Shark reef shadow box SVG
Three sharks over a reef: a spotted whale shark near the surface with a small fish under it, a hammerhead turning on one side, a big shark crossing in front, and seaweed, an anchor, a starfish and a crab on the sea bed. 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 “Sea” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Reef”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Reef”, fills the most of the view, 29% 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. Whale shark | Rolling ground, with: Whale shark with spots, Simple round fish for children and Sea grass | 1.3 mm | 9% |
| 3. Hammerhead | Rolling ground, with: Hammerhead shark from above and Sea grass | 1.5 mm | 8% |
| 4. Big shark | Rolling ground, with: Shark silhouette and Sea grass | over 2 mm | 9% |
| 5. Reef | A gentle slope, with: Sea grass, Classic anchor, Starfish silhouette and Crab silhouette | 0.9 mm | 29% |
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 | 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
Each shark hangs from the top of its sheet on a thread of card, like a mobile, and in blues the threads read as shafts of light. The three sharks are on three different sheets so that they pass one behind another. The legs of the crab on the front sheet are the finest cutting, at about 0.9 mm at 8 by 10 inches, and the spots of the whale shark come next at 1.3 mm; the big shark is a solid shape that a child can cut.
- 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 add more sharks?
Yes. In the maker choose Add, then Sea life. Give each new shark a sheet of its own if you can, so that they pass one behind another. The small fish shows another way: it hangs below the whale shark on the same sheet, and the two threads run up side by side as one.
Can I take the threads off?
Only where a shark touches something else on its sheet. Slide one in the maker until its tail overlaps the seaweed or the frame and switch its thread off; the check tells you if it would fall out.
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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