# Making layered mountain terrain art with the Topography preset > stacked elevation contours of any terrain, the classic layered topo art This preset turns a mountain range into stacked elevation contours: sixteen layers stepping from 1400 m up to 2900 m, with water and a dark backplate underneath. Cut from thin sheets it becomes true 3D relief art; printed it becomes a one-piece terrain model. It loads on the peaks around Banff and works anywhere with serious vertical. ## What you need ### Laser cutting - Up to 16 contour sheets - use *thin* stock so the stack stays reasonable: 1.5–2 mm [laser-grade plywood](https://yxecreations.com/collections/laser-grade-plywood), chipboard, or matboard (3 mm works but the stack gets ~50 mm tall) - One sheet for the backplate (dark stain or paint, `#1f2937` charcoal in the preset) and optionally blue for water - Laser cutter, plenty of glue, weights, patience ### 3D printing - FDM printer, single-color PLA (white or stone gray looks great) or multicolor via 3MF - 3MF-capable slicer ### UV print / sublimation - High-res PNG, flat blank - the flat render reads as a stylized contour poster ## Step 1 - Start from the preset Open [the Topography preset](/map-designer?preset=topography). It loads near Banff at zoom ~11.9 - a valley-to-summit window. Search your mountain and keep zoom around 11.5–12.5: wide enough that the contour rings nest into satisfying terraces, tight enough that each 100 m step is visible. Important: the preset's elevation bands run 1400–2900 m. If your terrain sits lower or higher (say, the Smokies or the Himalaya), retune the per-layer elevations in Step 2 or most layers will come out empty. ## Step 2 - Tune the layers - **Topography 2900m down to Topography 1400m** - sixteen topography layers at 100 m intervals. Each renders the terrain above its elevation as a plate. Check the preview: layers that show nothing (elevation above your peak) should be deleted, and if big areas show no terracing, add or shift elevations to bracket your terrain. Fewer, well-chosen layers (8–10) often look better than all 16. - **Water** - Solid mode, `#4EA8DE`. Mountain lakes and rivers sit just above the backplate, so they appear in the valley floors. - **Backplate** - `#1f2937` dark slate. The lowest "ground" visible in valleys. Prefer a flat engraved map over stacked plates? Each topography layer (or the whole group, via Edit) now has a **Score** export type alongside Fill and Solid line - set it to mark the contours as thin engraved lines on a single sheet. The [Topo Score Lines preset](/map-designer?preset=topo-score-lines) ships that way ready to go. ## Step 3 - Export - **Laser:** per-layer SVG ZIP - sixteen-plus files, one per sheet. Small-polygon cleanup is essential here: high elevations produce tiny outlier islands that are ungluable. Hide any empty elevation layers with the visibility toggles before export. - **3D printing:** STL or 3MF - the stack becomes a stepped terrain model automatically. - **UV print:** high-res PNG for the flat contour-poster look. ## Laser Cutting & Engraving ### Laser cutting 1. Label everything. With this many layers, write the elevation on the back of each sheet as it comes off the laser. 2. Cut the **Backplate**, then **Water**, then contours bottom-up: 1400 m, 1500 m, … 2900 m. 3. Dry-fit the full stack before any glue. Nested contour rings only fit one way - confirm the registration against the on-screen preview. 4. Glue one layer at a time, aligning each ring against the printed reference. Weight between layers if your stock wants to curl. [3M tape](https://yxecreations.com/collections/3m-tape) 300LSE between layers skips the drying time entirely (467 or 468 if you cut acrylic). 5. Finish: a light coat of matte clear unifies mixed sheet edges; or paint the top few layers white for snowcaps. ## 3D Printing ### 3D printing 1. Export the STL - the sixteen elevation steps merge into one stepped terrain mesh. The 3MF version carries per-layer colors if you want banded hypsometric tints. 2. Print flat, no supports. 0.12–0.16 mm layer heights make the contour steps crisp. 3. Scale to 150 mm+; tiny high-elevation islands disappear below that (run cleanup at export to remove them deliberately). ## UV & Sublimation Printing ### UV print / sublimation 1. Export the high-res PNG - the flat stack renders as a tinted contour map. 2. Print on matte hardboard or press onto a metal panel; the dark `#1f2937` ground makes lighter bands pop. ## Make it yours - Great subjects: Banff/Canmore (the default range), Chamonix, the Tetons, Yosemite's walls, your local ski hill. - Retune the band: 100 m steps from the valley floor of *your* mountain - e.g., 600–2100 m for the Alps' mid ranges. - Hypsometric palette via 3MF: greens low (`#4C7A4C`), tans mid (`#C2A878`), white above 2600 m. - Ski-run gift: add a route layer tracing the favorite descent over the contours. - Halve the layer count (200 m steps) for a faster, bolder version that still reads as terrain. - Use clear [acrylic](https://yxecreations.com/pages/acrylic-sheets) for every layer - a ghost mountain you can see through. - Swap the backplate to `#4EA8DE` blue for coastal mountains so the sea reads as water at 0 m. --- Open the tool: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/topography Read online: https://www.mylasertools.com/learn/guides/topography