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How the lithophane is made
Thickness is the picture
Every point is between the thinnest and thickest setting: dark parts of the picture are thick and block the light, light parts are thin and glow. Relief shading lights the land from the north-west, so ridges and valleys stand out.
Prints standing up
Panels are built upright with a flat back, the way lithophanes print best, with an optional frame, a hanging loop, a gentle curve or a slotted stand. A round panel suits a window or a lamp front.
Lamps in one piece
A lamp is a hollow ball, smooth inside with the world on the outside, printed upright on its light opening without supports. Near the top the wall is kept thick enough to bridge, and a cupped stand holds an LED tea light.
Ideas to try
A Moon lamp from real LRO pictures, the Grand Canyon or your home mountain for a window, Olympus Mons for a space fan, or a night light of Mars for a child's room.
Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (© DLR e.V. & Airbus) and Mapzen Terrain Tiles on AWS; other worlds from NASA, ESA, JAXA and USGS mission data and pictures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO. Want the whole world as a ball? Make a globe, open the TerraPrinter app or see more 3D map gift ideas.