Free shadow box template

Koi pond shadow box SVG

A koi leaping from a pond, seen through a round window: the sun over a far bank with a blossom tree and a willow, a small koi further out, the big koi arched above its own curl of waves, and lotus flowers and bulrushes 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.

Koi pond 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 “Sea” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Lotus and bulrushes”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Lotus and bulrushes”, fills the most of the view, 48% 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	15%
2. Far bank	Rolling ground, with: Cherry blossom tree and Weeping willow tree	0.9 mm	10%
3. Small koi	Waves, with: Chinese paper cut carp leaping from the waves	1.2 mm	6%
4. Leaping koi	Waves, with: Chinese paper cut carp leaping from the waves	over 2 mm	15%
5. Lotus and bulrushes	Waves, with: Lotus with bud and pads, Lotus flower with seven petals and Pond grass with cattails	0.8 mm	48%

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 koi is a carp in the manner of Chinese paper cutting, with its scales, gill and fins cut through as crescents, so the sheets behind show in them. Cut it in orange or red card against blue water, or in white with a light behind. The big koi has nothing under 2 mm at 8 inches, and the small one is the same shape at a little over 1 mm. The willow on the far bank is about 0.9 mm and the lotus at the front about 0.8 mm, so cut those two sheets slowly. The round window is cut in every sheet but the back one. Nothing hangs on a thread.

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 koi or a carp?

Both: a koi is a carp bred for its colours. The shape here is the leaping carp of Chinese paper cutting, where a fish is a sign of plenty and good luck. It has no colour pattern of its own, so the card you choose decides what kind of koi it is.

Can I have a square window?

Yes. Choose the rounded or the square window in the maker. Everything stands on the water or the bank and nothing is joined to the round frame, so no part needs to move.

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