Courtroom Sketch Artist

A Courtroom Sketch Artist draws pictures of a trial when cameras are barred from the court. This job exists because the media wants visual coverage of high-profile trials. And for when cases involve a celebrity (more likely). Either way, if filming isn’t allowed in the courtroom, a Courtroom Sketch Artist is called in to sketch representations of the leading characters.

First requirement to be a Courtroom Sketch Artist: you can draw. Second requirement: you can stomach true stories of (possibly) heinous crimes. And as for how to do this job well, here’s a tip: try to capture the key moments that would look good on screen as a News Anchor describes the unfolding drama. For example, when the young starlet is taking the stand, or hugging her parents goodbye, shedding tears, being hauled away in handcuffs, etc.

You are typically hired by a media outlet, and usually work freelance. Get started by showing up to a small, public court and asking a courtroom Guard if you can sketch the trial. Then, when a no-cameras-allowed trial is happening in your zip code, show those sketches to the local TV news crew and bam – you’ve got yourself some work for however long the trial lasts.

A closely linked job is a Sketch Artist for police stations – those people you’ve seen on crime dramas on TV, calmly scribbling as someone (most likely in tears) describes the attributes of the face they saw for a few moments. Either way it’ll be like you’re on an episode of Law & Order.