Dolphins at sunset shadow box SVG
Dolphins leaping out of the sea as the sun goes down: a palm island on the horizon, one dolphin crossing the sun, a pair jumping together in front of it, a fourth surfacing in the swell and a wave curling over in the corner. 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 2, “Island on the horizon”, the slowest: at 1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Curling wave”, fills the most of the view, 28% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Low sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 30% |
| 2. Island on the horizon | Waves, with: Palm tree on an island | 1 mm | 6% |
| 3. Leaping dolphin | Waves, with: Leaping dolphin | over 2 mm | 11% |
| 4. Pair of dolphins | Waves, with: Two dolphins leaping from the sea | 1.6 mm | 11% |
| 5. Swell | Waves, with: Swimming dolphin | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 6. Curling wave | Waves, with: Curling ocean wave | over 2 mm | 28% |
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 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.2 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
No thread is needed here: each dolphin leaves the water at its tail, so it is part of its sheet of waves. The sunset colours run from pale yellow at the back to plum at the front, and the dolphins look best two sheets apart.
- 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 move a dolphin higher?
Only as far as its tail still touches a wave. Drag it in the maker and watch the check: if the dolphin comes free of the water, switch its thread on and it will hang from the frame.
Does it work as a night light?
Yes. In white card with a light behind, the sun is the brightest thing in the box and the dolphins are dark shapes in front of it.
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.
Seahorse reef 
Flamingo beach 
Surf beach 
Desert cactus 
Western ranch 
Farmyard