Carveco AI: What Images Work Well for the Image to Relief Feature

Carveco's Image to Relief feature can turn almost any image into a 3D relief — a photo, a painting, a sketch, even a rough doodle. The real question isn't “is this a good image?” It's “what result am I after, and which model gets me there?”

With Fidelity and Forge, you have a direct choice between staying true to your source image or having it reworked into something more carving-ready. The quick guide below covers the essentials — read on afterwards for a closer look at your specific subject and image type.

Quick Guide

• Well-lit and in focus — the clearer your image, the more detail the relief can pick up.
• Your subject fills the frame — close-up and centred works better than a small subject in a wide shot.
• Facing forward or in profile — this translates into a relief more precisely than an angled shot.

Note: This is a starting point, not a hard rule — both models can surprise you, so it's worth trying both on the same source.

Size & Resolution

• Minimum: 250 × 250 px
• Recommended maximum file size: around 10MB
• Supported Image Formats: JPEG and PNG — larger images are automatically resized down

Your Subject

A few general rules of thumb apply no matter what you're carving:

• A well-lit, close-up image of your subject works best, with no shadows or overexposure hiding detail.
• A subject facing forward or in profile creates the best results, since a relief has no undercuts and an angled subject won't translate quite as precisely. It'll still produce a good relief, but the effect becomes more noticeable the deeper the carving.
• The closer your subject is to the camera, the more detail comes through, since the relief is built from the pixels available. For the best result on a specific subject, crop or isolate it so it fills more of the image.
• A solid-colour background is ideal, though busy backgrounds can still work — they may just add distracting depth. The Background Removal toggle offers a one-click way to isolate your subject if you'd rather not crop.

Fidelity reproduces what's there accurately, giving a true-to-life result. Forge interprets it into something more stylised.

Where the source has real flaws — heavy blur, overexposure, deep shadow — Fidelity carries them through faithfully, while Forge looks past them and reconstructs the detail it can't directly see.

Tip: Nature, textures, patterns and landscapes are especially good for building out a personal Relief Clipart Library, ready to drop into future projects.

Type of Source Image

Beyond subject matter, the condition and clarity of your source image also shapes which model suits it best — whether that's an old photograph, a piece of art, or a scan of a printed photo.

Fidelity generally mends light damage, but heavier damage — a bigger rip or tear — tends to carry through into the relief. Forge reads through it either way and fills in the missing detail.

If your source has visible brushstrokes or an artistic finish, Fidelity keeps that texture, while Forge smooths it into a clean, sculpted form.

Old Photographs

A great way to make a memory last, immortalised as a physical carving.

Cartoons & Graphic Designs

Clean outlines and flat colours give bold, graphic reliefs, and photo-realistic cartoons work well too, producing a deep three-dimensional result.

Artwork

A piece of art carries through beautifully, with proportions and shading reproduced faithfully.

Sketches, Doodles & Line Art

Sketches, doodles, and line art are where Forge really comes into its own, taking flat lines and turning them into a fully sculpted, three-dimensional form.

Fidelity copies the doodle faithfully, while Forge builds it into a fully sculpted, three-dimensional character.

Early Draft

Shading, proportion, and form are already worked out by hand, just not finished. Forge builds on what's there, turning it into a fully dimensional form.

Rough Sketch

Basic proportions, little to no shading. Forge fills in the gaps — texture, form, depth — based on limited input.

Child's Doodle

No shading, no real proportion — an extra eye, an oversized grin, wonky limbs — just enthusiasm on paper. Forge imagines the rest — fur, folds, a fully sculpted character — while keeping the doodle's charm intact.

Final Tips

There's no wrong image — almost any source can become a relief. It comes down to matching the model to what you're trying to achieve: clean and faithful, or reworked and carve-ready, is a creative choice rather than a technical requirement.

Not sure which model's right for your image? Try both. Generate with Fidelity, generate with Forge, save both to your Relief Clipart Library, and compare them side by side in a project.

Don't be afraid to experiment — the more familiar you get with the tools, the better you'll understand how to get the result you're after.