
For drawings, we place them on the skull and then work off a "to scale" photo to render a 2 dimension drawing. For clay, you work directly on the skull or a casting of the skull.
I've done both and I prefer the former because clay rendering are manikin-like and I don't like the fact agencies have the person's skull displayed at a press conference. A drawing naturally has the viewer fill in the blanks when identifying someone just like a composite. That is why the computer generated composites have never been as successful as the hand drawn ones. More on that if you're interested.
What's a little funny on this sheet that was handed out during my class at the FBI academy was the instructor felt the need to show the cops and other students the difference between a millimeter and a centimeter when measuring and cutting the markers. Oh, and the markers we cut and glued to the skull? Not a fancy government or forensic material...just the long white Pentel erasers. Easy to cut, glue and take off after the process.
