Bears at the river shadow box SVG
A mountain river at first light: snow peaks and a pine ridge at the back, a grizzly in the current with a fish leaping in front of it, and a mother bear leading her two cubs along the near bank. 6 sheets of card, cut and stacked with a gap between each, make the picture. The files are free, and every part of the scene can be moved, swapped or resized below before you download.
6 sheets at 8 × 8 in, zipped, with a note on putting them together.
Free for personal and commercial use, no sign-up. What you can do with it.
The 6 sheets
Sheet 1 is the back and sheet 6 is the front. Each one is a single piece with the same frame round its edge, so they line up when stacked. The colours shown are the “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 3, “Pine ridge”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Reeds”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 27% |
| 2. Snow peaks | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 3. Pine ridge | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill, Evergreen tree with even boughs, Three pine trees and Classic pine tree | 0.8 mm | 9% |
| 4. River | Waves, with: Walking grizzly bear and Fish silhouette | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 5. Near bank | A gentle slope, with: Bear family and Tall pine tree | 1.2 mm | 12% |
| 6. Reeds | A gentle slope, with: Pond grass with cattails, Bunch of grass and Grass silhouette | 0.8 mm | 25% |
Measured from the files at 8 × 8 in. The narrowest part is the thinnest neck of card that holds anything on; sharp tips are not counted. “Seen from the front” is the share of the picture that sheet fills once the sheets in front of it are in place.
Will it cut at your size?
The download is 8 × 8 in. The scene maker above makes the same scene at any of these sizes; the thinnest part scales with it.
| Frame opening | Each sheet | Narrowest part | Depth needed | Fits a 12 × 12 in mat | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 × 6 in | 152.4 × 152.4 mm | 0.6 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.8 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
The bears are solid shapes with no fine cutting, so this is an easy scene to start with. The grizzly and the river are one sheet, the fourth: cut it in a tone between the pale ridge behind and the dark bank in front, and the water reads at once.
- Cut all 6 sheets from 160 to 220 gsm card at the same size.
- Lay them out in order, sheet 1 at the back.
- Put strips of 3 mm foam tape round the border of sheet 1 and press sheet 2 onto it with the edges level. Carry on to sheet 6.
- Fit the stack into a deep frame with the front sheet against the glass. For a light box, run a strip of warm white LEDs round the inside of the frame behind the stack.
The zip includes these steps as a text file, each sheet as its own SVG and all 6 side by side in one SVG. More on paper, frames and lights is on the shadow box page.
The parts, on their own
Everything in the scene comes from the free SVG library, where each has its own page and file:
Questions
How is the leaping fish held on?
Its tail overlaps the top of a wave, so it is one piece with the river sheet and needs no thread. If you move it in the maker, keep the tail in the water.
Can I leave out a sheet to make a thinner box?
Yes. The snow peaks, the second sheet from the back, can go without leaving a gap. Keep the pine ridge, the river and the near bank.
Can I sell boxes I make with it?
Yes. Finished pieces are yours to sell. The files themselves may not be sold or shared; send people to this page. See the licence.
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