Motorcycle on a mountain road shadow box SVG
A rider on a motorcycle on a mountain road with the low sun behind: far peaks, a ridge of pines, the motorcycle and its rider in the middle, and a tall pine, a road sign and a fern 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.
5 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 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 3, “Pine ridge”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Pines and road sign”, fills the most of the view, 28% 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 | 34% |
| 2. Far peaks | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 4% |
| 3. Pine ridge | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Three pine trees | 0.8 mm | 7% |
| 4. Rider on the road | A gentle slope, with: Biker riding a motorcycle | over 2 mm | 20% |
| 5. Pines and road sign | A gentle slope, with: Tall pine tree, Caution sign, blank diamond, Bunch of grass and Fern silhouette | 0.8 mm | 28% |
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 | 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 sun is one large hole in the back sheet, placed so that the rider shows dark against it: put a light, or a sheet of yellow paper, behind. The motorcycle is a cruiser with wire wheels, and the rider is part of the same piece. Nothing on that sheet is under 2 mm at 10 by 8 inches, spokes included, but lift it from the mat slowly. The far pines on the third sheet and the fern at the front are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm. 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 particular motorcycle?
No. It is an invented cruiser with a V-twin engine, a teardrop tank and two exhausts. It has no make, model or badge, so it can stand for any road bike.
Is there a scene with a quad bike?
Yes. The Quad bike trail scene has a rider on a quad bike on a trail through the pines.
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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