Shadow picture book

A wooden picture book designed for bedtime storytelling by turning off the room lights and projecting shadows onto the ceiling and walls.

I made this after realizing that our kids who usually resist turning off the lights would happily lie down when we play with shadows on the ceiling.

Using a laser cutter, thin wood panels were carved into stencils featuring trains, the moon, and fireworks. Shining a light—such as a smartphone flashlight—from beneath projects crisp silhouette scenes across the entire ceiling.

For plates like the fireworks, coloured cellophane was layered onto the back to take advantage of material translucency and texture differences, creating subtle gradients between light and shadow.