Tiger in the jungle shadow box SVG
A tiger walking through the jungle under a full moon: the moon, palms on the far ridge, a cub among the ferns, the tiger with every stripe cut out in front of them, and ferns and grass 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Long grass”, the slowest: at 0.6 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Long grass”, fills the most of the view, 27% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 30% |
| 2. Far palms | Rolling ground, with: Double palm tree and Palm tree with coconuts | 1.5 mm | 9% |
| 3. Cub and ferns | Rolling ground, with: Tiger cub and Ferns growing in a clump | 0.8 mm | 12% |
| 4. Tiger | Rolling ground, with: Walking tiger with stripes | over 2 mm | 16% |
| 5. Long grass | A gentle slope, with: Ferns growing in a clump, Fern frond with fifteen pairs of leaflets and Wild grass with seed heads | 0.6 mm | 27% |
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
This is a scene to light from behind. The stripes of the tiger are cut through, so with a small LED light behind the back sheet the moon glows and the paler sheets show warm in every stripe. The tiger is about 7 cm high at 8 inches, and its sheet is the sturdy one: the card between the stripes is over 2 mm. The cub and the ferns behind are about 0.8 mm. The grass at the front is the fine cutting, at about 0.6 mm, so cut that sheet slowly with a fresh blade and do not make the scene smaller than 8 inches. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- 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
What light should I use?
A short string of battery LED micro lights or a warm white LED strip, fixed round the inside of the frame behind the back sheet. Never a candle or a mains bulb: the box is card.
Can I make it without a light?
Yes. In the Lit from behind colours the sheets run from cream to dark brown, and the stripes show as paler card whether or not there is a light. For an orange tiger, cut its sheet in orange card and the sheet behind it in black.
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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