A system and process for generating a two-layer, 3D representation of a digital or digitized image from the image and a pixel disparity map of the image is presented. The two layer representation includes a main layer having pixels exhibiting background colors and background disparities associated with correspondingly located pixels of depth discontinuity areas in the image, as well as pixels exhibiting colors and disparities associated with correspondingly located pixels of the image not found in these depth discontinuity areas. The other layer is a boundary layer made up of pixels exhibiting foreground colors, foreground disparities and alpha values associated with the correspondingly located pixels of the depth discontinuity areas. The depth discontinuity areas correspond to prescribed sized areas surrounding depth discontinuities found in the image using a disparity map thereof.