Adding L.E.D.s to costume.

Cieszlak

New Member

• May 16, 2018

• #1

I had a thought recently to make portions of my foam armor suit light up. I was thinking of white lights that pan back and forth to resemble emergency lights. Unfortunately, I am highly inept when it comes to electronics. Any ideas if there is an easy way to go about doing so? Please let me know.

 

George

Master Member

• May 17, 2018

• #2

Hi Cieszlak,

check out Punished Props and Xrobots on youtube.They have all sorts of tutorials,including the use of LEDs.I hope that helps.

 

kialna

Sr Member

• May 17, 2018

• #3

Kamui's books on cosplay lights and advanced cosplay light should get you somewhere. They're not expensive. Good luck!

 

LeClubNerd

Well-Known Member

• May 17, 2018

• #4

As Kialna says Kamui's advanced lighting is great, i bought that, well written and well priced and I am now able to create the lights I wanted too ...Henchwench is also a good starting point http://henchwenchcosplay.com/index.php/blog/ I have done a mix of both.
Good luck.

 

M

Matchbox

Active Member

• May 17, 2018

• #5

Cieszlak said:

I had a thought recently to make portions of my foam armor suit light up. I was thinking of white lights that pan back and forth to resemble emergency lights. Unfortunately, I am highly inept when it comes to electronics. Any ideas if there is an easy way to go about doing so? Please let me know.

Click to expand...

by pan back and forth? fade in fade out?

Simple solution (I prefer wiring them myself) BUT have a look at LED Xmas lights or EL wire - they usually have a "pulse" setting which would have this effect - plus they are pretty cheap if you're in a hurry

Take care

/M

 

Iggy

Sr Member

• May 17, 2018

• #6

If you want super simple for strobe effect this is a super simple setup:

LED Strip
https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Lig...9&sr=1-1&keywords=white+5050+strip+waterproof

Battery for power:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MF70BPU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Remote with strobe options:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012YT8YS4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There is no coding or setup really. Just plug and play for the most part (you may have to add a connector, but many come with connections: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IBFNJ3A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I used this type of setup on a couple costumes and it really does light up the entire suit for a long time (was in costume for at least 3 hours and battery didn't go down much).
I used it on my Storm Atronach as well as a costume for Warhammer (Tech Priest).
http://iggysdroidfactory.com/2017/11/04/storm-atronach/



You can cut the led strip as well to different lengths for your needs.

Good luck with the build and post pictures.

 

xl97

Master Member

• May 17, 2018

• #7

EL isnt very bright.. especially in the daylight..

Outside of Iggy's comments...


It doesnt take much to grab an Arduino and program the effect/behavior you want for your LED strip..

Might open a whole new door of opportunities for future projects too.

 

George

Master Member

• May 18, 2018

• #8

Or perhaps buy a toy with sound/lights,open it up and add/reorganize wires/switches like Bill Duran (Punished Props) did in his videos.A huge advantage for those of us who don't know how to make things from scratch is that everything is already good to go

 

MAJSmith

Sr Member

• May 22, 2018

• #9

Cieszlak said:

I had a thought recently to make portions of my foam armor suit light up. I was thinking of white lights that pan back and forth to resemble emergency lights. Unfortunately, I am highly inept when it comes to electronics. Any ideas if there is an easy way to go about doing so? Please let me know.

Click to expand...

This is the absolute best way to attach LEDs to a costume and they're super bright. Adafruit LED Sequins can be sewed with stainless steel thread. I used the red ones to put some red LED lights on a Blade Runner blaster. All you need are the lights, thread, and a small battery holder with an on/off switch. Links below:


https://www.adafruit.com/product/1758


https://www.adafruit.com/product/640


https://www.adafruit.com/product/1871