Octopus and jellyfish shadow box SVG
An octopus on the sea bed with two jellyfish drifting above it: spots of light from the surface, the jellyfish over a clump of weed, the octopus with its eight arms curling, an angelfish beside tall weed and a starfish, and a crab, a shell and more weed 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 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 “Sea” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Shells and crab”, the slowest: at 0.6 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Shells and crab”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Light from above | A whole sheet with holes for: 7 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 44% |
| 2. Jellyfish | Rolling ground, with: Jellyfish with frilled arms, Jellyfish with long tentacles and Sea grass | 1.3 mm | 10% |
| 3. Octopus | Rolling ground, with: Classic octopus with eight arms | over 2 mm | 13% |
| 4. Fish and weed | Rolling ground, with: Sea grass, Angelfish with stripes and Classic starfish with spots | 0.7 mm | 7% |
| 5. Shells and crab | A gentle slope, with: Conch seashell, Classic crab with raised claws and Sea grass | 0.6 mm | 25% |
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 | 17 mm | Yes | Too fine: choose a larger size |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.6 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Too fine: choose a larger size |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.6 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.7 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 0.7 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 octopus is about 9 cm high at 8 inches and its sheet is the sturdy one: the arms are over 2 mm wide all along. The two jellyfish and the angelfish hang from the frame on a strip of card each, which looks right for things that float. The jellyfish are about 1.3 mm at their finest. The fine cutting is the weed: the sheet with the angelfish is about 0.7 mm and the front sheet about 0.6 mm, so cut those two slowly and lift them off the mat from the frame inwards. In the Sea colours the scene runs from pale green water to deep blue. Cut the octopus in orange or coral card to make it stand out.
- 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
Can I cut the octopus by hand?
Yes. The octopus is one large shape with smooth curves and only its two eyes cut out of it. The weed takes longer: it is long wavy strands, cut from the tip of each strand down towards the ground so the card stays held.
How is this different from the other sea scenes?
Here the octopus is the subject and fills the middle. The Under the sea scene has a whale, a turtle and fish with a small octopus at one side, the Seahorse reef scene two seahorses, and the Shark reef scene sharks.
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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