Creating and Printing a Lithophane

A lithophane is an object for the display of an image in 3D relief. Illuminated from behind, light passes through layers of translucent material, revealing the image in detail. Invented in the early 19th century, and originally made of porcelain or bone china, lithophanes are becoming popular again because of modern 3D printing techniques. 3D printing techniques permit far easier and faster methods for making lithophanes.

Participants will learn how to:

Prepare an image to be printed as a lithophane;

3D print the image;

Display a printed lithophane.

No prior experience is necessary.

Participants are required to bring their own laptop, and encouraged to choose an image to work with, in advance of the workshop. There are no constraints on resolution or image size. The printed lithophane will be between 10x10cm and 20x20cm. Participants may wish to choose an image that will look reasonable at that size.

Participants should also install Bambu Studio in advance. Bambu Studio is free and available at this link: https://bambulab.com/en/download/studio (external link)