Highland cow shadow box SVG
A Highland cow and her calf on a hillside: a low sun, a line of mountains, pines on the far slope, the calf beside a wooden fence, the cow with her long horns and shaggy coat in front of it, and lavender and wild flowers 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 “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Grass and flowers”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Grass and flowers”, 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. Mountains | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 9% |
| 3. Pines | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Three pine trees | 1.1 mm | 5% |
| 4. Calf and fence | Rolling ground, with: Highland cow calf and Wooden fence with dog-eared boards | 1.1 mm | 11% |
| 5. Highland cow | Rolling ground, with: Highland cow silhouette | over 2 mm | 17% |
| 6. Grass and flowers | A gentle slope, with: Bunch of lavender with a bow, Three wildflowers on stems and Bunch of grass | 0.7 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 | 0.5 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Too fine: choose a larger size |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.7 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.7 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.8 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 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 cow is about 8.5 cm high at 8 inches and fills the middle of the picture, with her horns standing clear against the paler hill behind. Her sheet is the sturdy one: nothing on it is finer than 2 mm. The pines and the sheet with the calf and the fence are about 1.1 mm, and the flowers at the front are the fine cutting, at about 0.7 mm. Everything stands on the ground, so nothing hangs on a thread. Cut it in the Forest green colours as shown, or cut the cow in rust or ginger card and leave the hills green.
- 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 name or a date on it?
Not in the maker, which has no lettering. Cut a name from vinyl or card with your usual software and stick it on the glass or on the front sheet, where the grass leaves a clear band along the foot.
How is this different from the farm scenes?
Here one Highland cow is the subject, with her calf and the mountains behind. The Farmyard scene has a barn, a windmill, a tractor, cows and a hen with her chicks, and the Longhorn ranch scene a longhorn on a ranch.
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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