Pandas on the mountain shadow box SVG
Three pandas on a mountainside: a pale sun, a line of peaks, two tall pines, a panda sitting with a stalk of bamboo, a second panda and a small cub in front of it, and ferns 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 × 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 “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Ferns and grass”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Ferns and grass”, fills the most of the view, 24% 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 | 30% |
| 2. Mountains | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 3. Pines | Rolling ground, with: Lodgepole pine with a bare trunk and Skinny pine tree | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 4. Panda with bamboo | Rolling ground, with: Panda with bamboo | 1.3 mm | 11% |
| 5. Mother and cub | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Sitting panda | 0.8 mm | 10% |
| 6. Ferns and grass | A gentle slope, with: Fern frond with fifteen pairs of leaflets, Ferns growing in a clump and Bunch of grass | 0.7 mm | 24% |
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
The panda with the bamboo is about 7.3 cm high at 8 inches, the one in front about 5.7 cm and the cub about 3.7 cm. The patches round the eyes, the ears and the paws are cut through, so the sheet behind shows in them and gives each panda its face. The panda with the bamboo is about 1.3 mm at its finest. The sheet with the second panda and the cub is about 0.8 mm, and the ferns at the front are the fine cutting, at about 0.7 mm. Nothing hangs on a thread. In the Forest green colours the pandas are green on green. For black and white pandas, cut the two panda sheets in black card and put a sheet of white card directly behind each.
- 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
Is there a bamboo grove in it?
No. The only bamboo is the stalk that the panda at the back is holding. The tall plants are pines and the low ones are ferns, as on the cool mountain slopes where pandas live.
Can I cut it smaller?
The scene is checked at 8 inches. At 6 inches the ferns at the front would be finer than the 0.6 mm that the check allows, so make them larger or swap them in the maker before choosing a smaller size.
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.
Dragonfly pond 
Squirrels under the oak 
Statue of Liberty fireworks 
Easter basket 
Forest deer 
Christmas village