Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands

In the digital 3D reconstruction of the shapes and surface reflectance of ancient paintings and drawings using Photometric Stereo (PS) techniques, normal integration is a key step. However, difficulties in locating light sources, non-Lambertian surfaces, and shadows make the results of this step ina...

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Main Authors: Marco Gaiani, Elisa Angeletti, Simone Garagnani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Heritage
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/4/129
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author Marco Gaiani
Elisa Angeletti
Simone Garagnani
author_facet Marco Gaiani
Elisa Angeletti
Simone Garagnani
author_sort Marco Gaiani
collection DOAJ
description In the digital 3D reconstruction of the shapes and surface reflectance of ancient paintings and drawings using Photometric Stereo (PS) techniques, normal integration is a key step. However, difficulties in locating light sources, non-Lambertian surfaces, and shadows make the results of this step inaccurate for such artworks. This paper presents a solution for PS to overcome this problem based on some enhancement of the normal integration process and the accurate measurement of Points of Interest (PoIs). The mutual positions of the LED lights, the camera sensor, and the acquisition plane in two custom-designed stands, are measured in laboratory as a system calibration of the 3D acquisition workflow. After an introduction to the requirements and critical issues arising from the practical application of PS techniques to artworks, and a description of the newly developed PS solution, the measurement process is explained in detail. Finally, results are presented showing how the normal maps and 3D meshes generated using the measured PoIs’ positions, and further minimized using image processing techniques, which significantly limits outliers and improves the visual fidelity of digitized artworks.
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publishDate 2025-04-01
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spelling doaj-art-3f06c2bbdffb4d3da5f8c350b594ed5f2025-08-20T03:13:45ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082025-04-018412910.3390/heritage8040129Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro StandsMarco Gaiani0Elisa Angeletti1Simone Garagnani2Department of Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Architecture, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, 40136 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Human Studies, Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029 Urbino, ItalyIn the digital 3D reconstruction of the shapes and surface reflectance of ancient paintings and drawings using Photometric Stereo (PS) techniques, normal integration is a key step. However, difficulties in locating light sources, non-Lambertian surfaces, and shadows make the results of this step inaccurate for such artworks. This paper presents a solution for PS to overcome this problem based on some enhancement of the normal integration process and the accurate measurement of Points of Interest (PoIs). The mutual positions of the LED lights, the camera sensor, and the acquisition plane in two custom-designed stands, are measured in laboratory as a system calibration of the 3D acquisition workflow. After an introduction to the requirements and critical issues arising from the practical application of PS techniques to artworks, and a description of the newly developed PS solution, the measurement process is explained in detail. Finally, results are presented showing how the normal maps and 3D meshes generated using the measured PoIs’ positions, and further minimized using image processing techniques, which significantly limits outliers and improves the visual fidelity of digitized artworks.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/4/129equipment measurementphotometric stereodigital photogrammetrylaser scannerpainting 3D acquisitionancient drawing 3D acquisition
spellingShingle Marco Gaiani
Elisa Angeletti
Simone Garagnani
Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
Heritage
equipment measurement
photometric stereo
digital photogrammetry
laser scanner
painting 3D acquisition
ancient drawing 3D acquisition
title Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
title_full Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
title_fullStr Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
title_full_unstemmed Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
title_short Photometric Stereo Techniques for the 3D Reconstruction of Paintings and Drawings Through the Measurement of Custom-Built Repro Stands
title_sort photometric stereo techniques for the 3d reconstruction of paintings and drawings through the measurement of custom built repro stands
topic equipment measurement
photometric stereo
digital photogrammetry
laser scanner
painting 3D acquisition
ancient drawing 3D acquisition
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/8/4/129
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