How to make a lithophane from a photo (free, no software)
A lithophane looks like a plain white plate until you put a light behind it. Then a photo appears, with all its shading, because thin parts of the plastic glow and thick parts stay dark. You do not need Photoshop, Blender or a paid app to make one. This guide walks through the whole process in the browser, and spends most of the time on the part that decides whether it looks good: the photo.
How a photo becomes a lithophane
A lithophane generator reads the brightness of every pixel and turns it into thickness. Bright pixels become thin plastic, dark pixels become thick plastic. With the default settings in the Lithophane Maker, white in your photo becomes 0.8 mm of plastic and black becomes 3 mm, with every grey in between. The result is an STL file you slice and print like any other model.
That has one big consequence: the lithophane can only show what the brightness of the photo shows. Colour is lost completely. A red shirt and a green tree with the same brightness come out as the same grey. So before anything else, it helps to look at your photo in black and white.
Step 1: pick a photo that will work
Good lithophane photos have a few things in common:
- A clear subject that fills most of the frame. On a 100 mm panel, a face should be at least half the height.
- Light from one side. Side light gives shape to faces. Flat, front flash photos come out as a pale oval.
- Some real highlights and shadows. A bright sky, a dark coat, hair against a light wall.
- A simple background. Busy backgrounds turn to grey noise at 0.3 mm per pixel.
- Enough resolution. 1000 pixels on the short side is plenty. Old scanned prints work well too.
Photos that struggle: group shots where each face is tiny, very dark night photos, snow scenes that are white everywhere, and anything with lots of fine text. Pets work well if their fur is not the same shade as the background. A black cat on a dark sofa is a dark plate with eyes.
The two-second test. Make the photo black and white on your phone and shrink it to thumbnail size. If you can still tell what it is, it will make a good lithophane.
Step 2: crop and fix the photo
Crop tight. Most photos have far more background than a lithophane needs, and every millimetre of background is a millimetre less for the face. If the photo is very dark or very flat, a quick auto-enhance in your phone's gallery helps, but you can also do it in the generator, so there is no need for extra software.
If the photo contains text, a shop sign or a number plate, remember it will be read from the side you look at. Most lithophanes are viewed from the smooth side, so check the preview and use the Mirror option if the text comes out backwards.
Step 3: choose a shape and size
Open the Lithophane Maker and load the photo. Then pick a shape:
| Shape | Best for | Size to start with |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | Your first lithophane, frames, window panels | 100 mm wide |
| Curved | Desk displays that stand on their own | 120 to 150 mm wide, 120° curve |
| Lamp | Night lights and gifts, wide or panoramic photos | 220 mm around (about 70 mm across) |
| Heart | Couple and wedding photos | 100 mm |
| Round | Ornaments, pet portraits | 80 to 100 mm |
Bigger is not always better. A 100 mm panel already shows a face clearly and prints in an afternoon. Go larger for landscapes and group photos, where each detail needs more room.
Step 4: tune the picture with the backlit preview
Switch the preview to Backlit. It is a rough simulation of light passing through the plastic, and it is the most honest view of what you will get. Then adjust in this order:
- Contrast first. If the whole picture looks grey, raise it until faces and backgrounds separate.
- Brightness next. If the image looks muddy, raise it so the highlights glow.
- Gamma for faces. Raising gamma above 1.0 brightens the mid-tones, which opens up faces in shadow without blowing out the sky.
- Smoothing last. A light setting hides phone camera noise in skin and sky. Strong smoothing softens eyes and hair, so use it sparingly.
Leave the thickness at 0.8 mm and 3 mm for your first print. Those numbers are covered in detail in lithophane print settings, along with the slicer steps for Bambu Lab, Prusa and Ender printers.
Step 5: download and print
Download the STL. Flat panels come out standing up, which is how they should print. In your slicer, use white PLA, 0.10 to 0.12 mm layers, 100% infill, 3 walls and a 5 to 8 mm brim. No supports. A 100 mm flat panel usually takes 3 to 6 hours.
Light it with an LED: a phone torch for a quick test, then a warm white LED strip, panel or tea light for display. Never a candle or a hot bulb. PLA softens at around 60 °C.
Mistakes that ruin a lithophane
- Using a dark photo. Dark pixels mean thick plastic. A dark photo becomes a heavy, dim plate. Brighten it first.
- Leaving lots of background. The subject ends up small and soft. Crop closer.
- Printing it lying flat to save time. Gradients turn into contour lines.
- Using less than 100% infill. A grid appears across the photo when it is lit.
- Judging it without light. A lithophane always looks like random bumps in daylight. Hold it to a light before you decide it failed.
- Silk or coloured filament. It tints and streaks the picture. Plain white is the safe choice.
Which kind of picture suits which shape?
Portraits and pets suit a flat or round panel, where the face is the whole picture. Wide landscapes, beach photos and cityscapes suit the lamp, because the picture wraps all the way around and a tall, narrow photo would be cropped. Couple photos suit the heart. If your picture is a bold shape rather than a photo, like a logo, a silhouette or a character pose, a shadow lamp may suit it better. I compared the two in shadow lamp vs lithophane.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a lithophane without software?
Yes. A browser lithophane generator like the free Lithophane Maker turns a JPG, PNG or WEBP photo into an STL file without installing anything. You only need a slicer to print it.
What photos work best for lithophanes?
Well-lit photos with a clear subject, light from one side, real highlights and shadows, and a simple background. Crop close so the subject fills the frame.
Why does my lithophane look dark?
Dark areas of the photo become thick plastic that lets little light through. Brighten the photo, raise the gamma above 1.0 in the generator, or use a stronger light.
What size should a lithophane be?
100 mm wide is a good first size. It shows a face clearly and prints in a few hours. Go larger for landscapes and group photos.
Is the Lithophane Maker free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, your photo is not uploaded, and the STL download is free with no watermark.
Related guides
- Lithophane frame and light box: how to display it
- Lithophane print settings for Bambu Lab, Prusa and Ender 3
- How to make a lithophane lamp with an LED
- Shadow lamp vs lithophane: which to print
Free tools: Lithophane Maker for flat, curved, heart, round and cylinder lamp lithophanes, the Shadow Box Lamp Generator for wall shadow lamps, Text to STL for names and keychains, and 3MF to Web to show your prints on a website. See all tools.