Lifeguard tower shadow box SVG
A lifeguard standing watch on the beach with a rescue float in hand, the wooden tower and its flag behind, a wave breaking and a yacht out at sea under two gulls, and a deck chair, a bucket and a starfish on the sand 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Deck chair and starfish”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Deck chair and starfish”, fills the most of the view, 24% 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 | 31% |
| 2. Far sea and gulls | Waves, with: Yacht sailboat heeling over, Flying bird with raised wings and Swallow in flight | 0.9 mm | 6% |
| 3. Breaking wave | Waves, with: Curling ocean wave | over 2 mm | 9% |
| 4. Lifeguard tower | A gentle slope, with: Lifeguard tower on the beach | over 2 mm | 16% |
| 5. Lifeguard | A gentle slope, with: Lifeguard with a rescue can | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 6. Deck chair and starfish | A gentle slope, with: Beach chair silhouette on the sand, Starfish silhouette and Bunch of grass | 0.7 mm | 24% |
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
Made as a gift for a lifeguard, or for anyone who spent their summers on the beach. Cut the tower and the lifeguard in red card and the rest in sandy colours and it needs nothing else. The cross braces of the tower are sturdier than they look, over 2 mm at 8 inches; the gulls on their threads and the frame of the deck chair are the finest cutting, at 0.7 to 0.9 mm.
- 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 add a name or a beach?
Not inside the maker yet. Cut it from the lettering in the library and glue it to the bottom border, or write it on the side of the tower by hand.
Is the tower a real one?
No. It is an invented tower, drawn for cutting, with a plain flag and no markings of any service, so it can stand for any beach.
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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