Free shadow box template

Graduation cap and books shadow box SVG

A graduation cap on two thick books inside a laurel wreath: a firework and stars at the back, the wreath filling the frame, the cap with its tassel on the books, a rolled diploma and a trophy cup, and a garland of stars across the top. 5 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.

Graduation cap and books shadow box: 5 layered sheets seen from the front

Download the SVG files

5 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 5 sheets

Sheet 1 is the back and sheet 5 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 4, “Diploma and trophy”, the slowest: at 1.2 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Garland of stars”, fills the most of the view, 26% of it.

Sheet	What is on it	Narrowest part	Seen from the front
1. Firework and stars	A whole sheet with holes for: Firework burst in one piece, 2 × Four-pointed sparkle and 4 × Plain disc	over 2 mm	33%
2. Laurel wreath	Frame only, with: Laurel wreath	over 2 mm	15%
3. Cap and books	Flat ground, with: Graduation cap on a stack of books	over 2 mm	18%
4. Diploma and trophy	Flat ground, with: Diploma to go with the graduation cap and Trophy cup with a star	1.2 mm	8%
5. Garland of stars	Flat ground, with: 2 × Star garland on a string	1.6 mm	26%

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	0.9 mm	17 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
20 × 20 cm	200 × 200 mm	1.2 mm	17 mm	Yes	Cuts easily
8 × 8 in	203.2 × 203.2 mm	1.2 mm	17 mm	Yes	Cuts easily
23 × 23 cm	230 × 230 mm	1.4 mm	17 mm	Yes	Cuts easily
25 × 25 cm	250 × 250 mm	1.5 mm	17 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 cap and the books under it are one piece about 11 cm wide at 8 inches, with the tassel hanging at the side and nothing under 2 mm. The laurel wreath behind is a little larger than the window, so its outer leaves run into the frame and hold it, and it has nothing under 2 mm either. The diploma and the trophy are about 1.2 mm at their finest and the garland of stars about 1.6 mm. The garland is two strings that meet in the middle and run into the frame, so nothing hangs on a thread. There is no year, name or school on it: write those on the bottom border, or add them in vinyl.

Cut all 5 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 5.
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 5 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 cap to fold or wear?

No. It is a flat picture of a graduation cap in five layered sheets, for a deep frame. For a cap to cut on its own, see the graduation cap designs in the library, which include the one used here.

How is this different from the Graduation day scene?

Here one large cap is the subject, on two books inside a laurel wreath. The Graduation day scene has caps thrown in the air above a college hall, with bunting and balloons.

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.

More shadow box scenes

All scenes and the scene maker