Tipi camp shadow box SVG
Three tipis on the plain at dusk under the moon and the first stars: a range of mountains, two far tipis among pines, a large tipi with its poles crossed at the top and a camp fire beside it, tall pines at each side, and grass 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 “Halloween night” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Grass”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Grass”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon and stars | A whole sheet with holes for: 10 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 33% |
| 2. Far mountains | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Far tipis and pines | Rolling ground, with: 2 × Teepee camp tent, Classic pine tree, Tall pine tree and Simple pine tree | 1 mm | 8% |
| 4. Tipi and camp fire | Rolling ground, with: Teepee camp tent and Campfire in a stone ring | over 2 mm | 16% |
| 5. Pines | A gentle slope, with: Evergreen tree with even boughs and Tall pine tree | over 2 mm | 8% |
| 6. Grass | A gentle slope, with: Bunch of grass, Grass silhouette and Wild grass with seed heads | 0.7 mm | 25% |
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
Each tipi is a bold shape with a band of zigzag cut through it and an open door, and nothing on the sheet with the large one is under 2 mm at 8 inches. The two far tipis are the same shape cut small, at about 1 mm, and the grass at the front is the fine cutting, at about 0.7 mm. The moon and the stars are holes in the back sheet. In the Halloween night colours the sky is orange and the hills are purple, which reads as dusk. For a night sky, choose the Snow colours, which have a dark blue back sheet. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- 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 it tipi or teepee?
Both spellings are used, and tepee too. A tipi is a cone of poles with a cover, the tent of the peoples of the North American plains. This scene shows the tents, a fire and the land, with no figures.
Is there a scene with a camping tent?
Yes. The Campsite at night scene has a bell tent and a pot over the fire.
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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