Gil Zamora has spoken to audiences around the world about forensic art and in particular about his composite sketch methodology. He retired as the Police Artist for the largest police agency in Silicon Valley in 2011. He has interviewed over 3,000 eyewitnesses and was instrumental in solving some of the most heinous crimes in the Bay Area.
The Real Beauty Sketches campaign (2013) asked Gil to be the sketch artist in a social experiment that focused on how real women saw themselves. Over 100 million views worldwide on the internet brought attention to the subject of self perception and beauty. Gil was able to showcase his forensic art techniques in a way that brought about real discussions on self esteem. The sketch results were dramatic.
The Real Beauty Sketch interviews were reminiscent of Gil’s informal forensic art apprenticeship, when he sat several feet away as his mentor conducted interviews with actual crime victims.
Looking back on his career he realized he had always been asking witnesses to give their perspective about an unknown person: He starting calling these sketches: Perspective SketchesTM.
Gil continues his forensic art practice working with law enforcement agencies around the country. His Perspective Sketches are still in demand and he is working on a book about his mindful approach to forensic art.