Design a photo product and approve your proof

1. Choose the product and learn the two views

Choose Product & shape, then a Finish & presentation option if the shop offers one. Read the availability message and the displayed dimensions. For products with more than one engraving face, choose the face you want to work on before adding artwork.

Open 3D studio and choose View product to orbit the object. Drag to turn it and use the wheel or a pinch gesture to zoom. Keyboard controls support arrow-key rotation, plus/minus zoom and Home to reset the view. Viewing changes the camera; it does not move a photograph. Choose Move, Rotate or Size to adjust the selected artwork directly on the product. Choose Add text to open the message field. After you enter a message, use Select text to work with that lettering.

Choose Flat layout to position the photo and lettering in the flat editing area. Use the safe margin as a placement guide. A crystal photograph remains a flat internal artwork plane even when you orbit the transparent product. A 3D print model product has its own model controls and does not offer photo-to-model conversion.

2. Upload photographs and select a layer

Choose Upload / replace selected photo and select a JPEG or PNG that you have permission to use. The editor displays the current server upload limit. A transparent PNG can preserve a prepared cutout. Use Add photo to make another layer when the product allows it.

For a logo or isolated subject, start with clean original artwork when available. A photograph of a design printed on fabric also includes the fabric texture, shadows and background. Both JPEG and PNG work; converting the same noisy photograph to PNG does not restore missing detail. This upload accepts images, not 3D models or sliced printer jobs. See which file goes where.

Select a layer before editing it; adjustments apply to that selected image. Use the layer order controls to place one photo in front of another. For a heart composition, you might place one portrait high on the left, another high on the right and the children below, then rotate and resize each layer individually.

3. Move, rotate and flip the selected photo

In Flat layout, drag the selected image into place and use its handles to resize or rotate it. Open Adjust photo for precise Zoom, Horizontal position, Vertical position and Rotation controls. Fit whole photo keeps the full image visible; Fill the area fills the available area and may crop part of the image.

Use Flip horizontally to mirror left and right, or Flip vertically to turn top and bottom. These are independent choices and can be combined with rotation. Check recognizable faces, lettering already inside a photo and directional objects after mirroring.

Choose Send backward or Bring forward to change overlap. Remove selected layer deletes that layer from the design. Undo and Redo help correct recent changes. Close the adjustment panel with Done or Escape to return to the main editor.

4. Remove a plain background when appropriate

In the selected layer adjustment panel, enable Remove the edge-connected background. Start with the default Background tolerance and increase it gradually if a similar-colored border remains. The original upload is retained; disabling the option restores the untreated background.

This tool removes border-connected areas with a similar plain color. It does not recognize a person or separate every complex scene. A subject that touches the edge and shares the background color can lose detail. For a textured room, trees or difficult hair edges, prepare a transparent PNG in an image editor and upload that result.

In Adjust photo, use Artwork treatment and Contrast to refine the selected image. Start with small changes and compare the result in Flat layout. Extra contrast can lose pale details or dark shadows, so keep the original visible for comparison when possible.

A crystal preview shows monochrome engraving with a sampled point pattern, so it does not reproduce the source colors and can show less fine detail than the saved artwork reference. Inspect both the 3D proof and Inspect the saved 2D artwork reference before approval. A browser preview does not predict every detail of a finished engraving or supply a machine-ready file.

5. Add lettering and shop-provided artwork

Choose Add text to open Your message, or type directly into that field. Enter your words before arranging them. Once a message exists, the action becomes Select text; choose it, then use Move, Rotate or Size in the 3D studio. Switching back to View product turns the object without changing your text.

Open Placement & lettering for precise font, alignment, size, position and rotation controls. Stay within the shop’s character and line limits. Read names and dates carefully, keep the lettering away from faces and the product edge, and inspect the saved proof after arranging it.

Open Shop artwork & frame backgrounds to use choices the merchant has enabled. Some crystal products also offer Stock 3D model inside crystal. An optional material appearance image is a visual reference only; it does not change the physical material or price of the product you buy.

6. Save and return to your design

Choose Save design and wait for the saved confirmation before reloading or leaving the page. If saving fails, keep the page open and read the error. Your unsaved editor changes may still be available to correct and retry.

Saved designs can be reopened from Your saved designs in the same browser session. A matching most-recent design can restore automatically when you return. This is not a cross-device account library: clearing cookies, using another browser or waiting beyond the session/retention window can affect access. Save and complete your order within the shop’s stated time.

7. Inspect and approve the saved proof

Choose Review proof and inspect every face. For crystal artwork, rotate the 3D proof and also open Inspect the saved 2D artwork reference to examine the full saved crop and text. White in that saved engraving reference represents no etching. The 3D point view is a visual preview, not a calibrated laser program.

If anything is wrong, return to editing, make the change, save again and review the new proof. When the saved version is correct, choose Approve this design. That records the reviewed version. Approval by itself does not place an order or start a machine.

8. Add the approved design to your order

If the shop has ordering available, add the approved design to the cart and continue through its checkout. To buy a second copy with different artwork, choose Personalize another copy, create and approve that design, and add it separately.

When editing a design already in the cart, finish saving and approving the replacement before replacing the cart design. Review the final product, options, price and delivery information at checkout. The shop checks current stock and availability there; an earlier saved design is not a stock reservation.

Continue the walkthrough

Understand crystal and 3D model products · Get help with an editor problem

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