Crop before you attach
The print keeps your photo's proportions and doesn't crop it. Cut it to the shape you want first. A panorama suits a lamp shade, while a normal photo wrapped into a cylinder comes out tall.
JPG to STL, for lithophanes and figurines
Attach your JPG and say what it should become. A lithophane shows the photo when it's lit from behind, and a figure in a photo can become a figurine.
3 free generations, no credit card. Downloads need a pack from US$12 or a plan.
How to turn a JPG into an STL here
- 1
Drop in your JPG
A family photo, a pet, a landscape. Phone photos come in the right way up. It stays in your browser until you sign up and send.
- 2
Say what it should become
A few words are enough, like "make a curved lithophane from this photo". The designer picks the thickness and size or asks you.
- 3
Check it in 3D, then download
Turn the model around, ask for changes in plain words and download the STL or 3MF. A lithophane looks like a grey relief until you light it from behind.
What a photo can become, and what it can't
A JPG has no depth in it, only brightness. A height map converter turns that brightness into thickness, so a lit cheek ends up at a different height from the dark hair beside it, for no reason to do with the shape of a face. As a sculpture, that's wrong.
As a lithophane it's exactly right. Thick plastic blocks light and thin plastic lets it through, so the photo appears when you put a light behind it. That's where most photos should go. If you want a real 3D object, ask for a figurine and the designer generates one from what the photo shows.
What to say in your message
Saying what it is will do: a lithophane, a lamp shade, a figurine. Add any of these if they matter to you.
- How wide it ends up, in millimetres. The height follows your photo's proportions
- Which shape: flat, curved so it stands by itself, or a cylinder for a lamp shade
- How thick it gets: 0.8 to 3 mm is the usual range for a lithophane
- How you print it: your nozzle, and whether you have white PLA on the spool
Getting a photo ready for 3D printing
A lithophane shows every flaw in the photo, so pick it and prepare it with that in mind.
Pick a photo with contrast
Clear lights and darks read well when backlit. A flat, hazy photo stays flat and hazy, so raise the contrast a little first if you can.
Start from the original file
Each time a JPG gets re-saved, compression adds blocks and speckle, and in a height map those become real bumps. Use the file from your camera or phone, not a copy that went through a messaging app.
Plan the light
Put an LED panel or LED strip 3 to 5 cm behind a flat lithophane, or an LED tea light inside a cylinder. Never a real candle, because PLA softens at about 60 °C.
How to convert JPG to STL for free, by hand
If a plain lithophane is all you want, you don't need us. All three of these are free.
JPG to STL in ItsLitho
Made for lithophanes, in the browser, with plenty of shapes to pick from.
- Upload your photo at itslitho.com.
- Pick a shape and set the size and thickness.
- Download the STL.
JPG to STL in Cura
A slicer that opens a JPG directly. Handy if you already use it.
- Use File > Open and pick your JPG. A Convert Image dialog appears.
- Set the height and base, and choose Darker is higher for a lithophane.
- Slice it right away, or use File > Export to save an STL.
JPG to STL in Blender
Free and much more capable, with a real learning curve.
- Add a Grid mesh with about 500 x 500 subdivisions and scale it to real size.
- Add a Displace modifier, give it a new Image texture with your JPG and set Coordinates to UV.
- Set the Strength for your height, then add a Solidify modifier to close the shape.
- Use Object > Apply > Visual Geometry to Mesh, then File > Export > STL.
Lithophane maker, CAD app or GrandpaCAD?
They do different jobs. Pick by what your photo has to turn into.
 GrandpaCAD | Lithophane makers | Blender | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | The part you described | A lithophane from a template | Whatever you build by hand |
| Figurine from a photo | Say so in the message | No | Sculpt it yourself |
| Change it later | One sentence | Convert again | Back into the editor |
| Skill needed | None | None | Some to a lot |
| Price | 3 free generations, downloads from US$12 | Free | Free |
2,000+ people making real prints
Unedited feedback from the in-app rating prompt. We only show country to keep makers anonymous.
"generated a printable design on the first try!"
"Fast easy and good quality"
"It's working good. Grandpa!"
"yay so fun"
Pulled from real CSAT survey responses inside the GrandpaCAD app.
JPG to STL questions
Is this a free JPG to STL converter?
Partly, and I'd rather say so up front. Your first 3 generations are free with no credit card, so you can see your photo built and turn it around in the 3D viewer. Downloading the STL needs a pack from US$12 or a plan. If a plain lithophane is all you want, ItsLitho and Cura do that for free, and the steps are on this page.
What is a lithophane?
A thin plate whose thickness follows a picture. It looks like a grey relief in normal light, and the photo appears when you light it from behind, because thick areas block the light and thin ones let it through.
How should I print a lithophane?
Standing up as delivered, with a brim on a flat plate. Use 100% infill, or the infill pattern shows through, and fine layers of 0.1 to 0.12 mm. White PLA works best, since coloured filament tints and darkens the picture.
Will a figurine look like the person in my photo?
It'll look like a figure based on the photo, not a scan of the person. One photo can't show the back of a head, so the generator fills in what it can't see. It works best on a clear, whole subject.
JPG or PNG: does it matter?
Not much for a photo. A JPG is fine as long as it hasn't been re-saved many times. For a logo or a drawing, use a PNG, since JPG compression leaves speckle around sharp edges and that speckle turns into bumps in a height map.
Can OpenSCAD open a JPG?
Not directly. Its surface() function only reads PNG images, so save the photo as a PNG first.
What size photo do I need?
About 1000 px across is plenty for a 100 mm lithophane. The model is sampled roughly every 0.2 mm, so extra pixels stop helping after that. We use up to 2048 px on the long side.
Can I download a 3MF instead of an STL?
Yes. You can download STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB and GLTF. For a one-colour print either works, and a 3MF is smaller and keeps real millimetres.
Do I need CAD software or any 3D modeling experience?
No. It runs in the browser and you never touch a CAD program. The STL opens in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Orca and any other slicer.
Related guides and tools
- PNG to STLGot a logo or a drawing? Reliefs and parts from a PNG.
- Image to 3D modelTurn a sketch or a photo of a part into an editable 3D model.
- Reduce STL file sizeHeight map too heavy for your slicer? Shrink it in your browser, free.
- Scale an STLCame out the wrong size? Rescale it in the browser, free.
- 3D viewerOpen an STL or a 3MF in your browser and look it over, free.
- CAD for 3D printingPrecise printable parts from a description, with no drawing at all.
Got the photo?
Say what it's for.
3 free generations, no credit card. See your part in 3D before you pay anything.