Canyon at sunset shadow box SVG
A canyon at sunset with the sun going down between its walls: a far rim of mesas and buttes, two pairs of stepped rock walls, one behind the other, with cactus on their tops, a river along the foot with a canoe on it, and a saguaro, a Joshua tree and other desert plants on 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 10 × 8 in, landscape, 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “River”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 4, “Near canyon walls”, fills the most of the view, 26% 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 | 25% |
| 2. Far rim | A gentle slope, with: Desert silhouette of mesa, butte and spire and Desert mesa with rock layers | 2 mm | 8% |
| 3. Far canyon walls | A gentle slope, with: Desert canyon with stepped walls | over 2 mm | 9% |
| 4. Near canyon walls | A gentle slope, with: Desert canyon with stepped walls | over 2 mm | 26% |
| 5. River | Waves, with: Canoe with a paddle | 0.8 mm | 5% |
| 6. Bank | A gentle slope, with: Saguaro cactus with two arms, Desert plants: Joshua tree, agave and ocotillo and Bunch of grass | 1.7 mm | 24% |
Measured from the files at 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in, landscape | 254 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 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 canyon walls are one shape used twice, small on the third sheet and large on the fourth, with the gaps between the walls lined up, so you look down the canyon towards the sun. The ledges are cut through as slits, which show the sheet behind as bands of lighter rock. Both pairs of walls have nothing under 2 mm at 10 by 8 inches. The canoe on the river is the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm, and the plants on the bank are about 1.7 mm. The sun is a hole in the back sheet. Cut it in reds and oranges, pale at the back and dark at the front. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- 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
Is it a view of the Grand Canyon?
No. It is an invented canyon with stepped walls of layered rock, in the manner of the canyons of the American Southwest. It does not show any real viewpoint, and the saguaro and the Joshua tree are there for the look of the desert.
Is there another desert scene?
Yes. The Desert buttes scene has buttes and a rock arch in a wide frame, and the Desert cactus scene has cactus in a square one.
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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