Brightness becomes one surface
Each image sample supplies a height on a rectangular grid. Neighboring samples are joined into triangles, then connected to a flat base with side walls. This produces a physical plaque or relief. It does not recover the sides and back of the photographed subject or turn perspective into an exact scan.
Prepare an intentional image
Use a grayscale design whose brightness already represents the raised regions you want. Strong painted shadows in a photograph will become depressions. Crop unwanted borders, flatten transparency if appropriate and avoid tiny high-contrast details that cannot survive the selected grid and printer resolution.
Inspect dimensions and topology
The output uses millimeter coordinates, although STL itself does not declare units. This tool checks for open edges, inconsistent orientation and disconnected components before offering the STL. Confirm its imported width in your slicer and inspect the layer preview before printing.
Follow a dimensioned first conversion
Load the radial example with a finished width of 100 mm, a minimum base of 1.2 mm and an additional height range of 3 mm. In relief mode, a fully black sample sits at 1.2 mm and a fully white sample at 4.2 mm above the bottom. Intermediate brightness produces intermediate thickness. The actual tallest sample depends on the processed image.
Choose your own PNG, JPEG or WebP, select relief mode and enter the dimensions before generating. Download the STL and processed height PNG. The latter reveals which image detail survived resampling, making it useful when a fine line looks different in the mesh preview.
Check the physical interpretation in a slicer
Import as millimeters and verify width, minimum base and the overall height. The underside is flat and the side walls close the rectangular surface; the tool does not generate undercuts or a back-side portrait. Transparent image areas become black rather than holes. If you need an irregular outline, a through-hole or a mounting feature, create that geometry deliberately in CAD after checking the basic relief.