Maker Growth Hub

Member tool

Shadow Box Generator

The tabs that hold the layers apart should be invisible from the front. That is most of the craft.

Nothing is uploaded. It runs in your browser, so your files never leave your machine.

Part of the Maker Toolkit: fourteen tools that share one shop profile and one product list, so what you set up here is already known everywhere else.

Maker Toolkit v1.0 · August 2026

How it works

Shadow Box Generator, step by step

Set your outside size, frame border and how many artwork layers you want. It works out the depth, slots the side walls, hides the layer tabs behind the frame, and hands you the cut sheets plus a reusable artwork template.

  1. Set the sizeA reference preset, or your own finished dimensions.
  2. Choose your layersHow many, and how much air you want between them.
  3. Measure your materialFrame and artwork thickness, measured rather than assumed.
  4. Generate and cutFit test first, then the frame and artwork sheets.

Why it is built this way

The decisions behind it

Tabs that don’t showLayer tabs sit behind the front frame, so the finished face stays clean.
Depth worked out for youSay how many layers you want and it calculates the depth. Or set the depth and it fits the layers.
One template, many designsThe artwork template is reusable, so the next design drops straight into the same box.

Questions

Shadow Box Generator — common questions

How are shadow box layers held apart?

By spacer layers with tabs that sit behind the front frame, so the structure is hidden from the viewing angle. The alternative, gluing blocks between layers by eye, is what makes the depth inconsistent and the shadows uneven.

How deep should a shadow box be?

Deep enough that the shadow reads, shallow enough that the frame does not dominate. Between three and six layers of 3 mm material is a common working range. The generator takes your layer count and thickness and sizes the tabs to match.

Do I need to be a member?

Yes for this one. The file tools that get a design onto the machine correctly are free. The generators are part of Maker Growth Hub membership.

Next in the workflow

What most makers open after this

These are not a list of everything. They are the tools this one hands off to, and they already know what you did here.

MemberLantern MakerDesign a lantern on screen, then download the cut files.MemberInsert GeneratorA new panel for every season, and none of it falls out of the machine.FreeLaser SplitterTurn a design that’s bigger than your bed into pieces that fit it.

Worth reading

The thinking behind this one

The tool does the arithmetic. These cover the decision it is serving.

Members

Shadow Box Generator is part of the Hub

Ten of the fourteen tools are free and stay free — everything that gets a file onto the machine correctly. The four generators and the planner are what turn a craft into a product line, and they come with the Hub.

Join the Maker Growth Hub