Surf beach shadow box SVG
A surf beach at the end of the day: lines of swell coming in under a low sun, two waves breaking, two gulls overhead, a camper van parked on the sand beside three surfboards, a palm leaning in from one side and a board stuck upright in the dune on the other. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape, 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far swell”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Palm and dune”, fills the most of the view, 29% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Low sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 33% |
| 2. Far swell | Waves, with: Flying bird with raised wings and Swallow in flight | 1.1 mm | 5% |
| 3. Breaking wave | Waves, with: Crashing wave with foam | over 2 mm | 8% |
| 4. Second wave | Waves, with: Curling ocean wave | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 5. Van and boards | A gentle slope, with: Camper van with a pop top and Three surfboards standing in the sand | 1.3 mm | 14% |
| 6. Palm and dune | A gentle slope, with: Leaning palm tree, Surfboard silhouette standing in sand and Bunch of grass | 2 mm | 29% |
Measured from the files at 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in, landscape | 254 × 203.2 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 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 breaking waves are what make this a surf beach, so cut their two sheets in clearly different shades. The surfboards have narrow stripes cut into them: at 10 by 8 inches they are fine, but go no smaller without swapping them for the plain board.
- 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 take the van out?
Yes. Delete it in the maker, or swap it for a caravan or a pickup under Vehicles. The surfboards stand on their own and stay where they are.
How do I make the waves look rougher?
Select a wave sheet in the maker and raise the height of its ground line, or add another breaking wave from Hills and water.
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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