Lithophanes are typically printed vertically apparently. My first initial attempts were printed horizontally on the printing bed, so the question arose ''What's the difference?''
Through a little research, apparently the 3D printer reads color gradients much differently depending on position. Which is weird.
Ok bear with me. I went to test this out myself. First of all, considering you don't have a 3D printer that can print in multiple colors, the system will automatically convert all color into a black-and-white gradient. The darker the color, the less light will come through the spot, so the BLACKS will be thicker layers, while the WHITES will be thinner.
I first used a website to convert these gradients into 3D for me (this one for future generations), then I learned you can literally just take your picture and drop it into the CURA slicer, and it converts it automatically! technology is great
I later learned it's possible to choose the ''type'' of gradient by using editing programs like Photoshop ( or Photopea. It's great, too), so you can correct which of the shapes and colors you want to stand out more and THEN throw it into Cura.
Of course depending on the printing resolution you might loose some of the picture's charm. It's still cool, though.
Anyway, here are some examples. This picture was printed horizontally on the bed. Looking at it up-close, you can see that the picture is made out of layers.
Theoretically, this is how the machine read all the tones on the picture printing horizontally
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