Frequently asked questions

Last updated: November 5, 2026

The short version. Pick an object and a style, render pictures of it, and turn the ones you love into STL files you can 3D print. Renders and 3D models cost credits; browsing and design ideas are free. We keep a copy of every picture you render. Each STL file stays downloadable for 90 days.

Getting started

What is Podder?

Podder is a design tool for 3D printing. You choose an object (a planter, a dragon, a pendant, a sacred-geometry solid), a shape, a style and a color palette. Podder writes the design, an AI renders a picture of it, and you can turn any picture into a printable STL file. We don't print or ship anything; you print it yourself.

Can I try it without an account?

Yes. The first time you render, Podder starts a free trial with 10 credits, which is 10 Fast renders. No email is needed.

What do I get for making an account?

50 free credits: enough for 50 Fast renders or one 3D model. If you started on a trial, your trial credits stay, so you'd have 60 in total. An account also lets your favorites and history follow you to other browsers and devices.

How do I sign in?

With your email and a password, or choose Email me a sign-in link instead to sign in without a password. If you forget your password, use Forgot password? on the sign-in screen. You can change it later from the profile menu (top right).

Making designs

How do I make a design?

Pick a category and an object, or search for one ("owl", "mermaid", "vase").
Optionally open Shape & style to choose the silhouette, the style mix (Style DNA), the exact motifs and how weird it gets.
Pick a palette, a finish (Vivid like a matte print, or Glossy like silk PLA or resin), the orientation and the image shape.
Click ✦ Generate. You get design cards: written ideas, free to make as many as you like.
Click 🖼 Render on a card to turn it into a picture. This is the step that costs credits.

What's the difference between Fast and Quality?

⚡ Fast renders a picture in about 10 seconds for 1 credit. It's good for exploring. ✦ Quality uses a larger, more detailed image model, takes about 30 seconds and costs 4 credits. Use it for designs you plan to keep or print. Switch between them with the toggle next to Generate.

What does "Weirdness" do?

It sets how far the style reshapes the object. Subtle keeps a recognisable, practical shape with light decoration. Moderate is the default. Heavy lets the style take over, which gives more sculptural results that can be harder to wear or print.

What do "Surprise me" and the 🔓 locks do?

🎲 Surprise me gives each design its own random object, shape, style and colors from the current category. Lock any choice (🔓 → 🔒) to keep it while everything else changes. For example, lock the palette to get random objects that all share your colors.

What are the buttons under a picture?

Once a design has a picture, its buttons are grouped under it: Make more (More like this, Apply design), Print it (Make 3D or Download STL) and Keep (Favorite, Save image, Share, Report bad render).

What do "More like this", "Apply design" and "Reroll" do?

🔄 More like this renders variations of a picture you already have, shown right under it.
✨ Apply design to other objects takes the look of one picture and renders it once on a different object, such as a vase's glaze on a dragon.
🎲 Reroll (on a favorite) makes a fresh batch of random designs in the same style DNA. Rerolled designs are free ideas; you choose which to render.

Can I make a matching chess set?

Yes. Pick the ♟️ Chess category, choose a theme (Undead, Viking, Ocean, Clockwork and more; every theme exists for all six pieces), and click ♟ Generate full set. You get the King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook and Pawn with the same theme, motifs and colours, and one button to render all six. Already have a piece you like? ♟ Complete the set under its picture renders the other five to match it.

Each piece's STL comes out at a matching size: King about 80 mm tall, Queen 72, Bishop 64, Knight 58, Rook 52 and Pawn 44, so a set stands right on a board. Sizes are measured on each piece's longest side, so an unusually wide piece (a long-necked dinosaur queen, say) can come out a little shorter than its set-mates; scale it up in your slicer if it matters to you.

How many pictures does one click make?

The How many designs per click slider (1 to 6, default 3) sets it for Generate and More like this. Apply design always makes one picture. Each picture is a render and costs credits, so check the slider before you click. The button shows the total cost.

What is Auto-render?

Normally Generate gives you free design cards and nothing renders until you click Render. With ⚡ Auto-render on (profile menu), Generate and Surprise me render every design straight away. It's quicker, but every design costs credits.

Can I stop renders that are running?

⏹ Stop all stops waiting for them. Renders that were already sent still finish on the server and are still charged.

Credits and prices

What does everything cost?

What	Credits
⚡ Fast render	1
✦ Quality render	4
🧊 3D model (STL file)	50
Browsing, design ideas, favorites, history, rerolls, the Design book, Price a print	Free

Prices in the app are always the current ones; the 🏷 Prices page in the profile menu shows them.

How do I buy credits?

Click Buy credits. Payment is handled by Stripe; we never see your card number.

Pack	Credits	Price
Starter	150	$5
Standard	500	$15
Studio	1,500	$40

Do credits expire?

No. Credits never expire. They can't be exchanged for money or moved to another account, and they're lost if you delete your account.

What if a render or 3D model fails?

If it fails on our side, the credits go back to your balance automatically. That includes 3D models that fail after you've closed the page.

What if a render comes out wrong?

If a picture is clearly wrong (not the object you picked, several objects, an item drawn into it, a part floating loose or badly malformed, or a broken image), click ⚠ Report bad render under it within 24 hours. An automated reviewer compares it with what you asked for and refunds it if it failed. You can report up to 3 renders a day. A refunded picture is removed and can't be made into a 3D model.

Results you simply don't like aren't refunded, because every AI result is different. See the Terms for the details.

Where can I see what I've spent?

Open 🧾 Credit history in the profile menu for every render, 3D model, purchase and refund.

Saving your work

Are my pictures saved?

Yes. Every picture you render, including on a free trial, is saved on our servers at full resolution, as well as in your browser. If your browser clears its storage, or you open Podder somewhere else, the picture loads from our copy. We keep your pictures for as long as you have an account.

Pictures rendered before November 5, 2026 were only kept in the browser they were made in.

What are Favorites and History?

Click ☆ on any design to add it to ★ Favorites. ↺ History is a log of every picture you've rendered (the latest 300 in this browser). When you're signed in, both are saved to your account and follow you to other browsers and devices. On a trial they stay in this browser only, so create an account (profile menu → Save my work) to keep them.

How do I download a picture?

Click ⬇ Save image under it. In Chrome and Edge on a computer, the first save opens a folder picker: choose a folder and pictures go straight into it, sorted into subfolders by object type, or press Cancel to download normally. Switch any time with 📁 Save pictures to in the profile menu. Other browsers download the file normally.

How do I share a design?

Click 🔗 Share under a picture you've rendered. Podder makes a public page for it, with the picture, what it is and a link to try Podder, and copies the link (on a phone, it opens your share menu). Paste it anywhere: the link shows a preview of your design. Sharing the same picture again gives the same link. Anyone with the link can see that picture, nothing else from your account. To take a link down, email support@podder.dev, or delete your account.

Does clearing my browser data delete my work?

It deletes the copy in that browser, but not your account, credits, or the copies of your pictures and STL files we keep. Sign back in and your favorites and history come back.

3D models and STL files

How do I turn a picture into a 3D model?

Click 🧊 Make 3D under any rendered picture. It costs 50 credits and takes a minute or two. When it's ready, the STL file downloads on its own and the model is added to 🧊 My 3D models.

What do I get?

An STL file about 80 mm on its longest side, standing on its base and centered. Resize it in your slicer. Files are named after the design, like Vase_Pinecone_feathered_pastel.stl, so a folder of downloads is easy to tell apart.

An STL holds the shape only, with no color. The colors in the picture are a preview of how it could look once printed or painted.

How long can I download my STL file?

90 days from when you make the model. Download it as often as you like during that time, for free; each card in My 3D models shows the date to download it by. After 90 days we delete the STL file to keep storage costs down. Your picture stays, and you can make it into a 3D model again for the normal price.

Save a copy of any STL you want to keep long term.

What if I close the page while my model is being made?

That's fine. Podder finishes the model on its own and saves the STL file within about half an hour, so you'll find it in My 3D models next time. If the model fails, the credits are refunded automatically.

The download says the file has expired. What now?

The 90 days are up (or it's a model from before November 5, 2026, when files were only kept for about a week). Find the picture in Favorites or History and click 🧊 Make 3D again.

Will it print?

Usually, with some help. The model is an AI reconstruction of the picture: thin spikes, horns, wings and overhangs print best with supports, and fine detail or hidden back sides may come out differently. On a multi-material printer, a dissolvable support material such as PVA under fragile parts gives the cleanest result. Check the file in your slicer before printing.

Are the objects functional, or decorative?

Podder makes the outside shape of what's in the picture. It can't create hidden insides, so everything prints solid: a carved pumpkin is a decoration, not a hollow lantern, and the holiday topper stands on its own base rather than sliding onto a tree. Open shapes whose inside shows in the picture, like dishes, trays and vases, keep their opening.

How do I hang wall art?

Masks, plaques and mounted heads are made to sit flat against a wall, but the back is reconstructed by AI and may not be perfectly flat. Sand it lightly if needed, then glue on a picture hanger or use a removable adhesive hook.

What size are tabletop pieces?

Miniature bases come out 32 mm across. Scenery is sized for 28–32 mm miniatures, piece by piece: a gravestone or campfire about 30 mm, a well about 40 mm, a tree about 80 mm.

Printing what you make

Will I need to finish the print?

Most prints need some cleanup: removing supports, sanding, drilling out holes that printed closed, and sealing or painting.

Do some items need extra parts?

Yes. Earrings need skin-safe ear wires, brooches need a pin back, keychains need a split ring, belt buckles need a metal back, and planters and vases usually need sealing before they hold water. The printing notes in the Terms list what each kind of item needs.

Can I eat or drink from a print, or put a candle in it?

Not without care. Most 3D prints aren't food safe, and most printing plastics soften or burn. Use LED tea lights, not real candles. See the safety notes in the Terms.

Design book and Price a print

What is the Design book?

The Design book is a free catalog of thousands of example renders across every object, shape, style and palette. Use it for ideas before you spend credits.

What is Price a print?

🧮 Price a print (profile menu) is a free calculator for selling your prints. Enter your filament, machine and labor costs, a failure buffer and your target margin. Then add a job's grams, print hours, post-processing time and quantity, and it works out a price. You can save jobs to a list.

Your account and your designs

Do I own what I make?

As far as the law allows, yes. You own the images and models you generate. You may print them, keep them, share them and sell physical prints made from them. AI output can resemble other people's work, so make sure what you sell doesn't copy anyone's characters, logos or trademarks. Full details are in the Terms.

How do I delete my account?

Open the profile menu and choose Delete account…. It erases your account, credit balance, history, and the pictures and STL files we keep for you, straight away. Unused credits are lost and not refunded.

What do you do with my data?

Only what's needed to run your account. No ads, no trackers, and we never sell it. The Privacy Policy lists exactly what's kept and which services handle it.

How do I contact you?

Email support@podder.dev about a charge, your account or anything else.