Gloween Show

In this Instructable I decided to create an animated decoration with glow in the dark paint and optical fibers illuminated by an RGB LED matrix, managed by a microcontroller.

It's a small picture to hang, where I tried to combine art, electronics, optics and software...and what better occasion than Halloween to experience these things?

But don't be scared, it's easy to make and very cheap... I hope you like it!

Materials

• Black PVC sheet, thickness:3mm, dimensions: 30cm x 25cm
• A bottle of orange glow in the dark paint: link
• A bottle of green glow in the dark paint: link
• n.4 adhesive doorstop thickness > 20mm: example
• Optical fiber diameter 0,75mm: example
• n.2 WS2812B 8x8 RGB Led flexible matrix: link
• n.2 OpticalShow mask:
• You can 3D print yourself (see attached Optical show_00_00.stl)
• Or you can buy here
• n.1 OpticalShow card composed by:
• n.1 PCB: you can download gerber or buy the PCB here
• n.1 Wemos mini board: example 
• n.1 fuse holder for 5x20 fuse example
• 5x20 fuse 0,5 A
• n.4 PCB connector 2P 5mm example 
• n.1 PCB connector 3p 5mm example
• n.2 2xAA batteries holder example
• n.4 NiMh AA 2800mAh rechargeable batteries example

Tools.

• Hot glue gun
• Vinyl glue
• Small Driller (I used a Dremel)
• 0.75 drill bit
• nippers, pliers, screwdrivers, etc

With a pencil, draw the outlines of the pumpkin and the writing.

It is recommended to print the drawing on A4 sheet, with the proportions you want to give to the illustrations

Color the pumpkin and the writing with glow in the dark paint, using a fine brush.

It is necessary to apply 4 or 5 coats of paint to make the drawing clearly visible.

Before each coat of paint, wait for it to dry well.

Attach the 4 adhesive doorstops to the back of the sheet, at the 4 corners.

Drill holes for the fiber optics, inside the eyes of the pumpkin.

Use a small drill with a 0.75 mm bit.

Drill 16 holes per eye, for a use of 32 optical fibers.

Drill holes for the fiber optics, inside the "Halloween" writing.

Use a small drill with a 0.75 mm bit.

Drill 96 evenly spaced holes so as to proportionally cover the entire writing.

See the attached pdf as an example.

Insert both LED matrices into their own Opticalshow mask

Solder the components to the OpticalShow PCB.

For the Wemos Mini it is advisable to solder the female dip connectors to the board, in order to be able to extract the Wemos Mini in case of replacement.

Secure the components to the back of the panel using hot glue.

Be careful not to cover the holes that must remain free for the fibers.

OpticalShow masks must be fixed with the cables oriented towards the center of the panel.

Perform electrical connections according to attached drawing.

Use zip ties or hot glue to gather the wires tightly and secure them so they don't overlap the holes

Pass all the fibers one by one through each hole and fix it in the respective hole of the OpticalShow mask, following the attached document.

The fibers relating to the writing must follow the progressive number in the diagram, in order to create the hand written animation.

The fibers applied to the eyes of the pumpkin do not have a specific hole.

Download the 2 attached files:

• gloween_show_0.ino
• functions_5.h

Create a folder called: "gloween_show_0" and copy the 2 files inside it.

Run Arduino IDE application and configure the wemos mini board (see attached picture).

Install the libraries called by the sketch.

Connect the programming cable to Wemos Mini.

Compile and load the software

Supply the panel with n.4 NiMh AA 2800mAh rechargeable batteries.

Check that the light animation works.

Illuminates the panel so as to charge the fluorescence of the glow in the dark paint.

If you use sunlight, the result will be better!

If you have a UV lamp it's the TOP!