Skills / Techniques for a Police Sketch Artist

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I think a Technique off Artist (Drawing might make more sense.

Meh. Could be either. Is there a reason not to allow both? Someone with Artist (Drawing - portraits) has only ever done portraits and uses defaults for the rest, perhaps trained from scratch for this particular job. Someone with Portraiture (Artist (Drawing)) is more versatile and can draw anything... but they do portraits better.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

How would they affect any other skill roll?

Are you saying that you don't think it is desirable for them to affect such skill rolls?

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

Meh. Could be either. Is there a reason not to allow both? Someone with Artist (Drawing - portraits) has only ever done portraits and uses defaults for the rest, perhaps trained from scratch for this particular job. Someone with Portraiture (Artist (Drawing)) is more versatile and can draw anything... but they do portraits better.

My main concern would be the transition from the narrow version of the skill to the full version, during play.

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Are you saying that you don't think it is desirable for them to affect such skill rolls?

No, I think that is fine, I just think that you need to look at the circumstances and the details to be able to answer. Presumably these penalties would be tied to Disadvantages, if they don't have a skill penalty then they should have a reaction penalty. Use whatever you have, and modify it for the circumstances at the GM's call.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

My main concern would be the transition from the narrow version of the skill to the full version, during play.

That is a problem for ALL optional specializations.

[roguebfl]

I would require something other than Artist (Drawing) [in addition to]

Artist (Drawing) will govern how good the actual drawing from an art point of view, but This is based in training of observing what they see directly or imagination. This fine for Portrait artist.

However a Police Skeptic Artist must have an additional skill. They need to guide a witness to give a good description without contaminating with actual suggestion, this is an applied psychology at it's heart. But for the sketch artist probably have via Professional Skill.

[Purple Haze]

If this is a contemporary game, many organizations use software, the "sketch artist" does not draw at all but helps the witness select images from a library to build up a composite.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Purple Haze

If this is a contemporary game, many organizations use software, the "sketch artist" does not draw at all but helps the witness select images from a library to build up a composite.

There are many computer programs now that accept descriptions and output images. Most still need a skilled questioner to get the information that a witness has locked in their heads without giving them leading questions.

I looked into getting one to draw character avatars for my game, but the price was too high for the good programs.

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

Someone with Portraiture (Artist (Drawing)) is more versatile and can draw anything... but they do portraits better.

I suppose that this is how these drawers were recruited*. They had to be good at drawing portraits and, then, were trained to draw the different types of eyes, noses, ears, etc., on request. But I'm not sure at all. I never worked for the police...

Never mind. It may be both a specialization and a technique.

And what is wonderful with GURPS is that it can be handled as the player and the GM want. After all, there may be different career path to do this job! Two Sketch Artists don't necessary have followed exactly the same training. One may be a good drawer in general who didn't find any other job and, so, just learn the technique, while the other one may have been recruited because he was really good at drawing portraits... Everything is possible.

And GURPS can handle all these different possibilities differently. That's just amazing.

So, my hint: it all depends on the character story!

*I use the past because these portraits are drawn by computers now.

[CoyoteGestalt]

Some might even just have the One-Task Wonder perk, if ALL they can do artistically is draw standardized pictures from descriptions. (In conjunction with another skill for asking the questions, or another character who does so.)

This is perhaps suitable for another character type: the small-town police clerk who does the sketches, the filing, keeps the evidence-room log, makes the coffee, ensures the crusiers are fueled, and handles all the other random tasks that a police department needs done but a small one can't afford a specialist for.

(Again, looking at it mainly historically here; these days most small departments in most places would just use a computer, even if they didn't have a qualified specialist to operate it, and/or hand the task off to a bigger jurisdiction when needed.)