The development of 2.5D printing for appearance re-creation: Exploring ancient Mexican artwork through European archives

Trujillo Vazquez, Abigail

Abstract

This thesis investigates the capabilities of printing technology in producing 2.5D prints and utilises these findings to recreate the appearance of artwork from ancient Mexico, focusing on two types of artwork: damaged pre-Hispanic wall stucco reliefs and featherwork artefacts. Because of a turbulent history or natural ageing, many ancient significant artefacts of the indigenous cultures of Mexico, have undergone irreversible damage and the loss of tactile, visual, and ritual elements over time. On the other hand, there are artworks whose visual qualities are difficult to transfer to their copies such as those made from iridescent and highly reflective material.

The project examines the extent to which the appearance of objects can be either retrieved or designed in 2.5D prints in the absence of complete recorded surface data. The goal is the development of 2.5D printing techniques for more faithful reproduction and recreation of material appearance, and especially, to approximate the appearance of original artwork as closely as possible. For this purpose, diverse printing methods and techniques are explored, refined and combined. The aim is to optimise diverse methods and materials and contribute to understand how print media can help preserve, interpret and disseminate cultural heritage by better representing the original's materiality.

The research addresses the impact of surface structure on the visual properties of elevated prints, by investigating the influence of custom roughness on the colour and glossiness of printed patches. Finally, the use of structural colourants is studied to expand the notion of 2.5D printing to encompass the relevance of multi-scale structures on the visual appearance of prints.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 1, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2024
• Keywords: appearance, reproduction, printing
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11147755
• Award Date: Mar 12, 2024