JPG to STL.

Maintained by Bake3D · Updated 8 September 2026

Make a photographic lithophane from JPG or JPEG

A lithophane represents a photograph through thickness. Thin areas transmit more light; thicker areas appear darker when lit from behind. This tool creates a flat rectangular STL with a solid base and a brightness-driven surface. It starts with dark pixels mapped to greater thickness, which is a useful starting point for photographic work.

JPG and JPEG describe the same common image format. PNG and WebP photos are also accepted, so an extra image conversion is unnecessary. The tool works locally and does not require a Bake3D account. It creates a relief of the picture; it does not reconstruct a freestanding person, animal or object. For that task, use the full image-to-3D workflow.

A practical first conversion

1. Choose a photograph with recognizable shapes and useful light/dark separation. Crop away areas you do not want in the final rectangle.
2. Set the intended width. The aspect ratio determines the matching depth shown with the output dimensions.
3. Choose minimum thickness and a thickness range. The photographic preset starts at 0.8 mm minimum with a 2.4 mm range, giving a possible maximum of 3.2 mm.
4. Inspect the preview and adjust the tone curve or smoothing if midtones or JPEG noise dominate the surface.
5. Download the STL, import it as millimetres, and choose orientation and manufacturing settings in your slicer. Check a sliced layer preview before starting a print.

Those initial dimensions are editable starting values, not a tested profile for every printer, resin or filament. The material’s opacity and the backlight affect the final appearance. A small calibration print can be more informative than repeatedly changing a full-size photograph.

Understand the controls

Minimum thickness sets the base beneath the image. Transparent pixels, where present in PNG or WebP, stay at this base. Thickness range sets how much extra material the darkest areas may receive. Their sum is the maximum possible thickness; the actual output may be thinner if the source never reaches complete black.

Tone curve changes intermediate thicknesses. Use the sample gradient to see how midtones move without confusing that change with scene lighting. Smoothing applies a small filter to the sampled surface. It can reduce compression noise and harsh pixel steps, but high smoothing also softens facial detail and lettering.

Long-edge samples controls the mesh grid. It does not increase the original photo’s detail. Higher values produce more triangles and larger STL files; the long edge remains bounded for tall and wide images. The converter accepts files up to 32 MiB and 64 megapixels, with a maximum of 32,768 pixels on either image side.

Inspect the exported STL

The output uses millimetre coordinates and Z as its height axis, with the base at Z = 0. STL does not embed a unit declaration, photograph, color information or printer profile. If an importer assumes another unit, the model can appear at the wrong size even though its coordinates are unchanged.

Check width, depth and maximum thickness against the intended installation and printer volume. Then inspect narrow details, the base and any unsupported regions in the sliced preview. The on-screen shaded model shows surface shape; it does not predict light transmission or certify a print’s strength.

For a raised logo, stamp-like panel or plaque, the general image-to-STL tool starts with a larger relief range and non-inverted brightness. Use the workflow that matches the object you want to make.

Photo conversion questions

Why does the preview look like a negative?

The surface is intentionally thicker in dark photographic areas. A shaded 3D view can therefore look different from the eventual backlit picture. Use the inversion switch only when you want the opposite brightness relationship.

Can I remove JPEG artifacts?

Mild smoothing can reduce them, but it cannot recover detail lost during compression. Start from the least-compressed original you have and avoid repeatedly saving the same JPEG. Inspect eyes, text and other important small features before increasing smoothing.

Does this create curved lithophanes or frames?

This version creates a flat rectangular plate. Add a frame or reshape the plate in a suitable modeling tool if your project requires it. The page does not imply support for curved output controls that are not present.

What validation supports this tool?

Software tests cover the underlying relief’s topology, volume, dimensions, inversion, transparency, smoothing, tone curve and bounded resolution. JPEG header tests cover baseline and progressive frames. Physical printing and lighting remain material- and machine-dependent, so the final result still needs your own test and inspection.