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LOD Generator

What is an LOD? An LOD (level of detail) is a lighter copy of a 3D model that a game engine or viewer shows when the model is far away. LOD0 is the full model; LOD1, LOD2 and LOD3 have fewer triangles. Far objects then cost less to draw, and the swap is hard to see.

Drop one model to get the whole set: LOD0 to LOD5 with your textures and UVs kept, a preview of each level, and switch distances. Download one GLB per level or one GLB with every level inside. Nothing is uploaded.

Loading the LOD generator...

How to generate LODs online

  1. 1

    Drop your model

    Drag a .glb, .gltf, .fbx, .obj, .ply or .stl onto the tool. For an OBJ, drop its .mtl and texture images with it so the colours come along.

  2. 2

    Pick the levels

    Choose a preset (game prop, hero asset or web viewer) or set 2 to 6 levels yourself, by percentage or by triangle count. Set how far the shape may change.

  3. 3

    Check every level

    Click through LOD0 to LODn, slide between two levels, turn on the wireframe, and play the distance demo to see each level swap in as the camera moves away.

  4. 4

    Download

    Get model_LOD0.glb to model_LODn.glb in one ZIP, or one GLB with every level as a node named _LOD0 to _LODn, ready for your engine or viewer.

Typical LOD ratios and switch distances

Each level keeps a share of LOD0's triangles. A simple rule for when to switch: show a level once the model fills less of the screen height than its share of triangles. These are starting points; check them in the preview and the distance demo.

LevelGame propHero assetWeb viewerSwitch when the model is
LOD0100 %100 %100 %Close up: the model as you made it
LOD150 %60 %40 %Below about half the screen height
LOD225 %30 %15 %Below about a quarter of the screen height
LOD310 %15 %-Small on screen: far away or in a crowd

For a prop about 1 m across seen through a 60° camera, that puts LOD1 at about 1.7 m, LOD2 at about 3.5 m and LOD3 at about 8.7 m. The tool works these out for your model and puts them in the all-in-one GLB.

This page makes a whole set of levels for games and 3D viewers. To make one smaller STL file for 3D printing, use Reduce STL File Size. To look at a model first, open it in the 3D Model Viewer.

Need a game asset first? Make one from an image

Turn a picture into a textured 3D model, then bring it back here to make its LODs. Prefer to describe it? Make it from text. The AI tools use credits; this LOD generator does not.

Make one from an image →Text to 3D

More free 3D tools

Reduce STL File Size3D Model ViewerFBX to GLBOBJ to GLBSTL to GLBUV Unwrap Online

LOD generator FAQ

LOD means level of detail. It is a simpler copy of a model, with fewer triangles, that is shown instead of the full model when it is far from the camera. A set is named LOD0 (the full model), LOD1, LOD2 and so on, each lighter than the last.
Most game props use 3 or 4 levels (LOD0 to LOD3). Small or simple objects may need only 2, and large hero assets seen from very far can use 5 or 6. If two levels look the same at the distance where they swap, you can drop one.
A common start is to halve the triangles each level: 100 %, 50 %, 25 %, then about 10 %. Hero assets keep more (100, 60, 30, 15 %); web viewers can drop faster (100, 40, 15 %). Check each level in the preview and raise the share if the outline breaks.
Yes. The simplifier only removes vertices and never moves the ones it keeps, so every kept vertex has its exact UV, normal and colour. With "Keep UV seams" on, the edges between UV islands are never collapsed across, so the texture still lines up. Materials and textures are shared, not copied, in the all-in-one GLB.
The all-in-one GLB names its levels with the _LOD0, _LOD1 suffix, the naming Unity uses to build a LOD Group from an imported model. In Unreal Engine, import LOD0 as the mesh and add the other files as its LODs in the Static Mesh Editor. Godot makes its own mesh LODs on import; for hand-made levels, use the separate files with visibility ranges.
Animations stay. For rigged (skinned) meshes the kept vertices keep their bone weights, so every level bends with the same skeleton. In the separate files each level plays the animations; in the all-in-one GLB the animations drive LOD0's skeleton, which every level follows.
No. The model is read, simplified and written in your browser, on your device. Nothing is sent to a server, so it is fine for files you cannot share.
GLB and GLTF (including Draco and meshopt compressed), FBX, OBJ with its MTL and textures, PLY and STL, up to 2 million triangles and 300 MB. KTX2 (Basis) textures are not supported yet. Everything comes back as GLB. To make one smaller STL for printing, use Reduce STL File Size instead.

Unity, Unreal Engine and Godot are named only to describe compatibility; The3DAI is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.