Longhorn ranch shadow box SVG
A longhorn steer standing broadside on a ranch at sundown, his horns wide against the sky, with two more of the herd walking the rise behind him, a barn on the far hill, an oak, a rail fence, prickly pear and wildflowers 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 10 × 8 in, landscape, 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, “Grass and flowers”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Grass and flowers”, fills the most of the view, 22% 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 | 28% |
| 2. Far hills and barn | A gentle slope, with: Barn silhouette with a fence and Oak tree with a broad crown | over 2 mm | 5% |
| 3. Herd on the rise | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Longhorn steer with patches, walking and Oak tree with a broad crown | 1.2 mm | 16% |
| 4. Longhorn | Rolling ground, with: Longhorn steer silhouette | over 2 mm | 17% |
| 5. Fence and prickly pear | A gentle slope, with: 2 × Horse fence with crossed rails and Prickly pear cactus | 1.2 mm | 9% |
| 6. Grass and flowers | A gentle slope, with: Wild grass with seed heads, Grass with flowers and Bunch of grass | 0.8 mm | 22% |
Measured from the files at 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in, landscape | 254 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 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
A wide scene for a landscape frame. The steer is one bold shape and his horns, the thing everyone looks at, are over 2 mm thick at 10 by 8 inches. The grass and wildflowers at the front are the finest cutting, at about 0.8 mm, and the two walking steers behind, with their cut-out patches, come next at 1.2 mm. Nothing hangs on a thread. Burnt orange, tan and a dark brown suit it.
- 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 ranch name or a brand?
Not inside the maker yet. Cut it from the lettering in the library and glue it to the bottom border, like the board over a ranch gate.
Can I swap the steer for another animal?
Yes. Select him in the maker and choose Swap: a bull, a bison, a highland cow and horses are all under Animals and stand on the same ground.
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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