Lithophanes on the 3d Printer

Very cool, Darren. It's interesting how this unlit panel looks sort of like a badly-done drawing, but when it's illuminated from behind, it looks photographic.

Out of curiosity, can they be done in reverse, so that the visible side just looks like smooth plastic when it's not lit up?
 
Very cool, Darren. It's interesting how this unlit panel looks sort of like a badly-done drawing, but when it's illuminated from behind, it looks photographic.

Out of curiosity, can they be done in reverse, so that the visible side just looks like smooth plastic when it's not lit up?

Thanks, They don't look nearly as nice when illuminated from the rough side of the pane with at least a single light. If one had a light panel it may light up much better, but the high spots in the print create shadows where they shouldn't be. The solid flat on the back seems to dissipate the light to all areas of the pane, where all the the small details pop out much better.
 
Thanks, They don't look nearly as nice when illuminated from the rough side of the pane with at least a single light. If one had a light panel it may light up much better, but the high spots in the print create shadows where they shouldn't be. The solid flat on the back seems to dissipate the light to all areas of the pane, where all the the small details pop out much better.

Ah, that makes sense. ;)
 
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