Paris street shadow box SVG
The Eiffel Tower at night above the rooftops, with a crescent moon behind it, a café and a bookshop on either side of the street, a street lamp and a bicycle left at the kerb. 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 × 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 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Lamp and bicycle”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Lamp and bicycle”, fills the most of the view, 31% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon and stars | A whole sheet with holes for: Crescent moon and 6 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 36% |
| 2. Rooftops | Flat ground, with: Low skyline border | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Tower | Flat ground, with: Eiffel tower with open ironwork | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 4. Café and bookshop | Flat ground, with: Cafe storefront with tables outside and Bookshop storefront with shelves in the window | 1.6 mm | 15% |
| 5. Lamp and bicycle | Flat ground, with: Lantern on a lamp post and Bike with a diamond frame | 1.1 mm | 31% |
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 | 1.1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
The lattice of the tower is the reason to make this one, and it is the fine work: at 8 by 10 inches its thinnest bars are about 2 mm, which cuts well with a sharp blade. In white card with a light behind, the tower and the shop windows glow.
- 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 make it smaller than 8 by 10 inches?
Yes, down to 5 by 7 inches. The bars of the tower are then about 1.7 mm wide and the spokes of the bicycle under 1 mm, so use a fresh blade. Below that, swap the tower for the plain one under Buildings.
Can I change the shops?
Yes. Select one in the maker and choose Swap: a bakery, a flower shop, a coffee shop and a market stall are under Buildings.
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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