Breaching whale shadow box SVG
A humpback whale leaping out of the water in front of an icy coast, with two gulls overhead, the tail of a second whale going down behind it, a sailing boat standing by and waves breaking in the foreground. 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 “Blue dusk” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Icy coast”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Breaking waves”, fills the most of the view, 29% 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 | 29% |
| 2. Icy coast | A mountain range, with: Flying bird with raised wings and Swallow in flight | 1.1 mm | 7% |
| 3. Tail | Waves, with: Whale tail above the water | over 2 mm | 8% |
| 4. Whale | Waves, with: Breaching humpback whale | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 5. Boat | Waves, with: Sailboat under full sail | 1.3 mm | 9% |
| 6. Breaking waves | Waves, with: Crashing wave with foam | 1.7 mm | 29% |
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 | 0.8 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.2 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.4 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 whale is one large, sturdy shape, so this is an easy scene to cut. Make the sea sheets in three or four blues that darken towards the front, and keep the whale sheet a clear step darker than the one behind it.
- 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
How does the whale stay up?
It rises from its own splash, which is welded to the waves of its sheet, so the whale and the sea are one piece of card with no thread.
Can I leave out the boat?
Yes. Select it in the maker and delete it. The sheet still has its waves, so the layers behind stay hidden where they should be.
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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