How to make a lithophane
- Choose a photo. Crop it tightly around the subject. Faces, pets and landscapes with clear contrast work best.
- Pick a shape. Flat for a frame or light box (choose an outline such as a heart, star or diya, and add a caption or raised frame if you like), Curved for a free-standing display, Lamp for a shade over an LED tea light, Moon for a glowing moon on an LED stand, Keychain for a small photo pendant, Box for a four-photo night light.
- Check the backlit preview. Adjust brightness and contrast until the preview looks like your photo held up to a window.
- Download the STL and slice it. It is already standing upright, which gives the sharpest detail.
Photo moon lamp
Moon mode wraps your photo onto a real NASA moon surface and prints it as a glowing sphere – on an LED stand or as a two-piece hanging moon. See the Photo Moon Lamp Generator for sizes, lights and print settings.
Gift ideas: photo night lamp and Diwali diya
Step-by-step guides with ready presets: a photo night lamp lithophane (a four-photo light box or a lamp shade over an LED tea light) and a Diwali photo diya lithophane for the window or the puja shelf, and a Christmas ornament lithophane (bauble, star, tree or heart with a hanging loop).
Lithophane keychains
Keychain mode turns a photo into a small pendant: circle, heart, rounded square, hexagon or a rectangle that follows your photo. The photo is centre-cropped to the outline, framed with a solid rim, and a key-ring loop with a 4.4 mm hole is added on top. They make great gifts. Print a few with different photos from the same roll of white PLA.
- Size: 35–45 mm wide for key rings, 50–60 mm for bag charms.
- Thickness: 0.8–2.6 mm works well at this size; faces need a close crop.
- Printing: upright as exported, 0.12 mm layers, 100% infill, a small brim.
Heart, star, diya and other shaped lithophanes
In Flat mode, the Outline menu turns the panel into a heart, a circle, a hexagon, a star, an oval, an arch, a Diwali diya, a Christmas tree or a rounded rectangle. The photo is centre-cropped to the shape and the Frame border runs all the way around it. Hexagons make great wall tiles, stars and trees great ornaments; tick Hanging loop for a small loop on top. Hearts and stars get small feet and circles and ovals a short flat so they stand upright on the bed; add a brim anyway.
Captions and raised frames
- Type a caption (a name, a date, a short message). It goes on a strip under the photo, with any outline.
- Pick the letter style. Glowing letters are thin and shine through a dark strip; Dark letters stand out against a bright strip. Bold fonts at 7–10 mm read best.
- Tick Raised frame for a rim that stands in front of the photo and runs around the whole outline, caption included. It prints as part of the panel.
Night light box
Box mode puts four photos on the four sides of a square box: a night light, a memory box for a family or a gift with four favourite moments. It prints in one piece, upright and open at the top, so every photo wall is printed like a normal lithophane, with no overhangs and no supports.
- Size: 80 × 80 × 80 mm by default, 50–160 mm wide. The walls overlap solidly at the corners.
- Light: the floor has a ring that centres a 38 mm LED tea light. Choose Open bottom to set the box over a USB LED puck instead. LED only, never a candle.
- Lid: tick Drop-in lid for a lid printed beside the box; flip it over and its lip drops into the opening.
- Printing: as exported, white PLA, 100% infill, 0.12–0.16 mm layers and a brim. The default 80 mm box uses about 80 g of PLA; it is a long print, so check the first layers.
Free STL downloads
A ready-made lithophane test strip from this generator: ten steps from white to black (0.8–3 mm thick). Print it with your usual settings and hold it to a light to see how your filament renders each shade before printing a photo.
For a lithophane of your own photo, choose a photo above and download the STL.
Recommended print settings
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Material | Plain white PLA |
| Orientation | Upright (as exported) |
| Layer height | 0.12–0.16 mm |
| Infill | 100% |
| Speed | Slow outer walls (e.g. 40 mm/s) |
| Adhesion | Brim, 5–8 mm |
Frequently asked questions
Is this lithophane maker free?
Yes. Make and download as many lithophane STL files as you like. No account is needed.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Your photo is converted into a 3D model inside your browser. It is never sent to a server.
Can I make a heart, round or hexagon lithophane?
Yes. Choose Flat and pick Heart, Circle, Hexagon or Rounded rectangle as the outline. The photo is centre-cropped to the shape and framed with a solid border. Hexagons tile nicely on a wall; tick Hanging loop to add a small loop on top for a nail or ribbon.
Can I make a star, diya or Christmas tree lithophane?
Yes. In Flat mode the Outline menu also has Star, Oval, Arch (rounded top, flat bottom), Diwali diya and Christmas tree. Stars stand on two small feet, ovals on a short flat; the arch, diya and tree already have flat bottoms. Tick Hanging loop to hang a star or tree on the Christmas tree or a diya in the window.
Can I add a name or date to my lithophane?
Yes. Type it in Caption (Flat mode, any outline). It goes on a strip under the photo. Glowing letters are cut thin, so they shine through a dark strip when lit; Dark letters stand at full thickness on a bright strip. Bold fonts read best; 7–10 mm letters suit a 100 mm panel, and long text shrinks to fit.
What does the raised frame do?
Raised frame adds a rim along the outline (photo and caption) that stands 0.5–5 mm in front of the panel, like a picture frame. It is part of the same solid, so it prints in one go and stiffens the panel. 3–5 mm wide and 2 mm high looks good on a 100 mm panel.
How do I make a lithophane night light box?
Choose Box and add four photos: the main photo is the front, then pick the right, back and left sides. The box prints in one piece, upright and open at the top, so the photo walls are vertical and need no supports. Print with 100% infill, 0.12–0.16 mm layers and a brim. Put a 38 mm LED tea light in the floor ring, or choose Open bottom to set it over a USB LED puck. LED lights only, never a candle.
What filament is best for lithophanes?
Plain white PLA gives the clearest image. Avoid silk, glitter or translucent filaments; they blur detail.
How should I print a lithophane?
Print it standing upright (the STL is already oriented that way) with 100% infill, 0.12–0.16 mm layers and a brim for stability. Slow outer walls help detail.
What thickness should I use?
A range of 0.8 mm to 3.0 mm works for most photos and LED backlights. Use a thicker maximum (3.5–4 mm) for bright lamps, thinner for weak tea lights.
How do I make a lithophane keychain?
Choose Keychain, pick an outline (circle, heart, star, hexagon, Christmas tree, diya and more) – or choose Custom shape and upload any silhouette (a leaf, a logo, a pet) to use its outline – and set the width (35–45 mm is typical). The photo is cropped to fit (zoom and move it to frame a face), a solid frame is added around it and a key-ring loop on top. Print it upright with 100% infill and hold it up to a light.
Can I put my own photo on the moon lamp?
Yes. Keep "Put my photo on the moon" ticked and choose your photo. It is placed on the front of the moon and fades into the craters around it; set its width with the Photo width slider. Untick it for a plain moon.
Can I make a hanging moon lamp?
Yes. Choose Hanging. You get a full moon in two pieces: the big piece hangs from a pendant lamp holder through a hole on top, and a snap-on cap closes the bottom so you can fit and change the bulb. Use a small LED bulb only.
What photos work best?
Photos with a clear subject, good contrast and a simple background. Crop tightly before uploading, and use the contrast slider if the preview looks flat.