Desert cactus shadow box SVG
A desert at sundown: bare hills against a huge sun, an eagle overhead, a coyote howling on the dunes, two tall saguaros in the middle and a cactus in flower, prickly pear, a barrel cactus and a snake in the foreground. 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 “Autumn” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far hills and eagle”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Stones and grass”, 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. Far hills and eagle | A mountain range, with: Gliding eagle with wings in a V | 0.9 mm | 4% |
| 3. Dunes and coyote | A gentle slope, with: Howling wolf, Cactus silhouette and Organ pipe cactus | over 2 mm | 8% |
| 4. Saguaros | Rolling ground, with: Saguaro cactus with two arms and Cactus with spine marks | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 5. Prickly pear and snake | A gentle slope, with: Flowering saguaro cactus, Prickly pear cactus and Snake silhouette | 1.3 mm | 12% |
| 6. Stones and grass | A gentle slope, with: Ball cactus with a flower and 2 × Bunch of grass | 1.4 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 | 0.7 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.1 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
Cactus shapes are thick and forgiving, so this is a good scene for a first shadow box or for thicker card. The eagle and the snake are the only thin parts: lift them from the mat with a spatula, not with your fingers.
- 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
Which colours work best?
Warm ones: cream or pale yellow at the back, then sand, terracotta and a dark brown at the front. Green card for the two cactus sheets also works, with the hills left in orange.
Can I take the animals out?
Yes. Select the coyote, the eagle or the snake in the maker and delete it. The cacti and the hills make a complete picture without them.
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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