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SEEED STUDIO XIAO RP2040 ARDUINO
Seeed Technology Co., Ltd
NeoPixel Halloween Costume - Tips for Costume Electronics
2023-10-10 | By bekathwia
Addressable LEDs Microcontrollers Gemma RP2040 XIAO
Today I’m sharing my best tips for the design and construction of a NeoPixel Halloween costume, gleaned from dozens of wearable LED projects over the years.
First, make sure you are up to speed with the basics required to make a prototype NeoPixel circuit. If you need a refresher, check out the playlist for this series. We’ve got episodes about LEDs, soldering, Arduino and its code libraries, troubleshooting, and more.
Even if you have a pretty good idea of what you want to make, it’s always smart to make a sketch or diagram to help visualize your idea before you get started. It can help you make the bill of materials you’ll need, also called a BOM.
I’m making a flying saucer costume. I want a few LEDs around the perimeter and also some underlighting. I’m going to use recycled cardboard for the main body, with optional accents made from paper and 3D printing.
I found some different addressable LEDs on DigiKey that might be a good fit for this project. I also picked up a small microcontroller and some stranded wire.
It’s smart to use a solder-type board for something that’s going to move around, so your basic Arduino Uno form factor with plug-in headers isn’t going to cut it. These days there are a bunch of very capable, tiny, and affordable boards that would fit into any costume or accessory. I’ve had a really good time with boards like the Seeed Studio Xiao RP2040, or any RP2040 board for that matter, as well as the M0, like on the Gemma and Trinket.
We’ll also need a battery for the project. If you’ve got a lot of LEDs, you can use a USB battery pack like you’d use to recharge your phone. If you only have a few LEDs, however, your circuit may not draw enough current to exceed the auto-shutoff feature that most of the USB battery packs have. If that’s the case, more advanced makers might get a rechargeable lipoly battery that matches the capacity required by the circuit. They’re available in an enormous variety of shapes and sizes and require special precautions to use and store safely.
When you consider your own project idea, keep in mind this tip: Smaller isn’t always easier, and bigger isn’t always more difficult. My costume is easier to build because I can reach inside and all around the various elements. But it’s not so big as to be impractical, either. Arguably.
Every year I assign my students to make an LED Halloween Costume, and we march with them in the New York City Halloween Parade. They quickly learn their project’s weaknesses, for example, the wires pull apart because they didn’t have enough slack, the battery dies faster than expected, or the costume is just too unwieldy to keep up with the rest of the group.
My tips are based on years of practical experience building this type of thing myself and also helping my students build and fix their first costume with pixel LEDs inside.
It’s important that your circuit has good-quality solder joints. If you have a fraying strand or two on your pixels, the circuit may short out and become damaged and dysfunctional, and also potentially dangerous if you short out the battery. Refer to our previous episode on the topic for advice on making solid solder connections– basically, you want to be tidy and heat everything evenly.
Optionally consider some additional LED diffusion, but don’t overthink it. If paper’s what you’ve got, use that. Of course, you can also 3D print specialized diffusers to match the theme of your costume, but don’t let fancy tech get in the way of making your first prototype.
Something that’s not optional is strain relief. You absolutely need to prevent your wires from pulling, so your connections don’t rip apart and disable the function of your costume. Hot glue can be very helpful to anchor components and wires in place.
Here’s a tip for hot glue: keep a bowl of ice water nearby in case of burns. Of course, you should be careful to avoid coming into contact with the hot glue, but if you do burn yourself, you want to cool down the affected area right away. You’ll be surprised how much less damage happens to your skin when you keep an ice water bath nearby.
Speaking of water, keep in mind whether your project needs to be resistant to water or not. If the circuit is close to your humid body or likely to get a drink spilled on it, in addition to the obvious rainy weather, water resistance has to be a priority.
You can use various glues and adhesives to seal up the exposed electrical contacts and insulate them from moisture. You can also combine glue and heat shrink tubing for some extra physical strength while waterproofing.
Keep in mind that the materials of your costume, including vinyl and weather-resistant LED strands can also do most of the weatherproofing work for you.
Once you’ve got your costume to a wearable state, practice wearing it around! Make sure you can see and move, and make any adjustments needed to improve the comfort and practicality of your build.
We’ve covered a lot of the physical aspects of building a circuit into your costume, but don’t forget that the code is just as important. If you want to show off a few different LED colors or patterns, a good sketch to start with is the NeoPixel sample called ‘buttoncycler’. It counts the button presses and uses a case switch, which is basically a shorthand for a long chain of if/then/else if statements to play a different animation for each one.
Here are some resources that I recommend if you want to explore this further:
Easy LED Circuit: https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/easy-led-circuit/8085739c7ba44fac8b75e7dfd730b52d
Mystical LED Hood: https://youtu.be/GXaMSRCMBJ8
Pixel Tiara: https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/neopixel-tiara/a903b0ebb1fc467f8bfc1041c09027da
NeoPixel Punk Collar: https://youtu.be/79TI2oXu7_8
Cyber Tank Girl Bandolier: https://youtu.be/QFf-aT2AmZs
LED Umbrella: https://www.digikey.com/en/maker/projects/florabrella/c7a8cb4de8f0475f8a47c36af209a0f9
Costume Lighting Tips: https://youtu.be/THgtpIFEoc0
LED Brain cap pt 1: https://youtu.be/j6RcEM-AL8I and pt 2: https://youtu.be/-c6nYF3PdeQ
Iron Man Arc Reactor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loR9WxruS4g https://beckystern.com/2013/10/02/superhero-power-plant-iron-man-costume-reactor/
LED Galaxy Makeup: https://beckystern.com/2013/10/09/led-galaxy-makeup-space-face/
Don’t forget to check out the rest of this series!
Products:
- NeoPixel LEDs: https://www.digikey.com/short/r273d0z0
- Microcontrollers: https://www.digikey.com/short/7h4zwtz8
- Soldering iron: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/american-hakko-products-inc/FX888D-23BY/9840229
- Solder: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sra-soldering-products/WBNCC633731-2OZ/10709840
- Wire strippers - https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/american-hakko-products-inc/CSP-30-1/8346234
- Flush Cutters: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/american-hakko-products-inc/CHP-170/6228793
- Hot glue: https://www.digikey.com/short/2598p879
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