White or Colored Cardstocks for Layered Shadow Box? Differences between them

Papercut shadow box (or layered shadow box) is one of the best projects to do with paper. It comprises multiple paper cut layers, which are designed to represent a scene or a landscape. 

Originally, these layers are cut on white cardstocks and put in a deep frame with LED light placed on the back. When turning-on, the light passes through layers of paper, makes them glow and creates a fabulous effect like silhouette image.

But now I see that many creative crafters use colorful layers for their boxes.

If you search for “How to make a papercut shadow box” on the Internet, you may find tutorials to make it in one of two styles but no one mentions the other style and the differences between them.

For me, I think that they are very differ from each other. From the appearance to the making process, I’ll clarify characteristics of each style for you.

 

All white layered shadow box

Sole white layered shadow box, which I call “papercut lightbox”, is the style that I knew from more than 10 years ago.

In this style, all layers are cut on white cardstocks, so it always needs a LED behind to make it look interesting. Normally, we use papers from 160 to 200gsm (~65lb) for layers. Paper in this weight range is not only stiff enough for layers to stand but also thin enough for light to pass through.

To help light go through easily, layers are also designed with more empty space and don’t repeat the shapes of previous layers. Moreover, layers are separated by the sense of depth and one template usually has around 8 layers.

You’ll see these characteristics in templates designed by Asian shops like Lightbox Goodman, Tdesign510, or any shop that mainly mockup their boxes with light.

When stacking these templates, you MUST leave a space of 5mm between two layers. This gap produces 3D depth and lets light penetrate.

I usually cut 5mm foam boards into thin strips and glue them to the layers' edges. You’ll never put spacers inside the artwork unless you want them to show off when lighting on.

Due to the thickness of spacers, you’ll need a frame with at least 5cm working depth to fit a stack of 6 layers and put lights.

Normally, fairy lights, LED modules or strips are glued to the frame’s backboard with 1cm gap to the last layer. This helps the light distribute evenly and prevent the bulbs from showing off. 

You may see that shadow boxes in this style are not catchy during daytime but they’re really gorgeous when lighting up at night. I think it’s great to use them as sleeping lamps or embellishment for Christmas. The light passes through layers of paper and blends the colors creating an appealing effect.

 

Multicolor layered shadow box

This is a newer style of layered shadow box and it’s only been popular in the past 3 years. In this style, layers are cut on different colored cardstocks instead of white ones.

I think even if only one layer, especially the last layer, has color, it will lose characteristics of the original white style. I’ll show you how they are different.

First, colored cardstocks will block light, so a LED placed behind the last layer won’t create fabulous effects like it does when passing through white cardstocks.That’s why you don’t need to care about paper weight for your layers.

You can use colored, patterned, metallic or glitter cardstocks from 120 to 300gsm (44 - 100lb). What you need to consider is color combination.

When layers have colors, they already display a beautiful scene, so LED light becomes optional. If you want to add light for your box, it must be wrapped around the stack instead of behind the last layer.

Fairy light is the best option to light up a shadow box with colored layers. Normally, double-sided foam tape is used to glue layers together. You are free to put foam tape inside the artwork to fix the light string because it usually won’t show off when lighting on.

Because colored layers don’t let the light pass through and we actually add light by gluing fairy strings between layers, you’ll see layers designed for this style usually repeat the shapes of previous ones. This allows one detail to have more colors and is useful to put and hide the light string.

You may see these characteristics in templates designed by Western shops like My 3D SVG or any shop that displays their designs with colorful layers.

It’s clear that shadow boxes in this style look more attractive in the daytime. They are great for wall arts or selling at local craft fairs. They can also be resized to make easel cards. But in my opinion, it looks less impressive at night. The light just simply lights it up.

 

Summary

You may feel overwhelmed with a lot of information, so I try to make a point-to-point comparison for you to understand how a shadow box with all white layers differs from multicolor one.

So, what style do you prefer? Leave a comment below and share your experience with shadow boxes.