Winter moonrise shadow box SVG
A still winter night with the moon low behind a bare tree: stars over a far ridge, snowy pines at both sides, the bare tree spreading across the moon, a fox trotting past an old fence, and a rabbit and a small fir in the drift 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 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 3, “Snowy pines”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Snow drift”, fills the most of the view, 22% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Low moon and stars | A whole sheet with holes for: 10 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 34% |
| 2. Far ridge | A mountain range | over 2 mm | 5% |
| 3. Snowy pines | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Three pine trees | 0.8 mm | 9% |
| 4. Bare tree | Rolling ground, with: Bare tree with even branches | over 2 mm | 12% |
| 5. Fox and fence | Rolling ground, with: Trotting fox, Rustic fence with a loose board and Winter tree | 0.9 mm | 11% |
| 6. Snow drift | A gentle slope, with: Bunny rabbit sitting up, Bunch of grass and Simple pine tree | 1.6 mm | 22% |
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 | 0.8 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
Made for a light box: cut every sheet in white card and put warm white lights behind the back sheet, and the moon and stars shine while each sheet in front of them is a shade darker than the last. The picture here shows it that way, in the Lit from behind colours. The moon is one hole about 8.5 cm across at 10 by 8 inches, low enough for the far ridge to cross it, and the bare tree stands in front of it with nothing under 2 mm. The pines on the third sheet are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm, and the fox and the fence are 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
How is this different from the other winter scenes?
It has no building in it: a bare tree, a fox and a low moon over empty hills. The Winter cabin scene has a log cabin and a moose, the Winter farm scene a barn and highland cattle, and the Winter village scene a church and cottages in a round window.
Can I make it without lights?
Yes. Choose the Snow colours in the maker: the back sheet is dark blue, so the moon and stars read as a night sky with white or yellow paper behind them, and the hills are white and pale blue.
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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