Bas Relief Plaques, Emblems & Portraits: Two primary ways of creating a bas-relief plaque: 1) Modeled seals, where the entire plaque is a bas-relief, and 2) The cast bas relief is attached to the background plaque. Sculptors use photographs to model a dimensional clay image of the subject. Once sculpture is approved, a sand mold is made and then cast in metal. Most commonly associated with portraits, bas-reliefs also well depict buildings, historical vignettes & logos.

Flat Relief Emblems & Portraits: An economical alternative to bas-relief, Flat Relief begins with a black & white subject rendering. Once approved, a photopolymer pattern is produced. A raised two-level metal image is either cast integral with the plaque or applied to the plaque. Line details are raised the same height as the copy. Many find the distinction between Bas Relief and Flat Relief imagery confusing. Click-to-Enlarge images, then compare & contrast the treatments below. Bas is sculptural. Flat isn't; it's either upper level A or lower level B; no dimensions in between.

Think of bas reliefs = "rolling hills", flat reliefs = "plateaus". Click Here for an audio/visual explanation. Click Here for another graphic representation.

For Flat Relief imagery, lines must be crisp & clean with some separation between them to be castable. For us to create from a photo: Add: $349. For Bas Relief imagery, the more fidelity your image has, the better resource a sculptor has to work from. Art & casting charge added to base bronze plaque price: $999 up 12"; $1,059 for 14"; $1,179 for 16"; $1,399 for 18"; $1,599 for 20"...etc. In Aluminum: Art & casting charge added to base plaque price: $899 up 12"; $999 for 14"; $1,079 for 16"; $1,299 for 18"; $1,359 for 20"...etc. You won't find a better offer elsewhere.

Visit our Featured Projects Page for interesting examples & stories.

Steps for receiving a traditional clay molded bas relief plaque:

 

Step One: Submit a Picture: Mitch had plenty of character, which showed in his face.	Step Two: Review your hand-sculpted clay molded image. A very talented artist expertly captured that true-to-life character.	Step Three: The image is cast. It will become part of the total image & project.
Step Four: Image is attached to the base plaque as seen at right. The image looks just like Mitch and the client was thrilled with the finished casting. We used an elaborate border, recessed text in the raised header panel and raised text for Mitch's tribute.

The same approach can be used for inanimate objects:

Below is the execution of one in a series of six bas reliefs we did for our customer March 2010. The entire series of these 18" Cast Bronze bas relief Branch of Service plaques is depicted halfway down on P&L's Military Emblems Page. Step One-A: Customer supplied their illustration concept Step One-B: Customer also supplied plaque design. We pointed out that the "s" looked "lonely" & fixed. Step Two: P&L and foundry provided clay mold reflecting several multi-level considerations Step Three: The finished product fits hand-in-glove with our 18" Bas relief Branch of Service bas relief emblems

Bas Relief Image Gallery