Multicolor Earth Lithophane - four colors
Description
PDF
Introduction
This model is a further development of my Solar System Lithophane Lamp Collection. After creating lithophane lamps for all planets and several moons of the Solar System in five different sizes, I initially considered the project complete. A new challenge emerged from user feedback, though: several people colored the monochrome lamps manually using acrylic or watercolor paints. While the results can be visually striking, I don't have a nack for painting but rather for programming and 3D printing. This motivated the search for a method to produce colored lithophane lamps directly from digital data.
An early attempt involved printing planets using CMYK filament. This approach proved impractical, as the minimum achievable color-layer thickness is limited by the nozzle diameter (typically 0.4 mm), which is incompatible with fine CMYK color mixing.
The alternative approach presented here relies on a small set of discrete colors that are sufficient to represent the dominant visual features of a planet. Earth serves as a suitable starting point, using NASA blue marble image data. In this case, four colors are sufficient: blue (oceans), green (vegetation), sand-brown (arid and mountainous regions), and white (ice caps, glaciers, and high-altitude terrain).
The first processing step is image clustering. The image pixels are grouped into N color classes using a K-Means algorithm. Since lithophane brightness is controlled by material thickness, not color intensity, the clustering is performed in HSV color space using the hue component only. For each color class, a corresponding grayscale shade map is generated, equilibrated, and normalized to the range [0,1]. This map later controls the local lithophane thickness, therefore the transmitted light (saturation and value). The following image shows the (slightly edited) original NASA blue marble image data, the clustered image and the equilibrated and normalized greyscale map.
Mesh generation follows the standard spherical lithophane workflow, with additional handling for multiple color classes. Prior to meshing, a 5 × 5 majority filter is applied to the clustered image to remove isolated pixel islands, which cannot be meshed reliably and would otherwise introduce holes. A separate mesh is then created for each color. Image pixels map to spherical coordinates (x→equator, y→meridian), with the grayscale values converted into radial offsets. Pixels not belonging to the active color class are left unchanged, resulting in locally degenerate regions that are resolved by a subsequent filtering step. Finally, the lower section of the sphere is removed to add a mounting thread.
The same workflow can be extended to a higher number of colors. These extensions are conceptually straightforward but currently limited by available hardware, as I only have access to a four-color printer. Nevertheless, my next projects are already determined: a 7 color earth lithophane (white, cyan, dark blue, light green, dark green, sand-brown, dark brown) and a 5-color political worldmap where no neighboring country shares the same color
Hardware Requirements
The four-color Earth lithophane is provided in two sizes: ⌀205 mm and ⌀150 mm. Both variants require a printer capable of printing with at least four distinct filaments. The lithophane lamps themselves will require around 300g of filament for the large lamp and around 150g for the smaller one.
From a technical standpoint, AMS-style multicolor printers can be used for these lithophane lamps. However, they are not an efficient choice for this kind of model. Due to the frequent color changes, there will be a substantial amount of purged waste. For the 205mm lamp, expect well over 1,000g of wasted filament.
For this reason, toolchanger or nozzle-changing systems such as Vortek, INDX, Prusa XL or Snapmaker U1 are strongly preferred.
The prototype prints shown here were produced on an AMS-style machine due to hardware availability at the time. The following image illustrates the amount of purge waste generated during a single ⌀205 mm print and should be taken into consideration before starting a print on such a system.
The lamps are mounted to their bases using a metric thread. Depending on the selected size, either an M75×4 or an M50×3 thread is used. The thread concept is based on the Lithophane Moon Lamp with wide Screw Base by The Quicksilver. I am providing multiple different base options for both thread options below.
Print Settings
I am providing print profiles with well tested settings. If you want to slice yourself, you should consider the following changes from the default settings:
Print in PLA or PLA+
Recommended layer height: 0.20 mm - 0.16 mm (for ⌀205) and 0.16 mm - 0.12 mm (for ⌀150)
Use the Arachne Perimeter Generator for more precise perimeter widths
If you use Arachne, set the minimum line width to 75% to avoid holes!
Set wall count to >15 to obtain a solid lamp
Set number of top layers to 10
Set seam position to aligned
Use an outer brim with a width of at least 10mm for both, print and prime tower
No Support required! The lamps print perfectly fine without support. All lamp bases come with in-built snap off supports (where required).
This will be a very long print with a lot of filament changes! Clean your build plate properly, use high-strength build plates and apply adhesives! I had two failing wipe towers during my prototyping. Each worth around 30€ of filament. Don't be me! Prepare your build plate properly!
Be aware, that slicing and printing may take a very long time. The STL files can take several minutes to slice.
This is not a SpeedBoatRace print! Use conservative print speed settings to avoid artefacts! It's totally fine if your print takes one or two days to finish.
Filament
The visual outcome of the lithophane depends strongly on filament translucency. Filaments of the same nominal color can differ substantially in light transmission depending on vendor, formulation, and finish. The models provided here are designed for materials that produce sufficient contrast over a wall-thickness range of approximately 0.8 mm to 1.8 mm.
Only a limited number of filaments could be tested, as each print requires four different colors and the associated material cost is high. The observations below should therefore be interpreted as preliminary. In general, matte filaments and many PLA+ variants tend to be too opaque for this application. Standard (non-matte) Basic PLA filaments performed best.
The following list contains filaments that I or other people tested and reported as suitable or unsuitable for this specific model.
Recommended Filaments |
| Unsuitable Filaments | ||||
Color | Vendor | Material |
| Color | Vendor | Material |
White | Sunlu | Basic PLA |
| Sand Brown | Bambulab | Matte PLA |
Green | Sunlu | Basic PLA |
| Cyan | Sunlu | Basic PLA |
Sand Brown | Sunlu | Basic PLA |
| White | Filament PM | PLA+ |
Cyan | Bambulab | Basic PLA |
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These observations do not imply that any filament is generally good or bad. The requirements here are unusually specific, as the visual effect relies on controlled light transmission through varying wall thicknesses rather than surface color alone.
If you print this model using other filaments, feedback is welcome. Reports of filaments that work well, work marginally, or are unsuitable will be collected and used to expand this table to support future users in their filament selection.
To support filament selection under these constraints, a flat lithophane test panel is provided. Printing this panel is strongly recommended before attempting a full lamp print, as it allows the optical properties of a filament to be evaluated with minimal material waste.
The left-hand section of the panel consists of regions with varying thickness, enabling a direct assessment of filament translucency and contrast. The right-hand section contains a small cutout of the Earth lithophane, providing a preview of the expected visual outcome for your material selection.
Note that the test panel is printed flat and therefore limited by the nozzle line width (typically 0.4 mm). As a result, fine details appear less precise than in the final spherical model. Despite this limitation, the panel is sufficient for judging whether a filament falls within the usable opacity range.
Lamp Bases
After printing your multi-color lithophane, you'll also need a Lamp Base to illuminate it. I am providing several different Lamp Bases, all with a M75x4 or M50x3 thread for lamps of 205 mm and 150 mm in diameter respectively.
Some lamp bases may use snap-off support. The supports look like small ring segments, tabs or cylinders that should be removable with very little force and should leave you with a good surface. They are only tested with PLA/PLA+ filament. Using other filaments may make support removal more difficult. Also your layer height should not exceed 0.2mm as this is the separation distance of the support objects.
E14/E27 Base | |
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A bit more involved, requires you to wire mains voltage and to use heat set inserts. More flexible, since you can use all sorts of bulbs. E14 Bases are available for both, the ⌀205mm and ⌀150mm version. The E27 base is only available for the ⌀205mm lamp. BOM:
Printed Parts: for ⌀150mm:
for ⌀205mm:
Assembly:
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Bambu Base | |
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This is the recommended Base option since it is the easiest and safest to assemble. No electrical skills or wiring mains voltage required. You can get the LED Kit on the BambuLab Shop or much cheaper on Aliexpress (recommended!)
BOM:
Printed Parts: for ⌀150mm:
for ⌀205mm:
Assembly:
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Rock Base | |
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This lamp base is based on the High Quality Rocks Asset by P_4_N_D_A. No electrical skills or wiring mains voltage required. You can get the LED Kit on the BambuLab Shop or much cheaper on Aliexpress (recommended!) BOM:
Printed Parts: for ⌀150mm:
for ⌀205mm:
Assembly:
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Other models
If you are interested in Lithophane lamps, consider checking out my other models. Click the links below for the respective models or check my profile.
Acknowledgements
A big shoutout and thanks to:
moonournation: to my knowledge, the Lithophane Moon Lamp OP, the original creator who came up with the idea.
The QuickSilver: to my knowledge, the first person to add a thread to the moon lamp
The NASA earth observatory program for providing the images I used for the lithophane creation
Changelog
14.12.2025 - initial upload
Tags
Model origin
The author marked this model as their own original creation.