About Photo to 3D
Photo to 3D reads the depth in one photo on your device and shows it as a 3D pop-out you can tilt. The same depth becomes a relief plaque, with the fine shape of faces, fur and stone added by a second reader, or the photo's brightness becomes a lithophane that shows the picture when lit from behind. Every STL is checked before you download it: watertight, its size against a print bed, its thinnest part, and its file size. It makes raised pictures, not a full figurine.
What it does
- A 3D pop-out from one photo: tilt it with a finger, a mouse or the phone's motion, and export a looping MP4 or GIF, a GLB, or view it in AR
- Relief plaques shaped by two on-device readers: depth for the large shape, surface direction for noses, eyes, fur and stonework
- Lithophanes whose thickness follows how light passes through PLA, with a backlit preview
- A print check on every file: watertight, size against a 180 mm bed, thinnest part against the 0.8 mm safe minimum, and file size
- Honest depth: flat pictures and sky-only photos are flagged, and a lithophane is offered instead of a made-up relief
- STL, 3MF and a 16-bit depth PNG for laser engraving and CNC
- Works offline after the first use
How to use Photo to 3D
Open or take a photo
Drop a photo, open one, paste it, or take one with your phone's camera. Try a sample to see it work first.
Tilt the pop-out
The first use downloads the depth reader once. The photo then tilts as a 3D pop-out; drag it or use your phone's motion.
Choose relief or lithophane
Relief raises the near parts into a plaque; lithophane makes dark areas thick so the picture shows when lit from behind. Set the size, depth and frame.
Download the checked STL
The print check shows watertight, size and thinnest part. Download the STL or 3MF and print it flat on its back (relief) or standing up (lithophane).
Frequently asked questions
Does it make a full 3D model?
No. It makes a relief (a raised picture), a lithophane (a picture that shows when lit from behind) and a tilting pop-out. A full figurine needs several photos or a scanner.
Which photos make the best reliefs?
Photos with a clear subject in front of a background: faces, pets, sculptures and buildings. A photo of a flat poster or only sky has little depth to read, so the tool says so and offers a lithophane, which works for any photo.
How thick should a lithophane be?
0.8 mm in the brightest areas and 3 mm in the darkest is a good start for white PLA. Thinner than 0.8 mm can print as holes, so the print check marks those areas in red.
Is the STL ready for my slicer?
Every file is checked before download: one closed solid with no open edges, the size you chose, and its thinnest part. If you lower a lithophane's thinnest setting under the 0.8 mm safe minimum, the check marks those parts in red and offers a one-tap fix. Files are usually 5 to 20 MB on the standard grid.
Does it work offline?
Yes, after the first use. The depth reader (49.6 MB) and the optional fine-detail reader (70.8 MB) download once; after that everything runs on your device with no connection. Lithophanes need no download at all.