Chinese dragon shadow box SVG
A Chinese dragon rising from the sea towards the sun: a cloud and the sun, far peaks, a row of far waves, the long dragon with its scales and whiskers coiling up out of the water, and two rows of nearer waves with a breaking crest at each side. 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 4, “Dragon”, the slowest: at 2 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Near waves”, fills the most of the view, 23% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun and cloud | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc and Long flat cloud | over 2 mm | 41% |
| 2. Far peaks | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Far waves | Waves | over 2 mm | 6% |
| 4. Dragon | Waves, with: Chinese dragon | 2 mm | 12% |
| 5. Waves | Waves, with: Crashing wave with foam and Curling ocean wave | 2 mm | 9% |
| 6. Near waves | Waves | over 2 mm | 23% |
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 | 2 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
The dragon is a long, wingless dragon in the Chinese manner, with antlers, a mane and a tufted tail: its scales are cut through as crescents and its two whiskers curl forward towards the sun, which stands here for the pearl such dragons chase. It is about 16 cm long at 10 by 8 inches and stands in the water, so nothing hangs on a thread. The dragon and the breaking waves are 2 mm at their finest, and nothing else in the scene is under 2 mm. Chinese paper cuts are traditionally red: cut the dragon in red card, with the sea in blues or in darker reds.
- 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 this different from the Dragon and castle scene?
The Dragon and castle scene has a winged dragon of the western kind in the air over a fortress, with a hatchling among the pines. This one is a wingless Chinese dragon over the sea, in a wide frame.
Does it suit Chinese New Year?
Yes. The dragon is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, and red paper cuts are put up in windows at New Year. It has no lettering and no year on it, so it also stands on its own as a dragon picture.
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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