A three-dimensional relief can be produced from one or more two-dimensional digital (2D) images. A height field is computed from the 2D images and illumination direction information. The height field comprises a multiplicity of geometric surface elements arrayed in a 2D field corresponding to the pixels of the one or more 2D images. Each geometric surface element corresponds to a pixel of each of the digital images and has at least one height parameter representing a displacement from a surface floor. Once the height field is computed, optimizations can be made to the height field including adding and adjusting albedo and glossy surface finishing. The height field can be used to fabricate relief elements in a material, such that each relief element corresponds in shape, position in the height field, and height above the surface floor, to one of the geometric surface elements in the height field.