History Main / PhotoDoodleRecognition

* In ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'', someone recognizes Dr. Petersen's picture in the paper after a policeman draws glasses on it.

* Officer Albrecht from ''Film/TheCrow'' figures out that Eric Draven is the vigilante that's been killing Top Dollar's gang when he draws the distinctive marks from the vigilante's face on the eyes and lips of a picture of Eric.

* Officer Albrecht from ''Film/TheCrow'' figures out that Eric Draven is the vigilante that's been killing Top Dollar's gang when he draws the distinctive marks from the vigilante's face on the eyes and lips of a picture of Eric.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', the citizens of the Wild West town don't recognize Emmet, as shown on a wanted poster. However, one MechaMook asks the hunter to draw a cowboy hat on the picture, at which point he confirms that the stranger that rolls into town was, in fact, Emmet.

[[folder:Films — Animated]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', when Static and Gear are looking at an old photo of [=SheBang=]'s parents and their colleagues, Static catches sight of one of the scientists. By doing a little digital doctoring, he confirms that the scientist is Bigfoot, the villain of the episode.

[[caption-width-right:348:[[Characters/DCAUJoker That's when you realize]]...]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "Lady Wifi", Alya uses an app on her phone to draw Cat Noir's mask on Adrien's picture and notices that they look similar. Unfortunately, the idea is shot down by Marinette.

* Played with in ''Anime/{{Gintama}}''. Gin scribbles on a photo of someone whom he assumes has gotten plastic surgery, while his friends deride both his art skills and the possibility that anyone would possibly choose to look like that. They look up from the drawing to see just such a person. It's the wrong guy...who just happens to work with the man they're looking for.

* In one pre-Crisis story, Franchise/{{Superman}} is to be featured on a postage stamp. He goes to great lengths to make sure that a side shot of him is chosen, rather than a full-face view, because if the stamp was postmarked in a town with a double-O in its name, the letters might land on his face in such a way that they resemble a pair of glasses, which might give away his secret identity. Presumably kids in the DC universe never [[MustacheVandalism doodle glasses and mustaches]] on newspaper photos, which might also be a bit of a clue.

* In one GoldenAge ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'', Bruce Wayne realises that a new playboy in town and the master thief he is hunting are one and the same when Dick Grayson doodles a moustache and goatee on a picture of the playboy in the newspaper.

* A ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' story in the 81st issue of ''My Greatest Adventure'' had the Chief realize that Dr. Janus was actually a Nazi war criminal named Josef Kreutz by drawing facial hair on a picture of Kreutz with Adolf Hitler.

* In the live-action adaptation of ''Film/MrMagoo'', Mr. Magoo infiltrates an auction for criminals by disguising himself with black hair and a moustache. He is discovered when Austin Cloquet sees a photo of Mr. Magoo in a newspaper and draws in black hair and a mustache on his photo.

* In ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'', someone recognizes Dr. Petersen's picture in the paper after a policeman draws glasses on it.
* In ''Film/OneOfOurDinosaursIsMissing'' a British spy smuggles a secret out of China. Soldiers are looking for him, with a photo showing him clean-shaven and wearing a monocle, looking as British as can be. They recognize him disguised as a local peasant after scribbling in a Fu Manchu mustache and a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats coolie hat]].

* Similar to the ''Hound'' example, in ''Literature/HerculePoirot's Christmas'', Poirot attaches [[spoiler:a false mustache]] to the portrait of the murder victim, thereby confirming that [[spoiler:the heavily mustached investigating officer is his illegitimate son]].
* ''Literature/TheCaseOfCharlesDexterWard'': Theodore Ward draws glasses and a beard over a photograph of his son, [[spoiler:establishing through questioning that the picture is now a dead ringer for his son's mysterious associate Dr. Allen -- meaning Allen is Charles's {{doppelganger}}. Considering that Charles's ancestor Joseph Curwen was ''also'' a dead ringer for Charles...]]

* In ''Series/AgentCarter'', SSR agent Sousa snaps a picture of a blonde woman suspected in an assassination, who is really his (brunette) co-worker Peggy in disguise. The photo is taken from the back, though, so he doesn't have enough to recognize her. A witness he interrogates later reveals the woman is actually a brunette, so Sousa tries darkening the woman's hair in the photo. It's still not enough for him to recognize Peggy, though, [[spoiler:until he later sees scars on her shoulder that match the photo's.]]

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/ChinaIL'', when Baby Cakes [[ItMakesSenseInContext kidnaps five professors, among them is his dad, because he thinks they're witches and wizards]] and locks them in his basement, the news reports their disappearances and people are lead to believe a serial killer is loose among the college. When the police releases a sketch of the suspect which is basically a face of a generic hairless person, [[CloudCuckooLander Baby Cakes]] fails to realize that's him and thinks a wizard is killing the people that looks like his prisoners. He is lead to believe it was Steve after setting a square bottle on the wanted poster that leaves a stain on the eye of the face which inspires Baby Cakes to draw a pair of glasses and hair on the side.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'': In the episode “All The Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues”, Harley immediately recognizes [[ItMakesSenseInContext a bartender as an amnesiac Joker]] on sight, but Ivy isn’t convinced until she uses her phone to take a picture of him laughing and edits it to draw on his white skin, red lips and green hair.

This can also be done with other types of pictures. The main idea is that someone starts with an image and adds features so the person in it becomes recognizable. Often used as TheReveal.

* After Woody is taken in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', the other toys are conducting an "investigation", with Etch drawing a sketch of the guy who took him. When Buzz asks him to draw the man in a chicken suit, everyone gasps as they recognize Big Al, the owner of Al's Toy Barn toy stores.

* Subverted in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' regarding Professor Kukui's moonlighting as a popular masked wrestler called the Masked Royal. His wife Professor Burnet [[LovesMyAlterEgo has a crush on the Masked Royal]], and sees a resemblance between him and her husband. She uses a painting app to draw the wrestler's mask over Kukui's face, but she doesn't put two-and-two together and [[IfOnlyYouKnew just finds the uncanny resemblance hilarious]].

* A ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' story in the 81st issue of ''My Greatest Adventure'' had the Chief realize that Dr. Janus was actually a Nazi named Josef Kreutz by drawing facial hair on a picture of Kreutz with Adolf Hitler.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'': In the episode “All The Best Inmates Have Daddy Issues”, Harley immediately recognizes [[ItMakesSenseInContext a bartender as an amnesiac Joker]] on sight, but Ivy isn’t convinced until Harley takes a picture of him laughing with her phone and edits it to draw on his white skin, red lips and green hair.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', season 2 episode 18, "Make 'em Laugh", Joker is discovered to be the one responsible for brainwashing famous comedians into committing crimes when Alfred shows Batman and Robin a video tape of the previous Gotham Comedy Competition. When they realize one of the contestants sounds familiar, Batman edits the video to show the Joker's regular eyes on the contestant's face, showing a perfect match.

This is when someone has an old photograph of someone they don't know, looking through old albums, yearbooks, or in someone's collection of stuff, but there's something familiar about it. Then they start to draw on it, glasses or a hat, scars or some sort of distinctive feature, and find that, holy crap, they do know this person!

* Similar to the ''Hound'' example, in ''Literature/HerculePoirot's Christmas'', Poirot [[spoiler:attaches a false mustache to the portrait of the murder victim, thereby confirming that the heavily mustached investigating officer is his illegitimate son]].

[[caption-width-right:348:[[ComicBook/TheJoker That's when you realize]]...]]