A backlight etching process, and more particularly the etching of a solid, semi-translucent base material, to form an exact image within the material. The base material is preferably translucent and most preferably an acrylic-based product, such as DuPont Corian.RTM.. Specific portions of the etched image can be digitally altered to enhance the quality of the image. Lines may be added to better delineate between areas of the image, or specific areas may be masked and altered. The etched image can also be colorized by cutting exact forms or silhouettes of colored film using digital techniques and adhering the silhouette to the smooth, back side of the etched image. A backing sheet may then be applied over the colored silhouette, to strengthen the product and protect the silhouette, to the etched image product.