GID planetarium in your home w/pic

[LuxLuthor]

This is an LCD projector. I can make it display anything...

That sounds interesting...you have a link of what it is?

 

[greenlight]

LCD projector

 

[LuxLuthor]

That looks pretty cool, but even on their website, I can't find how much the image projects to in about 7 feet if you put it on the floor to project up to the ceiling (my ceilings are 8 feet high) to get an accurate star display for painting.

I might buy one of those Sega projectors to see how that looks.

 

[greenlight]

It's not meant to be a global projector... I think that's why skywlkr mentioned doing the project in quadrants. That would be easy to do, the stars don't have to match up perfectly. Just the major constellations, and they don't have to be perfectly oriented, either.

 

[65535]

Get a planetarium projector, cover your ceiling in light reactive GID paint that cures when exposed to light, maybe even UV. Cure it overnight, then wash all the uncured paint. It would work if you can find UV curing GID paint that WON'T cure without UV exposure.

 

[greenlight]

In theory that sounds nice but in practice i'm sure it's not the best method. Besides already having the super bright glow paint to apply the dots, the paint that you are describing might be expensive for covering the whole area, and you waste so much by washing it off, assuming that it comes off. You're supposed to wash around the glowing area? How do you see it? In the dark? It might not be bright enough with just one coat. Plus you have to paint the room in the dark? And maybe the whole ceiling glows now.

Having the EXACT stellar projection is not a necessity, since one only recognizes the constellations. The rest of the starfield is just random dots to fill out the scene and make it look realistic. Plus the inexactness of the technique (getting the intensity of different stars accurately) leads you to some creative ways to compensate.

It's not a tough project, I wonder who will complete his first?

 

[DaveNagy]

I'd like to at least START on mine. Come on, UPS!

So, LuxLuthor, would you recommend this stencil as the one to get? (Assuming I want a starfield that's at least 12' x 12'.)

I'm trying to imagine what an incredible (glowing) mess I would make if I tried to spatter-paint my ceiling with a toothbrush. But my mind just boggles. Perhaps I need to invest in an airbrush? I've always wanted one anyhow. Can they be made to "spatter"? It would be nice if there was a way to lay down thousands of teensy-weensy stars.

Ah!

 

[LuxLuthor]

I'd like to at least START on mine. Come on, UPS!

So, LuxLuthor, would you recommend this stencil as the one to get? (Assuming I want a starfield that's at least 12' x 12'.)

I'm trying to imagine what an incredible (glowing) mess I would make if I tried to spatter-paint my ceiling with a toothbrush. But my mind just boggles. Perhaps I need to invest in an airbrush? I've always wanted one anyhow. Can they be made to "spatter"? It would be nice if there was a way to lay down thousands of teensy-weensy stars.

Ah!

Keep in mind that the stencils basically just give you the points of the named constellations, so if that matters most, then start with the stencil. If you don't care about constellations, then honestly you could just do random stars with a small, stiff brush. As far as the toothbrush, it's not going to be hard to do once you practice your technique on something, and hold a large piece of cardboard underneath to catch drops.

Problem I see with the airbrush is the cost of the airbrush, paint, and/or powder if you mix your own, and learning curve of using it. Whenever I get around to this, I'm sure I will do it over a number of nights....starting with the stencil constellations, then adding a bunch of smaller stars with smaller brush & dilluted paint. Then another step will be the toothbrush. If some area needs more, or has too much...then white paint and do again.

My theory is when I look up at the stars, I don't just see the constellations...although I would like those to be recognizeable. I also like the idea of using at least 2 colors..and maybe more. I'll probably use a basement workroom to experiment first.

 

[DaveNagy]

Yeah, the whole "accuracy factor" may not be as important to me as I've been letting on. I'm a city slicker, so it's not like I have a vivid mental picture of what the stars are "supposed" to look like. Still, it might be neat to do something like:

"This is exactly how the stars looked at midnight on the night of our wedding, from the beach on which we were married."

Or, you know, something along those lines. I was discussing this with a friend, and he had the idea of attaching a laser pointer to one of those automatic sky-tracking mounts that telescopes all seem to come with these days. Maybe connect it to a computer, so you could automate things a bit easier. Then you just tell it to "find" the star, and the laser marks the spot. Overcomplicated? Sure! But it would be pretty cool. My friend works with a guy that heads up the local astronomy club, so he's going to ask him if this seems at all do-able. (Being able to borrow the mount, rather than buying it, would help a bunch.)

Here's a slightly less crazy method of doing the same sort of thing.

 

[LuxLuthor]

That was an interesting concept. Even recommended this Krylon spray glow paint for the Milky Way

Here is a $23 airbrush that runs on a can of compressed gas.

 

[greenlight]

Nice article. I wonder who Rob Brown is. Hasn't commented on this thread yet, but sounds like a good flashaholic.

 

[bridaw]

Nice article. I wonder who Rob Brown is. Hasn't commented on this thread yet, but sounds like a good flashaholic.

No pictures of either star fields?! They are nice how to shots.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Oh man this Starry Night program that he used to make his projector does look sweet. This is a pix from it. Click on it to see the Amazon listing.

 

[greenlight]

That's a great image.

 

[AndyTiedye]

We have a hung ceiling in our finished basement room.
I'm thinking of doing a starscape, but instead of UV paint
I'd like to use LEDs (LOTS of tiny LEDs)?

 

[LuxLuthor]

We have a hung ceiling in our finished basement room.
I'm thinking of doing a starscape, but instead of UV paint
I'd like to use LEDs (LOTS of tiny LEDs)?

OMG....you have to be nuts.

 

[greenlight]

That's been done before with fiber optic cables. I seem to remember seeing that in a movie theatre, but I'm sure there are other places, too.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Years ago, when I lived in a trailer, I bought a tube of that glow-in-the-dark 'glue' that people often use for decorating shirts (forgot the brand, I still have some so will edit with that later). I free-handed constellations on the ceiling of my bedroom, and in some places made smudges with my thumb... In all, while not all that realistic, it certainly was better than the GitD plastic stars.

No pics, though, sorry... (and I haven't had the gumption to try it in my house yet.)

 

[Sigman]

Where are "we" at here...any updates/results/pics? :thinking:

 

[LuxLuthor]

Where are "we" at here...any updates/results/pics? :thinking:

I am waiting for two things....the new Version 10 Glow Inc paint, and my wife to be gone for a few days. I know it would be better if it was one of those things she didn't know about until after the fact.