Notes on Magic Wand V4
Jan. 13th, 2015 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Warning: Gets very technical, so beware!
So, the very first magic wand the theatre company I'm involved with had caused some electrical burns to its original operator due to malpractices by the original creator.
I think it might be fortunate that he's dead now, though I think it was more due to age than an accident with his contraptions.
The second version (that I'm aware of) was the one that our current fairy queen broke this year taking last year's decorations off it, so the third version was the one I fixed up and improved.
The fourth version, which this post is about, is one I've been asked to build to replace our old one.
The fifth version, and there will be one, will have even more features than V4, so we'll either be able to choose which features to enable, or which wand to use for each year after, depending on what features we want to use that year.
First off, the old wand (probably version 3) could only glow when on and charged (via a white LED in the middle of the bulb) and flash brightly (due to a cut-down flash unit inside the wand's bulb). The goal of this project is to add extra features to it so we have more flexibility with regards to how our fairy looks.
The one thing that definitely will not change is the brilliant flash, and it will still be done with a flashtube connected to a capacitor and flash unit taken from an old film camera.
The nice thing about the board I found is that all the wires are marked! =^.^=
Which is a good thing, because the board itself combines newer (at the time) surface-mounted components with regular (not sure what they're called) components, so there are parts on both sides of the board, all very tightly packed together, which would make it almost impossible to figure out what the circuit diagram is! =0.o=
The first feature that I'll be adding for sure is an RGB LED and an extra button.
This will allow the fairy using it to have it do something interesting when she's invoking a spell.
For instance, the LED can change colours smoothly when the secondary button is pressed, or it could gently pulse from black to this year's chosen colour, or even cycle through a range of colours.
This means that we'll need a small microcontroller to control it, and there are few microcontrollers smaller than the Adafruit Trinket.
The Trinket is based on the Atmel ATtiny85 microcontroller chip, which has a mere eight pins, five of which are for I/O use, and has a very low current draw of about 15 milliamps.
Three of the I/O pins on the Trinket are capable of Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM for short), which means that they can effectively control the brightness of LEDs (at least to human eyes) by rapidly turning them off and on at specific frequencies and duty cycles.
All three of those pins will be used to control the RGB LED, which is made of three smaller LEDs inside, one each of red, green, and blue.
This allows the RGB LED to create almost any colour we want, which will allow us a great deal of flexibility.
The one concern I have is what will happen when the capacitor is being charged by the flash circuit.
On my test bench, I've hooked up an LED across the power wires to the circuit board (with the appropriate limiting resistor), and it completely goes out when the capacitor is being charged.
This means that the charge circuit is almost literally sucking power from the batteries and there won't be any left for the microcontroller or LED while it's charging.
Fortunately, it only takes about four seconds for the charger to ramp the capacitor up enough for it to stop taking quite that much power from the batteries.
Theoretically, after those four seconds, there ought to be enough power left over for the microcontroller to boot back up after getting essentially power-starved.
I'll just have to make sure that it comes back up in a way that isn't visually distracting, otherwise I may have to have two separate battery systems! =0.o=
As for the wand's construction, the old one had a pipe for the handle that is large enough to fit AA batteries in (of which it uses three), holes drilled and cut for a power switch and a trigger button, and had four wires (two for power, two for the button) running up the wand's shaft, so all were (relatively) low-power wires.
Unfortunately, this meant that all the important guts were in the bulb at the wand's tip, which in turn meant that there was a limit on how large things could get inside there.
After all, they couldn't interfere with the flashtube's light...
This time around, my goal is to make it as slim as possible up at the tip, so all the electronics are not stuffed into a small space.
Instead, I want to put just the flashtube and LED up there, with all seven wires trailing down the shaft to the various circuit boards situated in part of the handle.
Because there will (or should) be so little in the tip of the wand, I can house them inside a short length of clear tubing, and then we can change out the shape on the wand's tip as a part of the fairy's outfit each year.
For example, we'd finally be able to use a star for the wand's tip! =^.^=
(I do have other ideas for stuff to put at the end of the wand, and yes I've been writing them down)
Anyway, the four wires for the LED are going to be fairly straightforward to deal with, but it's the three wires for the flashtube that's going to cause me problems.
For one thing, two of them are going to be dealing with about 500 volts, and the third wire is going to get spikes of 2,000 volts every time the trigger button is pressed, so I need to use some sort of high-voltage wire, but I'm not sure where to find some around here.
Actual physical construction of the wand is somewhat tricky to describe using text alone, but if I don't try I won't figure out how to do it for next time.
Starting from the tip of the wand, there's a clear plastic tube that contains the flashtube and RGB LED, which leads down to a (preferably) metal tube for the shaft (as it's about four feet long, plastic is far too flexible for how slim we want this part), which is then connected to a plastic cap that screws inside the end of the handle.
The handle itself is at least a foot long (exact length will be determined based on the amount of stuff that needs to fit inside it), and contains two separate sections, the “bottom” end of which is a plastic tube large enough to contain three AA batteries, is mostly cut-away on the side so the batteries are both held in and easy to remove, and has metal contacts to get the batteries’ power to the rest of the wand.
The “top” section is another section of the same size tube as above, but is firmly attached to the cap the shaft is attached to, and contains all the circuitry necessary for the operation of the wand.
It will be necessary to have a connector or something between the handle and battery compartment, and the shaft-section of the wand, but hopefully I can handle it without too much difficulty.
The reason for having all the components inside the handle, and in a different section of the wand from everything else, is for safety's sake.
We are talking about high voltage electricity here, and if somebody merely replacing the batteries could accidentally touch some wires that contained dangerous levels of power, they could either be badly hurt, or even killed, which is something that only technicians repairing the wand should have to worry about.
Once it gets right down to it, though, probably the hardest part is teaching a fairy to use it.
Yes, it has two buttons, but you have to be able to press them easily, and without moving your hand between them! =0.0=
I'm also hoping to get this built by February 27th, as that's when the theatre company is having a potluck dinner for all the cast and crew (and whoever else is interested in showing up).
That way I can show it off. =^.^=
So, the very first magic wand the theatre company I'm involved with had caused some electrical burns to its original operator due to malpractices by the original creator.
I think it might be fortunate that he's dead now, though I think it was more due to age than an accident with his contraptions.
The second version (that I'm aware of) was the one that our current fairy queen broke this year taking last year's decorations off it, so the third version was the one I fixed up and improved.
The fourth version, which this post is about, is one I've been asked to build to replace our old one.
The fifth version, and there will be one, will have even more features than V4, so we'll either be able to choose which features to enable, or which wand to use for each year after, depending on what features we want to use that year.
First off, the old wand (probably version 3) could only glow when on and charged (via a white LED in the middle of the bulb) and flash brightly (due to a cut-down flash unit inside the wand's bulb). The goal of this project is to add extra features to it so we have more flexibility with regards to how our fairy looks.
The one thing that definitely will not change is the brilliant flash, and it will still be done with a flashtube connected to a capacitor and flash unit taken from an old film camera.
The nice thing about the board I found is that all the wires are marked! =^.^=
Which is a good thing, because the board itself combines newer (at the time) surface-mounted components with regular (not sure what they're called) components, so there are parts on both sides of the board, all very tightly packed together, which would make it almost impossible to figure out what the circuit diagram is! =0.o=
The first feature that I'll be adding for sure is an RGB LED and an extra button.
This will allow the fairy using it to have it do something interesting when she's invoking a spell.
For instance, the LED can change colours smoothly when the secondary button is pressed, or it could gently pulse from black to this year's chosen colour, or even cycle through a range of colours.
This means that we'll need a small microcontroller to control it, and there are few microcontrollers smaller than the Adafruit Trinket.
The Trinket is based on the Atmel ATtiny85 microcontroller chip, which has a mere eight pins, five of which are for I/O use, and has a very low current draw of about 15 milliamps.
Three of the I/O pins on the Trinket are capable of Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM for short), which means that they can effectively control the brightness of LEDs (at least to human eyes) by rapidly turning them off and on at specific frequencies and duty cycles.
All three of those pins will be used to control the RGB LED, which is made of three smaller LEDs inside, one each of red, green, and blue.
This allows the RGB LED to create almost any colour we want, which will allow us a great deal of flexibility.
The one concern I have is what will happen when the capacitor is being charged by the flash circuit.
On my test bench, I've hooked up an LED across the power wires to the circuit board (with the appropriate limiting resistor), and it completely goes out when the capacitor is being charged.
This means that the charge circuit is almost literally sucking power from the batteries and there won't be any left for the microcontroller or LED while it's charging.
Fortunately, it only takes about four seconds for the charger to ramp the capacitor up enough for it to stop taking quite that much power from the batteries.
Theoretically, after those four seconds, there ought to be enough power left over for the microcontroller to boot back up after getting essentially power-starved.
I'll just have to make sure that it comes back up in a way that isn't visually distracting, otherwise I may have to have two separate battery systems! =0.o=
As for the wand's construction, the old one had a pipe for the handle that is large enough to fit AA batteries in (of which it uses three), holes drilled and cut for a power switch and a trigger button, and had four wires (two for power, two for the button) running up the wand's shaft, so all were (relatively) low-power wires.
Unfortunately, this meant that all the important guts were in the bulb at the wand's tip, which in turn meant that there was a limit on how large things could get inside there.
After all, they couldn't interfere with the flashtube's light...
This time around, my goal is to make it as slim as possible up at the tip, so all the electronics are not stuffed into a small space.
Instead, I want to put just the flashtube and LED up there, with all seven wires trailing down the shaft to the various circuit boards situated in part of the handle.
Because there will (or should) be so little in the tip of the wand, I can house them inside a short length of clear tubing, and then we can change out the shape on the wand's tip as a part of the fairy's outfit each year.
For example, we'd finally be able to use a star for the wand's tip! =^.^=
(I do have other ideas for stuff to put at the end of the wand, and yes I've been writing them down)
Anyway, the four wires for the LED are going to be fairly straightforward to deal with, but it's the three wires for the flashtube that's going to cause me problems.
For one thing, two of them are going to be dealing with about 500 volts, and the third wire is going to get spikes of 2,000 volts every time the trigger button is pressed, so I need to use some sort of high-voltage wire, but I'm not sure where to find some around here.
Actual physical construction of the wand is somewhat tricky to describe using text alone, but if I don't try I won't figure out how to do it for next time.
Starting from the tip of the wand, there's a clear plastic tube that contains the flashtube and RGB LED, which leads down to a (preferably) metal tube for the shaft (as it's about four feet long, plastic is far too flexible for how slim we want this part), which is then connected to a plastic cap that screws inside the end of the handle.
The handle itself is at least a foot long (exact length will be determined based on the amount of stuff that needs to fit inside it), and contains two separate sections, the “bottom” end of which is a plastic tube large enough to contain three AA batteries, is mostly cut-away on the side so the batteries are both held in and easy to remove, and has metal contacts to get the batteries’ power to the rest of the wand.
The “top” section is another section of the same size tube as above, but is firmly attached to the cap the shaft is attached to, and contains all the circuitry necessary for the operation of the wand.
It will be necessary to have a connector or something between the handle and battery compartment, and the shaft-section of the wand, but hopefully I can handle it without too much difficulty.
The reason for having all the components inside the handle, and in a different section of the wand from everything else, is for safety's sake.
We are talking about high voltage electricity here, and if somebody merely replacing the batteries could accidentally touch some wires that contained dangerous levels of power, they could either be badly hurt, or even killed, which is something that only technicians repairing the wand should have to worry about.
Once it gets right down to it, though, probably the hardest part is teaching a fairy to use it.
Yes, it has two buttons, but you have to be able to press them easily, and without moving your hand between them! =0.0=
I'm also hoping to get this built by February 27th, as that's when the theatre company is having a potluck dinner for all the cast and crew (and whoever else is interested in showing up).
That way I can show it off. =^.^=
no subject
Date: 2015-01-14 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-15 03:15 am (UTC)Preferably, I'd like to actually make a video detailing the construction process.
Once it's done, I'll also be posting a fairly detailed journal entry describing the process I went through.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-16 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-16 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-16 07:30 am (UTC)It's all in the theoretical stage at this point. This suit is going to end up being painfully expensive.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-16 08:57 am (UTC)(for example, the LED I used in our current magic wand is rated for 20 milliamps of current, but I'm only giving it 15, thereby running it at a rate lower than its rated capacity)
Oh... Oh my... You're talking quite a lot of LEDs, aren't you?
Well people are definitely getting better at building and controlling “nets” of LEDs, so that would be a pretty good place to start.
Any thoughts on how you'd want to control it?
The possibilities are almost endless, ranging from the cheap and dirty control panel (either on the suit or merely attached to it), to pressure points on the suit itself (probably along the arms), to smartphone control via Bluetooth, to a webcam on the suit projecting what it sees to the LEDs.
Don't limit yourself, as there are lots of people doing things like this all around the world, and therefore there is a lot of innovation going on too! =^.^=
no subject
Date: 2015-01-16 10:36 am (UTC)Firstly thanks for the info on LED life. It might be an idea to have a sensor built into the circut to have less power used when there's less light - the darker the ambient light the more easy the LEDs would be to see.
A huge lot of LEDs yes, but not excessive. Just enough to make the idea of a chameleonic fursuit work. My idea is that it will also incorporate having large metalic sequins decorating the suit, arranged to look like scales.
At this stage I'm only planning to have LEDs on the front of the body - that way it encourages people to come in front of me where I can see them. No leds on the head or legs either. And I'd prefer to keep the design simple and easy to maintain. It has to be folded away neatly when not in use, so I want to avoid anything that breaks easily. Also I'd prefer controls easy to operate from within the suit, keeping in mind both reduced visibility and dexterity. I was thinking of a notched(?) dial, though possibly with the option of settings that can be programmed before I put on the suit.
Everything would also need to be waterproofed for safety. I'm certainly not planning on taking a swim in the suit, but I do sweat profusely.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-17 05:32 am (UTC)Nowadays you can buy conductive thread to connect electronics inside a garment, as well as LEDs small enough to be hardly noticeable.
The real issue would be wiring together and controlling that many RGB LEDs at once.
For a smaller size and/or number, a grid can light one LED with its appropriate colour at a time, and cycle very rapidly through them all, doing it so fast they all appear on at the same time.
For larger scales and numbers, it takes a bit more work.
To keep them safe from sweat, a layer of waterproof material behind them (not necessarily in front of them) should be enough to keep them safe.
(for additional safety, it should be possible to encase each LED in a clear plastic or resin, with only the wires between exposed, which should be good enough waterproofing)
no subject
Date: 2015-01-17 06:31 am (UTC)The conductive thread sounds good, so long as its durable. Doesn't matter to me though if the LEDs are visible, and I'd like them to be large enough to give off a decent glow.
A waterproof layer is what I had in mind. The suit will already need this because I aimed to do what one of the other FurJam fursuiters already has and incorporate a couple of inward pockets to hold frozen gel packs to help keep me cool when needed. Will need some insulation to keep moisture from forming anywhere near the electricals. I'd be OK with resin, so long as replacing burned-out LEDs doesn't become impossible.
As to the actual design for the circuitry, it's probably too soon to speculate on how that's going to work. To quote an old BBC documentary narrator - These questions are for the future.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-17 08:33 am (UTC)Oh, right, the Australian Furs forum.
Account created, logged in, why are so many of the posts duplicated, and the formatting gone all screwy?
Okay, so Sebastian has scales instead of fur, right?
That is going to change things to a certain extent, probably by making it easier to make.
You won't have to have the light trying to glow through a coat of fur, for one thing.
Leaving the LEDs visible kinda makes it look a little tacky, and if it were my choice, would be something I'd avoid.
I watch a lot of maker videos, and have seen quite a number of LED-lit projects, so I've seen how similar they all look with an almost blinding glow on them.
At least, that's the way they show up on video. They might look somewhat different in person.
But that only adds to my interest in making the LEDs less bright than everybody else makes them.
In your costume, the point is not “Look at me! I’m lit with LEDs!”, but more along the lines of “Hey! My suit changes colour!”, which is much different.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-17 12:09 pm (UTC)Re Sebastian. He has a mixture of both; scales with fur growing out between them. Both his scales AND his fur can change colour. However the technology to make this possible in a fursuit isn't going to exist within my lifetime. I'll have to make do with what's available (assuming I live long enough to be able to afford this).
No, it's not a case of "Look at me! I’m lit with LEDs!" or even "Hey! My suit changes colour!" It's a case of "This represents Sebastian's chameleonic abilities." If affordable technology existed to create a fully chameleonic suit I'd be going for it.
Making the LEDs less obvious would suit me, so long as ease of maintenance is preserved. I don't want to be hacking pieces out of the suit whenever it becomes necessary to replace blown LEDs.
Re a fan in the head, I wouldn't allow it to be made without one. I was very disgruntled with the design of my foxaroo costume because I expressly requested TWO fans in the head, with holes below the ears to act as exhaust ports. However the costumer created no holes at all, and simply stuck in a fan to (supposedly) circulate the air inside the head. It's only about 5% effective. Even with the fan running I still end up coming out of it looking like I've been dunked in a swimming pool. With a full-body suit intended for Sebastian I'm going to need every possible method of keeping cool. My warm blood is genetically coded for a cold climate, and isn't going to cope very well sheathed inside a full body suit in the Australian climate. Had I been able to emigrate to Canada it may have been a very different story.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-21 03:07 am (UTC)The sad part was that the forum was for a webcomic I find very entertaining, called Curtailed, a gag-a-day strip about the antics of a furry married couple, Mandy and Fox.
=0.o=
Oh yeah, I don’t think we’ll get affordable colour-changing fur any time soon.
Granted, I do think it’s possible, but “affordable” won’t quite enter into it for quite a while.
If the LEDs are too bright, it will definitely fall under the category of “Look at me! I’m lit with LEDs!” That’s what I want to avoid.
A balance ought to be found between brightness and visibility, probably with a control somewhere to adjust how bright they all are.
Yeah, the whole suit will need to be designed to allow plenty of air circulation, aided by fans.
Do you think it would work to have the “canals” of the ears go straight into the head, thereby allowing the hot air to vent through the ears?
no subject
Date: 2015-01-21 11:25 am (UTC)I'm clicking on the links for Curtailed, but it keeps taking me back to the home page. Is the webcomic no longer viewable?
Re the LED brightness, yes that's where I think a light-sensor to balance the brightness against the ambient light would be a good idea. It might also extend the life of the LEDs.
Having canals in Sebastian's ears would be a good idea, as his ears are more rabbit-like than Michael's floppy ears. Michael's ears would have concealed vents quite well. No such option with Sebastian. The only question is whether pumping air through tubes would strain the fans?
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 05:04 am (UTC)Curtailed comic
I don't generally trust automatic brightness controls, as my eyes apparently have a different brightness response curve than the people testing them do, which is why I have tried, and have given up on, the auto brightness option on my cellphones.
Something that combines both together is probably a good idea.
You're gonna have to explain that one to me again.
Are ear canal holes a good idea on Sebastian or not?
If the tubes are the same diameter as the fans, there should be no problem.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 08:00 pm (UTC)Automatic brightness control is going to be pretty much essential for LEDs on Sebastian, as the only way I'd be able to gauge the brightness myself would be to take the head off and look in a mirror. It would take some tweaking and the assistance of an observer to get it to work. My apartment has light dimmers in the lounge room, which would be helpful in testing.
Having canals in Sebastian's ears would be a good idea, as his ears are more rabbit-like than Michael's floppy ears. Putting tubing inside the ears would strengthen them and help them stand up, though for cuteness I'd like them to flop around a little. What I was referring to in the comparrison between a Sebastian fursuit head and that of Michael is that for Michael the exhaust air could have been vented directly though holes cut right on the surface of the head concealed by the floppy ears. For Sebastian canals are going to be necessary, however there *will* be some degree of efficiency loss in the air circulation due to pulling the air through the tube. Those little fans aren't very powerful, and I would expect that there wouldn't be fans as small as the diameter of the canal tubing.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-28 07:33 am (UTC)(especially when people post links to the middle of an engaging scene)
The current webcomic count on Feedly alone is 84, and that doesn't include almost half a dozen webcomics that do not have RSS feeds.
I should probably write an entry about the completed webcomics I've read...
Ah, good point on the automatic brightness thing.
Placement of the sensor is going to be very important, perhaps even having a few sensors all in different spots to avoid issues with shadows covering a single sensor.
Hmm, so, while it isn't feasible to have the ear canals providing all the vent space for the fans, it is a good idea to use it to minimize the amount of masked vents elsewhere on the suit.
Okay, got it now.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 09:25 am (UTC)Yes you're right about the sensor - finding the right location is going to be very tricky. So too is deciding where to position vents.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 04:55 am (UTC)I'm not sure I really have any real criteria for liking a webcomic.
A good story for sure gets me to take notice, engaging characters to a certain degree, regular update schedule is preferable, an RSS feed really helps me keep up-to-date on them (even if they don't update on a regular basis), though the art styles for the webcomics I read ranges from stick figures (Xkcd) to elegant and beautiful (too many examples to list), and a good sense of humour is key, though "fish out of water" jokes turn me off real quick.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 11:01 am (UTC)Yeah, I'm the same with "fish out of water" jokes and characters - they do nothing but irk me. Americans (USA Americans) seem obsessed by the theme, although thankfully they're falling out of fashion.
Q: How do you use an RSS feed?
Out of curiosity, do you have any stories in mind about your fursona, or any background concerning him? Now that you have a visual version it would be nice to learn more about him.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 07:53 pm (UTC)(fortunately the effect is becoming less pronounced with age)
Almost a year ago, I used to use one of Google's many services called Google Reader, you give it a list of RSS feeds and it assembled their updates into a date-sorted list.
Every day I would visit Google Reader to see what websites and webcomics had updated.
Unfortunately, some twit with power at Google decided it wasn't doing them any good and shut it down (fortunately with warning).
This sparked a bunch of other web services to either start up or branch into RSS feed reading, including Feedly, which is the service I use myself.
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 08:48 pm (UTC)I have a huge issue with indecision that extends to many areas of my life, which, unfortunately, includes my fursona.
When I originally created the name “Carl Foxmarten”, I was merely trying to come up with a name I could use on the Gene Catlow forums.
‘Carl’ was a name similar to my real first name, close enough that I figured I could react to either, but I'd originally wanted to be Carl Fox.
Now, there is already somebody else calling themselves that, so it would have caused some confusion had I not read that foxes are by far the most common species to use when somebody first joins the furry community.
I'd recently listened to an audio version of Martin The Warrior by Brian Jacques, which featured a pine marten for the villain's right-hand-creature, who eventually left the villain's army due to realizing how evil he was, so I decided to be part pine marten as well.
That's about all I've got, really.
The reason I haven't added more up to this point is because I haven't given it any thought.
I'm also sort of afraid of adding any additional story because it might limit options in the future.
On the CTC forums, the character of Carl has a sort-of girlfriend in the form of a foxtaur named Meri.
She's from another planet (and universe, technically) and can wield healing magic.
(which was rather helpful, as, in that story, Carl was just about a danger magnet...)
no subject
Date: 2015-02-07 04:58 am (UTC)No. :P
I was just curious. There are as many different reasons for anyone having a fursona as there are different types of personalities.
For many people their fursona is nothing but an anonymity mask for the internet. Others, like myself, take their fursona very seriously and create detailed backstories for them.
Some people never develop their fursona, others swap and change their fursonas like new hats, while still others cautiously make improvements to their fursona over time. In my case Michael was originally a kangaroo until I thought of the hybrid idea some time in the early 90's.
Some concentrate only on the visual aspects, while others (like me) have little or no art skill and instead focus on the fursona's personality or stories/backstory. Snackish, the artist who produced my first image of GG1's anthro horse form and is currently working on something new for me, is a phenomenally talented artist and yet has expressed frustation at being unable to produce stories around her fursona. She has a rough idea about her fursona's species, but no idea what to do with her/them. I've offered to assist, and she was keen at the time but nothing has come about yet.
I liked reading about the history of how you created your fursona. It's very interesting. I've always liked the idea of your fursona being part pine-marten too My fursonas (believe it or not) started long, long before the internet. I'd always wanted to have a cartoon character of my own, and that's where Michael came from. Sebastian I've often suspected originated as a childhood imaginary friend... which is probably why he's so immature. ;) It's somewhat ironic that when I first started posting on forums I had no idea what a fursona actually was.
BTW A few years ago wolves overtook foxes as the most popular species in the fandom: http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/List_of_most_popular_species
no subject
Date: 2015-02-07 11:49 am (UTC)Since I don't have any confidence in my writing ability as yet, I'm currently sort of avoiding pinning Carl down too much.
What I do have thus far is what I've written in past entries, plus the fact that he hangs around the CTC, even having his own workshop there.
(I wrote a short story about a morning in his life there, and you can find it here. Note that anything after that happens after the big long collaborative story I was involved with, so characters, places and things are left unexplained)
A few things I feel are important to his character:
- Very technically-inclined.
- Has invented several things that inhabit my dreams, including a hover-scooter, holographic displays, highly compact supercomputers, AI helpers, etc. Not all are fully fleshed out ideas, as they weren't in any way important to the stories I've dealt with before now.
- Because my life is the only one I have full access to (gee, I wonder why?... =^.~= ), I have sort of patterned his personality and situation both after mine and what I would like to have as mine. For example, quiet and reserved, very geeky, few geographically-close friends, lots online, plenty of money to use for the many and various projects he works on, some of which are not quite possible now, but are covered rather thoroughly by several different science fiction series.
That's about all I've got at the moment.Very little history at present, and nothing about his parents or siblings as yet.
He does have a girlfriend at the moment, as I think I've mentioned already, though I'm not entirely sure of all the deatils on that, including who owns the character and what her other characteristics are like, despite having the thickest Scottish-type accent I've ever had to write...
no subject
Date: 2015-02-03 04:58 am (UTC)The sensor values would be combined, somehow, then used to alter the brightness of the display.
Though it's the ‘somehow’ that's most important in this case...
no subject
Date: 2015-01-23 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-21 04:27 am (UTC)One option is to use a bunch of these RGB LED strips, which are relativley easy to program, though you'd need a bunch of them, and that can get on the more expensive side, as well as the power-hungry side.
This set are also weather-proof, so the only issue you'd need to address is the other electronics in the suit, meaning you might be able to avoid needing a fully waterproof layer entirely.
Let's see, for sure the tummy of the suit would need to have LEDs, down to a little below the waist, up to not quite the neck, and definitely between the arms.
Probably in a round shape, somewhat similar to how most mid-range artists draw tummies on furry characters.
Does that sound about right?
no subject
Date: 2015-01-21 11:18 am (UTC)Those RGB LED strips do look good though, and you're right; they solve a lot of problems right away, particularly the waterproofing. Programming several strips to work in conjunction though could be quite a feat, and I'd need to know how flexible they are - IE how far do they bend without breaking when I need to fold the suit away for storage & travel.
Yes, your estimation of the positioning of LED across Sebastian's front is pretty much spot on. He has the rotund lower-half of a wallaby, so that increases the surface area considerably.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-22 08:27 am (UTC)Controlling ought to be relatively straightforward, once an algorithm for the animation is created.
You see, I've spent the last year or two learning about programming microcontrollers, which are small, low-cost, low-power computers that are designed especially for what they call embedded systems, where a more fully-featured computer is way overkill.
Seeing as the strips are shipped rolled onto a reel, I'd think they're pretty darn flexible. =^.~=
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Date: 2015-01-23 08:04 pm (UTC)Don't hold your breath though. Getting an air-conditioner for this appartment has to come first. Also, if I dish out thousands on this fursuit then it will be longer before I can make a return visit to Canada.
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Date: 2015-01-28 07:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-02 09:14 am (UTC)Or failing that, just your advice would be invaluable when the time comes.
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Date: 2015-02-05 11:08 am (UTC)You might want to try exploring the maker community in Australia, if one exists.
I'm trying to find at least a Mini Maker Faire down there somewhere and am turning up nothing as yet.
Sydney had a Mini Maker Faire back in August of 2014, so it's possible they'll do another one this year, though you'd think they'd have started preparations for it already.
Hackerspaces are another option, as they're collections of people who make wide varieties of things with wide varieties of materials.
Not sure if there are any in your neighbourhood, though...
Aside from those options, let's hope we can figure out how to make it right the first time so it doesn't have to cross the ocean more than absolutely necessary.
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Date: 2015-02-07 05:13 am (UTC)However the electronics is a whole different ball game. I've seen a few fursuits that incorporate LEDs, but nowhere near on the scale that I'll be requiring.
(Having had very little sleep last night due to insomnia I'm going cross-eyed viewing the Mini Maker and Hackerspace websites).
All stuff for the future anyway. Plan #1 is to get an air-conditioner.
BTW - On a sour note Qantas was recently offering a good deal - AUD$2,000 return to visit Vancouver. Unfortunately I've already allocated all my leave time for the 2014/2015 year.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-17 09:18 am (UTC)Since you'll already have some batteries for the LEDs, it won't be too much more work to use battery-operated fans as well.
Sound will be less of a problem than for other things, because of how much soft material there will be in your suit.
(that's my story and I'm sticking to it)