Day of the Dead shadow box SVG
A night of remembrance outside an old mission: a great moon over far mountains, the mission with its bell and a cactus beside it, two skeletons dancing under strings of paper flags, and candles and flowers set among the crosses at the front. 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 4, “Skeletons and paper flags”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Flowers”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 24% |
| 2. Far mountains | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 6% |
| 3. Mission | Rolling ground, with: Mission church with three bells and Saguaro cactus with two arms | 1.5 mm | 15% |
| 4. Skeletons and paper flags | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Party bunting with two swags, Dancing skeleton and Waving skeleton | 1.1 mm | 11% |
| 5. Crosses and candles | Rolling ground, with: Tombstone with a stone cross, Three candles and Rugged wooden cross | 1.1 mm | 8% |
| 6. Flowers | A gentle slope, with: Three wildflowers on stems, Two daisies in silhouette and Bunch of grass | 1.1 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 | 0.8 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.2 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.4 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
Cut each sheet in a different bright card, orange, pink, purple and turquoise, as the paper flags of the festival are. The strings of flags grow in from the sides of the frame, so nothing hangs on a thread. The skeletons look delicate but nothing in the box is under 1 mm at 8 inches; the flower stems on the front sheet, at 1 mm, and the strings of the flags, at 1.1 mm, are the finest parts.
- 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
Can I put a photograph in it?
Yes, and it suits the day, when families set out photographs of the people they are remembering. Stand a small one at the foot of the frame in front of the candles, or fix it to the bottom border.
Are the skeletons meant to be frightening?
No. On the Day of the Dead, skeletons are shown dancing and making merry, because the dead are welcomed back for a night with the living. These two are dancing and waving, not haunting anyone.
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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