LED MASK (flashing & other features?)

Hey guys...


Well, I'm planning on making a mask like the one pictured below... design(not exact design but just an example..) part will be glowing with surface leds on the backside....

I was planning on making them RGB so I can change colors...

If I can, I want to add various other features like flashing(slow/fast maybe?) and anything else that I can feasibly do.

So, can anyone help me get started with tips/advice/links? ... I am decent at soldering and my friend who will be helping is very good at it...

Can i use an existing chip to do this.. such as a chip from a photon or led toys..?

or are there good pre-programmed or programmable microcontrollers that can fit in my pocket?

I have 6 months to complete this..

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

I would recommend an assortment of low power monochrome color 3mm LED's (or smaller surface LED's if you can find them) installed in rows (at some interesting angles). A pocket micocontroller of some sort would probably be your best bet, something able to address each row with an on/off command so you can get a cascading effect, and blinking of each row, etc.

You should look for some cheap bicycle LED taillamp flashers. They have a built in microcontroller with multiple speed flash modes, Nightrider type back-and-forth mode, directional mode, etc. With some surface mount LED's and wiring, you could do some very interesting things with such a mask.

FWIW, my wife bought two from e-Bay for just a few dollars. They are cheap, but have super bright 5mm red LEDs. IMO, they are much too bright to be that close to your eyes. However, if you swapped the red for white, or blue, the LED would be running below it's rated Vf. It would result in a more subdued output, while still achieving a good effect.

I think an Arduino micro controller would work pretty well.. They aren't that big and you can program tons of light patterns and what ever else you want into it..

Thanks for the input guys..

I will probably use the arduino micro controller...

Is there a limit to how many patterns I can use? and is there a certain one i should get? Nano, mini,etc..??



I'd like to use RGB LEDS... Have it flash different colors, slow speed fast speed, pattern effects, solid, all colors flashing simultaneously, etc....

I mean can i put hundreds of patterns, or a few?

Well I don't have any experience with Arduino boards so I can't really help you on deciding which board to get.. But for the patterns you actually have to write code to program them in using the Arduino software.. I think most of the information you need to get this working is on Arduino's website.. Plus I'm sure there are many more Arduino specific resources and forums out there than can help you out more than me.