Christmas Elf of You: example result
3D Printing template · free to try

Elf Yourself: A Christmas Elf Figurine From Your Photo

Turn your photo into a Christmas elf figurine

Try it with your photo
Free to try · takes about 2–3 min

Upload a normal photo. About 2–3 min later you download a Christmas elf figurine as STL or 3MF, ready to print. No 3D skills needed.

Try it

Try it with your photo

Turn your photo into a Christmas elf figurine. The prompts and settings are already done for you.

Christmas Elf of You: example result
Example 1 of 4
Who is in the photo?
Upload a photo
Style
BaseSnowy
ColoursOptionalRed & green
HoldingOptionalNothing
Quality
Lighting

The design's soft shading stays in the colours, so the model looks painted and finished, on screen and in a full-colour print.

~2–3 min · STL & 3MF · print it before Christmas · free to try

Examples

Made with this template

The photo in the corner of each one is what went in.

Toddler as a chibi elf with a candy cane
From a photo
Toddler as a chibi elf with a candy cane
Corgi elf on a pile of presents
From a photo
Corgi elf on a pile of presents
Grandma as a storybook elf with hot cocoa, no base
From a photo
Grandma as a storybook elf with hot cocoa, no base

Each example is an actual run of this template at Standard quality, made from a realistic sample photo.

How it works

From photos to file in about 2–3 min

Upload a photo, then wait while 2 AI steps run. Nothing to set up.

  1. 1
    You
    You add a photo

    1–5 photos of the same person or pet

  2. Image Studio2
    AI
    AI redraws your picture

    Image Studio (GPT Image 2.5 Flare) keeps the face, hair and look recognisable, re-draws the whole figure from head to toe in the style you picked, dresses it in an elf hat, pointed ears, a zigzag tunic, striped stockings and curly shoes, and keeps every part thick enough to print.

  3. Image to 3D3
    AI
    AI builds it in 3D

    Image to 3D (Prism 3.1) builds the figurine with Standard textures, so the felt, stripes and buckle stay crisp. High detail adds Detailed textures and Detailed geometry.

  4. STL 3MF OBJ
    4
    Yours
    You download the file

    As STL, 3MF or OBJ. You can use it however you like.

After the download

Print it at home or order it

Open the STL in your slicer, or upload it to a print service if you don't have a printer.

Fresh off your printer
On your shelf
Print it at home

Any FDM or resin printer works. Open the file in your slicer and press print.

No printer? Order it

Upload the STL to an online print service or a local print shop and get it delivered.

Give it as a gift

Birthdays, weddings, a thank-you for a teacher. Nobody else will have the same one.

Paint it

Print in grey and paint it, or print in colour if your printer can.

Behind the scenes

How this template works

Image Studio turns you, your kids or your pet into a recognizable Christmas elf as a full figurine design, then Image to 3D builds the model you print.

  1. 1
    Step 1 · Image Studio

    Turn them into an elf

    Image Studio (GPT Image 2.5 Flare) keeps the face, hair and look recognisable, re-draws the whole figure from head to toe in the style you picked, dresses it in an elf hat, pointed ears, a zigzag tunic, striped stockings and curly shoes, and keeps every part thick enough to print.

    GPT Image 2.5 Flare · low quality · 1K

    Open Image Studio
  2. 2
    Step 2 · Image to 3D

    Build the 3D model

    Image to 3D (Prism 3.1) builds the figurine with Standard textures, so the felt, stripes and buckle stay crisp. High detail adds Detailed textures and Detailed geometry.

    Prism 3.1 · Standard textures · Standard mesh · Soft shading

    Open Image to 3D

Do it yourself for more control

  • Describe your own twist in the Image Studio prompt: a Santa suit, reindeer antlers, a gingerbread costume.
  • Make the whole family as elves with the same style and colours for a matching set on the mantel.
  • Pick No base for a figure that stands on its own feet, or add your own plinth with Add Base.
The full guide
3D printed gift ideas

20 personal gifts for everyone on your list, from elves to lithophanes.

New here

What is 3D AI Studio?

3D AI Studio is a web app that makes 3D models, images and sounds with AI. It runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install.

A template is a saved recipe. It runs a fixed set of AI tools with settings we've already tested, so all you add is a photo or a sentence.

Runs in your browserPhone or computer
Inside this template
  1. Step 1
    Image Studio

    Edits and redraws pictures with AI image models.

  2. Step 2
    Image to 3D

    Turns a single picture into a textured 3D model.

Before you start

What you need

  • A photo from your phone
    1–5 photos of the same person or pet
  • 3D software or skills
    Not needed. It all happens in the browser
  • A 3D printer
    Optional. You can order the print online
  • A free account
    Sign up with Google or email
Free to try

Sign up for free and make your first one right away. Downloading the files is part of the paid plans.

StylizedDefault

Made like a premium designer vinyl collectible toy. Proportions: about three heads tall, the head about a third of the total height, a compact rounded body, short sturdy arms and legs, small rounded hands and shoes. Face: re-drawn in the toy style, not realistic: large painted eyes with a small painted white highlight, simple painted eyebrows, a small rounded nose, rosy painted cheeks and a big friendly smile, smooth even skin with no pores, wrinkles, stubble texture or photographic shading. Hair as a few big, soft, sculpted chunks that keep the hairstyle and hair colour; a beard or glasses become simple sculpted shapes. The outfit is simplified into clean chunky shapes with only the main folds. The same smooth satin vinyl finish on everything, skin and hair included.

Storybook

Made like a premium hand-carved and hand-painted collectible Christmas figurine from a storybook, like a classic illustrated elf brought to life. Proportions: gently stylized, about four heads tall, the head clearly larger than real. Face: a carved storybook character face, never a portrait or a real person's face: almond-shaped painted eyes with a dark pupil and one small highlight, simple painted eyebrows, a small round button nose, painted rosy cheeks and a sweet closed-mouth smile; the skin is one smooth, even, matte painted tone with soft painted blush and no realistic skin detail, pores, wrinkles or photo lighting at all. Their likeness comes through the face shape, hairstyle, hair colour and features, simplified the way a figurine carver would. Hair sculpted into big defined locks in its real colour. The outfit has crisp sculpted folds, visible felt and knit textures and stitched seams. Warm, rich festive colours and a smooth satin painted finish.

Chibi

Made like an extremely cute super-deformed chibi collectible. Proportions: about 2.5 heads tall, the head as large as the whole body (around 45% of the total height), a tiny rounded body, very short stubby arms and legs, small round mitten-like hands and small rounded shoes. Face: huge round sparkling eyes filling about a third of the face with big painted highlights, a tiny dot nose, a small happy mouth and soft rosy blush on the cheeks. Hair in big, soft, rounded chunks that keep the hairstyle and colour. The outfit simplified to its main shapes with no small details or wrinkles. Bright, clean colours and a smooth soft satin PVC finish, kawaii and adorable.

Porcelain

Made like a hand-painted bisque porcelain Christmas figurine, like a classic collectible porcelain doll. Proportions: gentle and rounded, about three and a half heads tall, the head clearly larger than real. Face: a simplified, stylized porcelain doll face sculpted from the same smooth creamy porcelain as the rest of the figure, never a real person's face: small softly painted eyes with a tiny highlight, delicate painted eyebrows, a tiny rounded nose, soft painted rosy cheeks and a small gentle smile, with no photographic skin, pores or photo lighting. Hair sculpted into soft smooth porcelain waves, painted in its real colour. The outfit has soft rounded folds, with fine hand-painted gold accents on the trim, buckle and pom-pom. Soft, slightly muted versions of the outfit colours on a creamy white porcelain body, with a smooth satin porcelain finish.

Your download

The files you get

STLThe standard file for 3D printers.

Open it in a slicer such as Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer or Cura, then press print.

3MFA newer print file that also keeps size and colours.

Best for Bambu Lab and Prusa printers.

OBJA universal 3D file with its colour texture.

Opens in Blender and almost every 3D app.

Best results

Which photo to use

A photo like this works
  • One clearly visible subject works best; crop out other people if you can.
  • A full-body photo helps, but a selfie is fine: the pose and body are reconstructed.
  • Daylight beats flash: even light keeps colours true.

Good to know: The hat tip, ears and shoe curls are kept thick so they print; very fine details like individual bells or lace come out simplified.

MCP connector

Run this template from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Connect the 3D AI Studio MCP to your AI assistant and paste the brief into the chat. It runs the same steps with the same prompts and settings, shows you the result in the conversation and saves it to your library.

Subject
Style
Base
Colours
Holding
  1. Connect the MCP once in your account settings. It's included in every paid plan.
  2. Copy the brief.
  3. Paste it into a new chat. Your assistant opens an upload card for your photo, then runs every step.
Tools it calls
upload_imageedit_image_gptgenerate_prism_3_1convert_modelget_generationshow_generation
Chat brief · Christmas Elf of You
Use the 3D AI Studio MCP to run the "Christmas Elf of You" template (https://www.3daistudio.com/templates/elf-yourself-figurine) for me.

My photo(s): I'll hand them over when you call upload_image.
Subject: Person
Style: Stylized
Base: Snowy
Colours: Red & green
Holding: Nothing

Follow these steps in order. The prompts and settings are the template's own, so use them word for word.

1. Get my photos
Call upload_image with purpose "Photo for the Christmas Elf of You template" so I can hand them over (images attached in the chat don't reach the MCP). I can upload up to 5 photos of the same subject; use all of them.

2. Turn them into an elf
Call edit_image_gpt with my uploaded photo(s) in images, quality "low", output_format "png" and this prompt:
"""
The reference photo(s) show one person; that person is the subject. Keep them instantly recognisable through what identifies them: face shape, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth and smile, hairstyle and hair colour, skin tone, glasses, beard or freckles, and their outfit with its colours and patterns. Their real body proportions do NOT carry over: head size, body, arms and legs follow the style below exactly, even where that is far from the photo. Do NOT copy the face from the photo: re-create the whole head, face, hair and neck from scratch in exactly the same style, material, level of detail, lighting and colour grading as the rest of the character, as if one artist made the entire character at once. The head sits naturally on the body at the character's proportions, with no photographic skin texture, no photo lighting, no visible seam, edge or colour shift at the neck, and no head that looks pasted on. Their own clothes are replaced by the elf outfit described below; only their face, hair and look carry over. If several photos are provided they all show the same subject from different angles or moments: merge them into ONE consistent figure and pick the clearest features. The photos may be cropped or show only the face or upper body: reconstruct the COMPLETE body anyway, from the top of the head to the feet or paws, including legs, feet, shoes, tail and all limbs, complete and believable at the proportions of the requested style, matching everything visible. Never crop, cut off or hide any part of the body, never show a bust or half figure, and do not leave anything outside the frame. Style: Turn them into a recognizable, stylized Christmas elf. Generate the complete figure, including head and body. Made like a premium designer vinyl collectible toy. Proportions: about three heads tall, the head about a third of the total height, a compact rounded body, short sturdy arms and legs, small rounded hands and shoes. Face: re-drawn in the toy style, not realistic: large painted eyes with a small painted white highlight, simple painted eyebrows, a small rounded nose, rosy painted cheeks and a big friendly smile, smooth even skin with no pores, wrinkles, stubble texture or photographic shading. Hair as a few big, soft, sculpted chunks that keep the hairstyle and hair colour; a beard or glasses become simple sculpted shapes. The outfit is simplified into clean chunky shapes with only the main folds. The same smooth satin vinyl finish on everything, skin and hair included. Elf outfit, replacing their own clothes: a pointed elf hat with a thick folded brim and a round pom-pom on its tip, the tip bending over and resting against the side of the hat; a belted tunic with a zigzag hem and a zigzag collar; a wide belt with a big square buckle; striped stockings; and chunky elf shoes with short, thick, curled-up toes. Small, thick pointed elf ears poke out from the hair under the hat. Their face, hairstyle, hair colour, glasses or beard stay clearly recognisable. Colours: the classic Christmas elf palette: a rich red tunic with green zigzag trim, a green hat with a white brim and a white pom-pom, red-and-white striped stockings, green shoes and a golden buckle and bell, on the parts the outfit has. Pose: a cheerful standing pose facing the camera, feet together, arms held slightly away from the body, beaming. Transform the subject into a single Christmas elf figurine, cheerful, warm and festive, standing on a round flat base covered in soft, thick sculpted snow. The face stays fully visible under the hat. The entire figure visible from the pom-pom on the hat to the bottom of the base with generous empty margin, perfectly centered, frontal full-body view, nothing cropped. Chunky sturdy shapes with no thin fragile parts: the hat tip, the pointed ears, any bell and the curled shoe toes are thick, rounded and firmly attached, and nothing sticks out on its own. Isolated on a seamless pure white (#FFFFFF) background, soft even studio lighting, no shadows on the background, no text. Most important: the whole figure, head and face included, is one recognizable Christmas elf in exactly the stylized look described above, as one consistent physical object made by one artist. The face must not look like a photo or a realistic photographed face: it is re-drawn in the same style, proportions, finish and colours as the outfit, with no photographic part anywhere. Light and surfaces: soft, even, diffuse studio light from the front, and at most a soft satin sheen: no mirror-like gloss, no bright white hot spots or glare, and no reflections of lights, windows or surroundings.
"""

3. Build the 3D model
Call generate_prism_3_1 with the task_id of the image from step 2 in images, texture_model "3.5", texture_quality "standard", geometry_quality "standard", pbr false, lighting_removal false.

4. Export
Export it for printing: call convert_model on the 3D model with output_format "3mf" (or "stl" if I ask for it), plus max_size and unit "cm" if I gave you a print size.

After each generation call, keep polling get_generation with its task_id until it completes, then show me the result with show_generation before you start the next step.

Or automate it with the API

The same tools are available through the 3D AI Studio API. Call them from your own code to make hundreds at once, build them into your app or run them in your pipeline.

Christmas Elf of You: questions & answers

3D AI Studio is a web app that makes 3D models, images and sounds with AI. It runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install. A template is a saved recipe. It runs a fixed set of AI tools with settings we've already tested, so all you add is a photo or a sentence.

Yes. Upload a photo and the template turns you into a Christmas elf with an elf hat, pointed ears, a zigzag tunic and curly shoes, keeping your face and hair recognisable. Then download the STL or 3MF and print it.

Yes. Kids work like any person. For an animal pick Pet: it gets an elf hat, a collar with a bell and a little tunic, and keeps its breed and markings.

Yes. Pick No base under Base and the elf stands on its own flat-soled feet. Snowy, Gift pile and Plain bases are there too.

Stylized, Storybook, Chibi and Porcelain, all available to everyone. Colours (classic red and green, candy cane, frost, green and gold) and a held prop are optional settings.

10–15 cm is a good size for a shelf or mantel, 6–8 cm for a stocking stuffer.

Sign up for free and make your first one right away. Downloading the files is part of the paid plans.

Turn your photo into a Christmas elf figurine

Try it with your photo
Free to try · takes about 2–3 min
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