Tortoise in the garden shadow box SVG
A tortoise walking through a garden on a sunny day: the sun over a far hedge of trees, a second tortoise and three dandelion clocks on the rise behind, tall daisies on the left and wild flowers on the right, the big tortoise with the plates of its shell cut through, and toadstools 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 “Sea” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Toadstools and grass”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Toadstools and grass”, fills the most of the view, 26% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 28% |
| 2. Far hedge | Rolling ground, with: Round tree silhouette, Oak tree with a broad crown and Three trees | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Small tortoise and dandelions | Rolling ground, with: Walking turtle silhouette and Three dandelions from one root | 1 mm | 10% |
| 4. Daisies | Rolling ground, with: Two daisies in silhouette and Three wildflowers on stems | 1.6 mm | 12% |
| 5. Tortoise | Rolling ground, with: Tortoise land turtle with a honeycomb shell | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 6. Toadstools and grass | A gentle slope, with: Three mushrooms, Grass with flowers and Bunch of grass | 0.9 mm | 26% |
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 | 0.7 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.9 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 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 plates of the shell are cut out, so the sheets behind show through them: cut the tortoise sheet in a darker card than the flowers behind it. The bars between the plates are over 2 mm wide at 8 inches, so the shell is sturdy. The dandelion clocks on the third sheet are the fine cutting, at about 1 mm, with the toadstools and the grass at the front at about 0.9 mm. 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 a turtle or a tortoise?
A tortoise: a turtle that lives on land, with a high domed shell and stumpy legs. For turtles that swim, see the Sea turtles scene.
Can I swap the tortoise?
Yes. Select it in the maker and choose Swap. The tortoise with the cut shell and a plain tortoise are both under Sea life, beside two sea turtles. Choose the plain one if your card is thick or your frame is small.
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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