Monkeys in the palms shadow box SVG
Monkeys at play as the sun goes down: one swinging from a vine, one on a branch with its tail hanging, one crossing the ground and one sitting in front, with palms behind them. 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Sitting monkey”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Sitting monkey”, fills the most of the view, 31% 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 | 26% |
| 2. Far palms | Rolling ground, with: Three palm trees and Double palm tree | 1.1 mm | 11% |
| 3. Swinging monkey | Rolling ground, with: Straight palm tree silhouette and Swinging monkey silhouette | 1.7 mm | 14% |
| 4. Monkey on a branch | Rolling ground, with: Monkey silhouette on a branch and Walking monkey | over 2 mm | 12% |
| 5. Sitting monkey | A gentle slope, with: Sitting baby monkey, Leaning palm tree, Bunch of grass and Fern silhouette | 0.9 mm | 31% |
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 | 0.7 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
Tails are the thin parts here. Cut the monkey sheets at a slow speed and weed the loops of the tails first, while the card is still held flat by everything around them.
- 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
What holds the swinging monkey up?
A thread of card from the top of its sheet to its hands, which looks like the vine it swings on. The monkey on the branch needs none, as its branch grows in from the frame.
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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