Mountain hikers shadow box SVG
Two hikers with packs and poles on a ridge in the high mountains, with two ranges of peaks behind them, an eagle overhead, a mountain goat on a crag and tall pines rising from the valley 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 × 10 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 “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far peaks and eagle”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Ferns and flowers”, 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 | 25% |
| 2. Far peaks and eagle | A mountain range, with: Gliding eagle with wings in a V | 0.9 mm | 9% |
| 3. Near range and goat | A mountain range, with: Mountain goat on a rock | 2 mm | 10% |
| 4. Hikers on the ridge | Rolling ground, with: Hiker with a pack and hiking poles and Woman hiker hiking up a rock | over 2 mm | 9% |
| 5. Pines | Rolling ground, with: Tall pine tree, Evergreen tree with even boughs and Classic pine tree | over 2 mm | 15% |
| 6. Ferns and flowers | A gentle slope, with: Fern silhouette, Grass with flowers and Bunch of grass | 1 mm | 28% |
Measured from the files at 8 × 10 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 × 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | 203.2 × 254 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
An upright scene with real depth: two sheets of peaks, the ridge, then the pines. The hikers and their poles are sturdier than they look, over 2 mm at 8 by 10 inches; the eagle on its thread and the fern at the front are the fine cutting, at about 1 mm. Blues and greys suit it, palest at the back.
- 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 show one hiker, or a couple?
Yes. There are three hikers under Figures in the maker. Remove one, or swap either for the third, and flip them so that they face each other or walk the same way.
Can I mark a summit we climbed?
Yes. Write the name of the peak, its height and the date on the bottom border, or on the back sheet beside the sun.
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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