Graduation day shadow box SVG
Graduation caps thrown into the air above a college hall with its columns, a flag on its pole, bunting across the top, balloons at both sides, and a cap and a trophy on the grass at the front. 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.
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 “Blue dusk” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Caps in the air”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Cap and trophy”, fills the most of the view, 29% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc and 2 × Four-pointed sparkle | over 2 mm | 24% |
| 2. Caps in the air | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Graduation cap with a tassel, Graduation cap silhouette, Round tree silhouette and Oak tree with a broad crown | 0.8 mm | 9% |
| 3. College hall | Rolling ground, with: Bank building with six columns, Round tree with leaf cut-outs and Flagpole with a small flag | 1.8 mm | 14% |
| 4. Bunting and balloons | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Party bunting with two swags, Bunch of balloons and Three balloons | 1.4 mm | 18% |
| 5. Cap and trophy | A gentle slope, with: Graduation cap with a tassel, Trophy cup with a star and Bunch of grass | 2 mm | 29% |
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 | 0.6 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
The three caps in the air hang on threads from the top of the second sheet, like a mobile, and the bunting on the fourth sheet hides where the threads begin. The tassels of those caps are the finest cutting, at about 0.8 mm at 8 inches, so cut that sheet slowly. The bunting grows in from the frame at both sides and needs no thread. Cut the balloons in the school colours.
- 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:
- Four-pointed sparkle
- Graduation cap with a tassel
- Graduation cap silhouette
- Round tree silhouette
- Oak tree with a broad crown
- Bank building with six columns
- Round tree with leaf cut-outs
- Flagpole with a small flag
- Party bunting with two swags
- Bunch of balloons
- Three balloons
- Trophy cup with a star
- Bunch of grass
Questions
Can I add the name, the school and the year?
Not inside the maker yet. Cut them from the lettering in the library and glue them to the bottom border, or write them on the back sheet beside the sun.
How does the cap at the front stay in place?
It sits on the grass of the front sheet with its tassel hanging down into the ground, so it is one piece with its sheet and needs no thread.
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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