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Summary: Forensic Art
Review: I recently read the book, "Forensic Art" by Karen T. Taylor as preparation for studying this form of illustration with the author. By way of understatement, this book is itself a work of art. This is complex subject matter which involves many fields of knowledge from facial anatomy, cognative interviewing techniques and drawing skills to a reliance on one's life experience in order to identify a suspect or the deceased.This book accurately reflects the groundbreaking efforts of Karen Taylor to further the accuracy and credibility of this form of facial identification. For anyone who is interested in this field of Forensic Art, this book is an absolutely invaluable addition to your library. Ms. Taylor''s ability to see and to translate is remarkable. The specific techniques described in this publication will allow the reader insight into the logic and manner in which the unknown are identified. The concepts offered are concise and clear. I consider this book to be a prize possession and it no doubt will, as Ms. Taylor hoped, be dog-earred and worn from frequent use. It is truly an amazing and highly successful effort, one that cannot help but to insure the use of this art in the world of Forensic Facial Identification. I only wish the rating system allowed me to give this book 10 stars!
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Summary: Hands Down -- the Best! Packed with 10 Golden Stars!
Review: I am a student of forensic art and criminalistics, but I have been an artist for over 27 years -- This book is the prize of my collection, and that is saying a LOT. The human face is a very complex subject, and this book covers it ALL! Speaking on the art aspect alone, you will be educated on tools, styles, proportions, facial anatomy from the bone to the epidermis, the differences between male/female and racial/ancestral groups, hair and textures, and other references. As for the forensic end of the spectrum, it not only covers the history and composition techniques, but it also touches on communicating with victims and memory enhancement for interviewing, courtroom etiquette and procedures, dealing with the media, post-mortem reanimation, and age progression for both aging and growth. This book dominates the arena. I have, in no way, mentioned all of the topics and information in this book. You will have to look at the sample pages here at Amazon to get a better grasp of what it holds. Then, you should buy this book to understand what all of the rage is about!... Karen Taylor is the best in this field and she has collaborated a book as important and incredible as all of her contributions to criminal justice. I highly recommend this book to everyone with an interest art, composition, forensics, and justice for victims. ~Heatherly Kates
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Summary: Invaluable resource!
Review: This text is a must-have for anyone interested or involved in forensic art. Karen Taylor does a remarkable job of providing the reader with a wealth of information in a clear, concise manner. The illustrations and photographs are not only useful, but exemplify how accurate forensic art can be when it's done well. This text is truly an invaluable resource.
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Summary: Forensic Odontologist's opinion of Forensic Art
Review: Karen Taylor's book "Forensic Art and Illustration" is a wonderful distillate of many years of experience as a forensic artist. The style is very engaging and easy to read and understand. At no time does the reader feel patronized. There is also no pretention on the part of the author. Much of the wisdom and advice proffered is genuinely "take it leave it" with no insistence that this is the only way forward, merely this is how the author has found methods that have been successful. The book is not a scientific treatise but more a history of forensic art in Karen Taylor's hands. It is profusely illustrated using real casework and not mocked up with highly synthetic examples. In addition to being a wonderful primer in "how to do it", the book is enjoyable and interesting to read even for the lay reader. I regret that more books couldn't be written this way and I suspect that the very simple and straightforward approach conveyed in "Forensic Art and Illustration" only comes from those who feel the masters(or mistresses) of their field of expertise. I consider this book an essential part of every forensic anthropologist's and odontologist's library.
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Summary: Priceless Knowledge
Review: As an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety's Special Crimes Service, I have seen firsthand how a competent, professional, forensic artist can make the difference between success or failure in an investigation. Karen Taylor, in particular, has been instrumental in putting countless violent criminals behind bars. Numerous police agenices, communities, investigators and crime victims owe Karen Taylor a tremendous debt of gratitude for her contributions to law enforcement; many other individuals as well, because swift apprehension of predators meant they never had to experience the pain of becoming a crime victim. Unfortunately, I have also seen the wasted time and effort and the counterproductive confusion that accompanies substandard or marginal forensic art attempts. Forensic Art & Illustration should be "the reference" that sets the standard for forensic artists. It is also imperative that investigators, police administrators and prosecutors read and digest every word of this book. These professionals need to be able to evaluate the credibility of individual police artists and the techniques they employ to ensure that serious criminal investigations are not compromised. Thank you Karen for giving them the means to understanding. The intense labor and meticulous research that went into writing this book is apparent from start to finish. Karen Taylor has handed down to us a career's worth of precious and priceless knowledge. Her next project should be an anthology of case studies!!
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Summary: A must for Police Artists around the world
Review: After being taught by Karen and Betty-Pat whilst studying in the United States, I would have to say this book has to be an essential item for any person involved in the Forensic Art discipline. Karen has put untold days and nights into this book and myself being a Forensic Artist for the past 8 years, I can see the precision to detail and quality explanation excel in this book. It was a pleasure to meet and be taught by Karen and I regard my book a great reference in my future pursuits as a Police Artist.
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Summary: A Serious Book for Serious Artists
Review: This book should be required for any serious artist of the human face. Even though it is written for those artists working "in the trenches" helping law enforcement clear the streets, it is an invaluable study of the human face. Karen shows in detail the aspects of aging, bone structure, anatomy and a myriad of topics useful and interesting for the artist. Her superb organization of this complex subject is easily understood by scientist and non-scientist alike. She brings such professionalism and caring attention to detail that what can be scary and difficult to understand becomes clear and non-threatening. Those of us, who have been lucky enough to have learned from this great woman are now happy that she has brought this area of artistic endeavor to the light. Forensic art now has a "textbook" and the legitamacy it deserves. As the past president of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, I know what scientific artists, along with forensic artists and medical artists have suffered at the will of the "Artistic Community", who have regarded us as maybe not "True" artists, in the Fine Art sense. While this can be argued on both sides, those artists working in these feilds are in actuality, scientists and artists at the same time. Karen Taylor certainly is one of the stars. Her book will become a classic and should be in every serious artist's library.
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Summary: Exceptional reference book for the Artist
Review: I very highly recommend Karen Taylor's book, "Forensic Art", to anyone interested in recreating the face, either in drawing or sculpture. I had been looking for such a reference book for nearly a year when Karen was recommended to me. After a call to her about my search for such an in-depth facial, muscle by muscle, reference, I bought her book and am delighted with its depth and scope. Astounded really, it presents an incredible amount of material that is distilled from a lifetime of drawing, sculpting and forensic recreations. Karen also recommended Betty Pat Gatliff, who teaches a week-long Forensic Sculpting class I attended at the Scottsdale Artist School (AZ) - and who contributed to the book in Part 3. If you have any interest in recreating the face, 'from the skull up', this is the book for you; and, Betty Pat's class will give you the hands-on, clay sculpting, facial muscle recreation essentials so necessary for the artist - beginner or expert.
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Summary: Forensic Art and Illustration by Karen T. Taylor
Review: I purchased this book as the required text for a Forensic Sculpture class I will be taking. "Forensic Art and Illustration" is the most fascinating book I have ever read. I learned a great deal just skimming over the book, with more careful reading the information contained in these pages is astounding. I was excited about taking the sculpture course before I received my copy of this book, now after reading the book I am even more so. Karen T. Taylor has dealt with some pretty horrifying subject matter in a clear, rational, respectful, and compassionate way. She takes the reader step by step through the processes used to render likenesses of those who have committed crimes, victims of crimes, and even showing the aging process in people who have been missing a number of years. The age progressions shown in this book are astounding. The processes of restructuring faces range from sketches, clay reconstructions, and computer reconstructions are all covered in great detail.
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Summary: Review of Forensic Art and Illustration by Karen T. Taylor
Review: This book is unique, in that it successfully combines a step-by-step approach to the techniques of 2- and 3-dimensional forensic facial reconstruction with essential information on the legal issues of concern to those who do this work. Among many other important subjects it covers are computerized aging programs, composite imagery, superimposition, graphics reproduction, interviewing techniques for the artist, advice on dealing with the news media and testifying in court plus the history of forensic art techniques. It has become an important reference book for many forensic reconstruction laboratories around the country. It is truly comprehensive and eminently suitable as an academic textbook in art, forensic anthropology and law-and-justice university courses. For those university programs that provide a concentration or major in forensic sciences, it would be an excellent resource for interdisciplinary, team-taught courses. I plan to recommend it for adoption at Rowan University for just such a program.
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