11/5/26

Meshy turns any photo into a 3D relief for printing

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The 3D model generation service Meshy can now turn an ordinary photo into a relief: a dimensional image with a flat back which, according to the company, is convenient to print and display. The company announced the feature on November 5, 2026, and said it is available to all users.

The regular Image to 3D in Meshy reconstructs a full volumetric model from a photo. The new feature solves a narrower task: the output is a relief on a flat base. This will probably eliminate the manual preparation of having to trim and level a generated volumetric model for printing.

Two modes for different pieces

The process in the company's post comes down to three steps. The user uploads a photo, picks a relief mode and exports the model. There are two modes:

Low Relief — for tags;
High Relief — for sculptures.

"Choose Low Relief for tags, High Relief for sculptures."

That is how Meshy described the choice of mode in its post. The export, according to the company, comes "in high detail" with a flat back that is convenient for printing and display. The company sums up the operating principle briefly: what you see in the photo is what you get in the model. As an example, Meshy suggests turning a pet photo into a keepsake you can hold in your hands.

The company does not specify the file format, the mesh resolution or the physical size of the export. Nor is it known whether the model needs refinement before printing or CNC milling.

"Available to everyone" and the plan terms

Meshy has not yet named the cost of a single relief generation in credits. For reference: in the credits guide, regular Image to 3D costs 10 credits on the Meshy 6 Lite model, 20 on Meshy 7.1 and Meshy 6, and 25 in Ultra 2K and Ultra 4K modes. The free plan gives 100 credits per month.

For those planning to print reliefs for sale, the download and license terms matter more. According to the plan comparison, the free plan does not provide for downloading models, and the assets created are distributed under the CC BY 4.0 license, which permits commercial use with attribution. Full commercial rights are included in all paid plans:

Pro — $20 per month, 1000 credits, a queue of up to 10 tasks;
Premium — $40 per month, 3000 credits, a queue of up to 30 tasks;
Ultra — $100 per month, 8000 credits, a queue of up to 100 tasks.

On paid plans models can be kept private. For new Pro, Premium and Ultra subscribers the first month costs half as much. Meshy does not separately explain whether the Free plan's restrictions apply to reliefs. Judging by the general plan rules, you can try the feature for free, but downloading the file will most likely require a subscription.

Who will find this useful

The most obvious audience is makers and small workshops that print commemorative plaques, tokens, medallions and custom gifts. Normally a bas-relief from a photo is sculpted by hand in a sculpting package or assembled from a height map; here that chain comes down to uploading a single photo. For 3D modelers and sculptors the feature may serve as a quick draft of the composition, which is then refined by hand.

The main limitation follows from the company's own words: the result repeats the source photo. For regular Image to 3D, Meshy advises using a sharp frontal image on a simple background and accepts PNG, JPG and WEBP files up to 20 MB. Presumably, for a relief too a good shot with a single subject will give a better result than a group photo or an image with a cluttered background. The company does not specify how the feature handles portraits, animal fur and lettering.

Which Meshy mode would you choose for printing?