Free shadow box template

Moose at the lake shadow box SVG

A bull moose standing in a lake under a full moon, with mountains and a pine shore behind him, a bear upright on the near bank and reeds along the water. 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.

Moose at the lake shadow box: 6 layered sheets seen from the front

Download the SVG files

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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Reeds”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Reeds”, fills the most of the view, 26% of it.

Sheet	What is on it	Narrowest part	Seen from the front
1. Moon and stars	A whole sheet with holes for: 6 × Plain disc	over 2 mm	24%
2. Far peaks	A mountain range	over 2 mm	5%
3. Far shore	Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Three pine trees	0.8 mm	11%
4. Moose in the lake	Waves, with: Moose silhouette	over 2 mm	14%
5. Bear on the bank	Rolling ground, with: Standing bear on its hind legs and Tall pine tree	over 2 mm	11%
6. Reeds	A gentle slope, with: 2 × Pond grass with cattails and Bunch of grass	0.7 mm	26%

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 for a light: cut every sheet in white or cream card and put warm LEDs behind the back sheet. The moose stands across the moon, so his antlers are the part everyone sees. Cut that sheet slowly.

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

Which lights should I use?

A short string of warm white micro LEDs on a battery pack, taped round the inside of the frame behind the back sheet. Keep the pack outside the frame so that you can change the batteries.

Can the bear and the moose swap places?

Yes. In the maker, select one, choose Swap and pick the other. Whatever stands in the lake should be the larger of the two.

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