Free globe SVG files

How exact is the map?

Not very, and on purpose. Each continent is a hand-simplified outline of a few dozen points, projected onto a sphere and then smoothed. Small islands are dropped, narrow straits such as Gibraltar and the English Channel are drawn wider than life so the material between them does not tear, and inland seas and big lakes are filled in. The result reads at once as the Earth, which is what a cut file needs, but it should not be used to teach coastlines or to measure anything.

On the solid globes the land is cut out of the sea, so a globe is one piece with a rim about 3 mm wide at 100 mm. Put a second colour behind it and the continents show through.

Choosing a side of the world

There are three views: the Americas, Africa with Europe, and Asia with Australia. Pick the one that shows the place your project is about. The globe on a stand and the layered globe show the Americas; the simple globe, the striped globe and the heart show Africa and Europe; the outline shows Asia. If you need a different view, mirror nothing: a flipped Earth is the one mistake everybody notices.

How to open the files

• Cricut Design Space: choose Upload, pick the SVG, and add it to the canvas. Set the width you want; the shape is already welded.
• Silhouette Studio: Designer Edition and above open the SVG. The free Basic Edition does not, so open the DXF instead.
• LightBurn, xTool Creative Space and Glowforge: import the SVG, then set the layer to cut, score or engrave.
• Inkscape, Illustrator and Affinity: open the SVG. It is a plain filled path, so you can recolour it, add a stroke or combine it with your own work.
• Printing or sublimation: use the PNG, which has a transparent background.

Each design page lists the file’s narrowest part at seven sizes, so you can tell whether it will survive at the size you plan to cut.

Questions