Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.