2.5D Printing

2The Past

2.1 Introduction

In order to deliver high‐quality materials, processes and methodologies that assist the twenty‐first century designer/user in obtaining the desired look, feel and aesthetic qualities, the primary motivation of this chapter is to examine appropriate contemporary methods and tools towards the creation of novel 2.5D printed surfaces. To do this we pick up from the introductory chapter by looking back to historical methods and artistic techniques of surface relief for inspiration and benchmarking. By benchmarking we mean, what are the qualities (materials, methods, perceptions, tools) that frame our understanding of what constitutes 2.5D printing? To gain an understanding of how artists have interpreted and represented our world in 2.5D, as pictorial relief and as cultural artefacts, merely requires a visit to a museum, a gallery or an ancient building. Today, many ancient artefacts have been removed from their place of origin to museums in order to preserve them from ravages of pollution, theft or war. They have enormous significance in the historical evolution of ancient art. The craftsperson's primary objective was to translate stories into two and three dimensions. The important task was to choose the tools and materials that were most suitable to help them in their narrative. Their second objective was to create the most impact by reducing a complex scene into a simplified message. This may well have been informed by the types of materials to hand, the ...