Material Type

My .svg file has six layers. I opened them up in LightBurn and took a close look at what each layer is doing. The front layer is sparse, with a shadow tree-vein type effect. The second layer is the main trunk image, and the third and fourth layers add more depth and trunk intricacy. The fifth layer has the majority of the leaves for the tree and the sixth layer is mostly background.

I decided to cut layer 1, 3, 4, and 6 from plywood, and layers 2 and 5 from etched acrylic. Choosing those layers worked out really well -- the trunk and leaves are the parts I want to be able to shine colors through, and I really like having a solid "resist" layer on the very top of the stack to create a shadow. 

I definitely advise having two layers of wood between the two acrylic layers. This adds a 1/2 inch of separation, and minimizes "bleed" from the two LED layers, leaving plenty of room to place the LED strips comfortably along the edge of the artwork and hit each acrylic layer individually.

I wanted to finish it off with a layer of acrylic mirror on the back of the design, to amplify the light and add even more depth. For this design I used gold acrylic mirror, which adds a lovely warmth to the project.

Size & Depth

I had a few pieces of material that were 24" wide. I decided to make my project 11.5 inches wide, so I could fit two layers side-by-side with a little bit of space between them and around the edges.

Vector-based .svg files are infinitely resizable with no loss of quality. Sizing an intricate one down too much can be a problem -- if your cuts are too close together you may lose some of the integrity of the wood -- but they can be sized up as big as you'd like. 

It may be a good idea to start by finding the perfect frame, and then making your project sized to fit.

Laser Cutting & Etching

Cut the wood layers out fully, using the "line" setting in LightBurn or your favorite Laser cutting software. 

For the acrylic layers, you'll want to etch the design instead of cutting. I used the "fill" setting in Lightburn for these layers (but still the "line" setting to cut out the very outside edge).

Use a higher speed and lower power setting for etching. Each laser is different, so experiment to find the best settings for your laser and your plastic.

I etched the frontmost / trunk layer really lightly, so it's very translucent. A lot of the detail is behind that layer so I didn't want to block the lower layers.

For the lower leaves layer, I used a higher power setting so the design is almost engraved instead of etched. This layer came out a lot more opaque, but it really "pops" from deep inside the tree. 

For the final back mirrored layer, I drew a 11.5" circle in LightBurn and cut out the mirror. It's a good idea to do this face down in your laser, since the mirror can reflect the laser too well and cause problems with the cut.