Noses are hard to draw.

May 26, 2005 1:08 PM

Composite Drawings of suspects wanted by the Michigan State Police. With photos of the suspect if they are captured, for comparison. Via.
posted by Divine_Wino (49 comments total)

A few favorites.
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:09 PM on May 26, 2005

That town's got some wacky looking criminals.
posted by nyterrant at 1:16 PM on May 26, 2005

Er, state. That state's got some wacky looking criminals.
posted by nyterrant at 1:17 PM on May 26, 2005

It would appear that Geddy Lee is wanted for attempted abduction in the state of Michigan.

Closer to the heart indeed.
posted by gompa at 1:18 PM on May 26, 2005

It would seem that not only does the camera add 10 pounds, so does the memory, at least based on some of the photos vs. the drawings. The faces seem to tend to be remembered as rounder than they actually are.

This might explain why people always think I've lost weight when they haven't seen me for a long time, even though I weigh now at 40 what I did at 18.
posted by WolfDaddy at 1:23 PM on May 26, 2005

It would appear that Geddy Lee is wanted for attempted abduction in the state of Michigan.

I always figured him for a fly-by-night type.
posted by jonmc at 1:26 PM on May 26, 2005

I don't get it, but I couldn't find any photos at all, just sketches (I checked like 20 or so). Somebody link.

Jim Dangle.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:29 PM on May 26, 2005

Those have to be some of the worst renderings that I have ever seen. Whatever happened to that old software that was used to generate composite faces from collections of pre-drawn faces?

Seriously, it is amazing that criminals are caught with descriptions like those.
posted by evilgenius at 1:30 PM on May 26, 2005

Nevermind. I see them now. The sketches are pretty accurate. I expected to see some kind of bias.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:30 PM on May 26, 2005

Evilgenius:

They are pretty wonky, but some of them seem to capture the soul of the person, the look in their eyes, it's kinda powerful.
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:35 PM on May 26, 2005

Suspect: White male
Dale Gribble?

Suspect: White male
Mike Ditka?

Suspect: Black Male
Mushmouth?
posted by badger_flammable at 1:35 PM on May 26, 2005

Hey, maybe here's a way to convince tax-hating republicans we should fund drawing classes in our public schools--crime fighting artists!
posted by tula at 1:35 PM on May 26, 2005

and Geddy's driving a "sporty...gran prix with a moonroof." I guess the Snow Dog residuals are still flowin!
posted by Shike at 1:56 PM on May 26, 2005

WolfDaddy: This might explain why people always think I've lost weight when they haven't seen me for a long time, even though I weigh now at 40 what I did at 18.

Bitch! ::sobs::
posted by ChrisTN at 1:59 PM on May 26, 2005

Now that's a clever criminal:
Suspect wanted for an Execution of a False Federal Seizure Order
posted by smackfu at 2:09 PM on May 26, 2005

"No, make the face wider. No, I said, wider!"
posted by smackfu at 2:11 PM on May 26, 2005

I found just one picture that i thought looked like the drawing..

Most of those drawings looked like characters out of video games.... heh
posted by HuronBob at 2:12 PM on May 26, 2005

Are people who live in Michigan obliged to comment on this?

Most of the people I've met with gigantic fat faces are from Ohio.

... AHA! Close the border! Close it now!

and give us back Toledo, you bastards.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 2:19 PM on May 26, 2005

evilgenius writes "Whatever happened to that old software that was used to generate composite faces from collections of pre-drawn faces?"

They still use it. This guy, or someone who looks like him, just committed criminal sexual conduct on our campus a few weeks ago. Still as yet unapprehended.
posted by Roger Dodger at 2:22 PM on May 26, 2005

As for Toledo, I say we let them keep it.
posted by Roger Dodger at 2:24 PM on May 26, 2005

"Wanted suspect arrested for criminal sexual conduct with a firearm"

I really don't want to know.....
posted by georgeTirebiter at 2:44 PM on May 26, 2005

Isn't this the old neighbor guy from Beavis & Butthead?

posted by squalor at 2:51 PM on May 26, 2005

Judging by this picture, it appears Robin Gibb has been the victim of some really bad investments of late.
posted by gigawhat? at 3:05 PM on May 26, 2005

I think one of these suspects has been hiding out in MetaFilter:

Suspect: White male
Age: mid 20's
Height: ~ 5' 8"
Weight:
Dark colored eyes, black crew-cut hair, smooth and tan complexion, skinny build, no facial hair.

No glasses, hat/hood, jewelry, scars, or tattoos.

Prominent feature: small eyes

Suspect came into home of victim, hit him on the head and proceeded to look at porn sites on the office computer for an hour.
posted by taz at 3:10 PM on May 26, 2005

Jebus?
posted by Jikido at 3:10 PM on May 26, 2005

posted by germanyengland at 3:20 PM on May 26, 2005

JFK is wanted for attempted abduction. Bummer.

I'm also a little curious about this guy. How exactly does one have sexual conduct with a firearm? I guess if it's a high enough caliber...
posted by robhuddles at 3:23 PM on May 26, 2005

From Jikido's link: "Victim entered own residence to find suspect walking around. Suspect appeared to have been looking for someone, then left residence."

Damn! Turns out He's just not that into you.
posted by gigawhat? at 3:26 PM on May 26, 2005

Thanks for this. We don't see nearly enough Outsider Art on Metafilter.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:26 PM on May 26, 2005

Yeah, I'm down with Divine_Wino - I think the sketches do manage to really capture the look in their eyes. When I first started my way down the list I thought the sketches kinda looked like something out of a grade 10 Art Class, but when I saw them side by side with the photos I realized the intent of the sketches is not to present a photorealistic portrait, but a set of dominant features, slightly exaggerated. I figure it helps kickstart the viewer's memory into thinking of someone they know who has really thick eyebrows or widely spaced eyes. Or is Geddy Lee.

Any cops on board?

Oh, and cool post.
posted by theinsectsarewaiting at 3:28 PM on May 26, 2005

Bitch! ::sobs::

Yeah, well, I've never had a "swimmer's build" you know.
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:30 PM on May 26, 2005

Someone needs a copy of "Drawing on the Criminal Side of the Brain"

/couldn't do any better
posted by mecran01 at 3:47 PM on May 26, 2005

Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem.
posted by icontemplate at 4:17 PM on May 26, 2005

Marshall gettin' his street cred.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 4:38 PM on May 26, 2005

I wanna see the 'composite drawings' of the Michigan State Police. If the criminals look bad, imagine what the police look like . . . *shudder*
posted by mk1gti at 5:16 PM on May 26, 2005

That's me in the Ford cap. Don't tell anyone.
posted by nervousfritz at 5:21 PM on May 26, 2005

And I don't look a thing like the old man from Beavis & Butthead, squalor
posted by nervousfritz at 5:23 PM on May 26, 2005

"No, make the face wider. No, I said, wider!"
posted by smackfu at 2:11 PM PST on May 26 [!]

Heh. From that guy's file:

"Most prominent feature: weight"
posted by mudpuppie at 5:34 PM on May 26, 2005

"I spent three hours shading the upper lip...."

On preview: Damn you, germanyengland
posted by sourwookie at 6:11 PM on May 26, 2005

OMG, you want creepy, look at this page on the same site: Unidentified Human Remains. (Not gross, just the stuff of nightmares.)
posted by smackfu at 6:55 PM on May 26, 2005

Squalor: I was just going to post the same thing. "You boys makin' trouble again?"
posted by jimfl at 7:42 PM on May 26, 2005

This reminds me of the St. Paul (MN) PD's prostitution arrest pictures. Every week they put up all the pictures of the pimps, hoes and john's they arrest. (Innocent until proven guilty of course)

When i lived in St. Paul I had this as my homepage for awhile, but I never did see anybody i knew...
posted by afu at 9:33 PM on May 26, 2005 [1 favorite]

Is it coincidence that most of the composite artists (from the ones I've looked at) happen to be female?
posted by greatgefilte at 9:52 PM on May 26, 2005

This may be off subject, but the Michigan State Police don't have the correct phone number for the Mt. Pleasant city police. Mt. Pleasant's area code isn't 517 anymore; it's been 989 for years. I wonder how old this entry is.
posted by goatdog at 9:57 PM on May 26, 2005

Hmmm Next time I'm in St Paul I gots to get to Frogtown.
posted by angrynative at 10:15 PM on May 26, 2005

All of my friends and I have just graduated from Art school with BFAs. It's early in the summer and we're still not yet employed. If these police departments were smart, they'd snatch us up. Off the top of my head, I know about 30 people who could a much better job of this and for a very low wage. We don't even need any training, either.
The police are missing out on a huge opportunity.

Where can I sign my-unemployed-self up for this?
posted by Jon-o at 7:52 AM on May 27, 2005

What are the requirements to be a police sketch artist?


That link makes it look like you have to have pretty serious training, while these pictures do not imply that. Call your local copshop, it actually sounds like a good idea.
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:16 AM on May 27, 2005

Off the top of my head, I know about 30 people who could a much better job of this and for a very low wage. We don't even need any training, either.

Bear in mind that you are not drawing from an actual picture, but from a witnesses' memory. I know my nightmare has always been that I witness a crime and then have to try and describe the perpetrator. I would make a complete and utter hash of it, I'm sure.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:44 PM on May 27, 2005

I'd love to see the police sketch of This Guy

Would have looked Dali-esque, with a good helping of Brahm Stoker.
posted by Balisong at 11:02 PM on May 27, 2005