LED-lit Tron v2.0 suit

Costumes rule. Glowing costumes rule even more. To make the king of glowy costumes - you gotta look just one place...inside your computer :). By following this instructable, you'll have the knowledge and ability to make an LED lit garment that looks just like the ones in the new Tron flick.

My goals in making this costume were to make a robust, easily washable, waterproof, Tron style suit which was energy efficient to minimize battery weight and hardware bulk. To do that, I had to dodge the commonly used EL wire implementations and switch to LEDs.

Even if you aren't interested in making a Tron suit, I would highly recommend reading the section on lighting implementation - I did not individually stitch each LED with conductive thread...instead I used a combination of silicone coated LED strips and faux leather to produce a beautiful, diffuse light without seeing those pesky LED points.

Step 1: Other Lighting Options - Why not use EL Wire?

Most Tron-ish garmets are made with this stuff called EL wire or EL tape (which is based on the same technology). Although EL technologies are great for a lot of reasons, I feel that they aren't very well suited to wearable apps. I built an old school Tron suit using EL wire, and found the following problems with it:

• EL Wire is super fragile! Bending it too tightly or repeated bending motions (i.e. wrapping around body joints or placing into a washing machine) will cause the EL wire to fail. And when you try to repair any EL wire damage, you quickly find out that...
• EL Wire repair isn't pretty! To repair EL wire, you splice in solid non-glowing wire to the broken sections...which completely destroys the effect of a single, unbroken line.
• EL Wire is pretty dim! You won't be able to see EL glow at all during the day, which leads to the next problem...
• EL Wire looks lame if its not illuminated! You can get fancy and do some work to hide EL wire, but in general, unlit EL wire looks like just that - wires on the outside of a garment. So, if its not glowing, its generally pretty ugly.
• You need an AC inverter for mobile applications! EL wire runs on AC current, and any battery pack you can buy will be DC. Therefore, you need to add more bulky hardware, and there are more things to break while wearing your creation!

In an effort to dodge these issues, I decided to use LEDs as a technology to light the suit instead. They are harder to implement, but the results are worth it.

Comments

[noobZ]

Thanks for the ible! I basically did the reverse to light up my "leather" jacket

[sheetmetalalchemist]

This is sweet! Nice man.

[boston1798]

Thank you for sharing. First off I am very interested in green tech, my wife and I have minimal resorces but we have a Mercury Cougar that we want to make GREEN that involves fitting the rear diff from a Ford Mondao/ Jaguar X series or even Ford Cougar, the diff would power an ex WD dynamo, give 'Engine Braking' and store energy for parking ect. We also want to fit solar paneling to the roof that can power the house. We are interested in also using HHO (Brown's Gas), But as I said we have minimum funds so using your idears with the TRON lit suit we can advertise the Green car, ie' when the solar charges the batteries a band down the side of the car glows blue. Sorry if this is somwhat winded but i hope that you may help, oh and um.. best wishes. Mike And Ruth Bolton, Uk, Europe

[homosapienartista]

Hey sheetmetalalchemist: Your LED-lit Tron v2.0 suit is spectacular! I have two questions for you: 1. where would a person buy the clear silicone / water proof LED flat light strips you used in your Tron suit project? 2. If instead I decide to use EL wire, where can a person buy EL wire or flexible, small diameter, neon rope light and associated wiring components?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

See step #8 for where I got my LED strips (http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-lit-Tron-v20-suit/step8/Picking-some-LEDs-for-the-lighting/). I'm in the bay area, so I have a tendency to use cool neon for my EL needs...they are good people!

[Nikhil_]

"sheetmetalalchemist" bro can u help me in suggesting for our making of suits of tron for dance ... we are gonna use LED strips can u tell hw much battries we wolud nee.. and its placements its fixing can u help me plzz reply as possible fast _
- Nikhil studying in 10th

[Toaafi]

Sorry , i need 2xAA Battery powered- EL wires..
Specs...
Colour: Orange/blue/green and white
Quantity: Two of each including each one's 2xAA battery case.
Driver: smallest multimode switch (eg.fast flash,slow flash you know what i mean...)
Hope this make it easier...
Cheers!!

[Toaafi]

Hey again
If you could send the stuff over that will be great, still need some help getting them...

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Um...you're going to have to be more specific. Is "the stuff" led strips? LEDs? El wire? Color? Quantity? Driver needed? There is lots of stuff...

[Toaafi]

This is Toaafi
Hey Man, that awesome stuff !!!!
At my location (Pacific) its a bit hard to get access to EL wires..
Just wondering to see if it would be possible to send me some orange/green/blue wires..

please send me a quick reply so we could discuss the costs....
I am working on a project thats the lst key factor to completing it...

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Hey Toaafi -

Have you got this sorted yet? Let me know if you need my help getting this stuff over there..

SMA

[fluffydragon]

Hi there! I sent you a message before, but I just wanted to send an update with what I ended up doing with elements of your tutorial!

I ended up using around 400 LED's for part of my costume, the glowing cloak. Thankfully, the entire thing didn't have to glow, just the bottom third.

I bought 2 strips of lights, one from Ebay and one from Amazon. I sheathed each strip of lights in sections, in 2 layers of fabric, stitched into tubes. The tubes hang from the inner most layer of my cloak. I originally tried to stitch the tubes to the cloak directly, but hot gluing the tubes with dots of hot glue allowed me better ability to space them appropriately and allow for flexibility. On top of that is layered soft interfacing, very loosely folded to help spread the light. on top of that is a blue translucent material that I painted lines on with fabric paint to block part of the light. I cut the strips into several sections to make the light spread evenly, and to make sure as many strips as possible faced forward (reverse from yours, but it works better for my purposes)

It was heavy as hell, but still not too heavy to swish around, and no worse than a thick comforter.

I found a portable lithium ion battery that performed beautifully, and is mounted in a sling on my back that I was able to access easily to turn off when not posing to conserve power. The battery has both a 9 volt and a 12 volt option, so I could set it to the higher output when I knew I wasn't going to be out as long.

I submitted this costume as part of a CNN ireport, and they had me pose for them at DragonCon :D

Thanks so much for your tutorial, I don't think i could have done it without some of your suggestions!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

AWESOME! Well done, and thanks for the compliments!!

[MaSe87]

Great work! I really like the idea and are looking into building something similar. So how is the fake leather feeling on your body? I mean you have a shirt thats "breathing" but do you sweat underneath the leather? So do you think it is okay when you're dancing at a club with it.

[ahunt7]

so basically the led's are under the white shirt?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Not really - there's some subedlty here:

1) The LEDs are under the black leather pieces
2) The LEDs face your *body*, not the shirt

So, the glow is made by scattering the LED light off your skin. If you just put the LEDs under the shirt, you'll see a whole bunch of different points of light, not a nice, diffuse glow.

[malshanp]

are they in between the shirt and leather or behind the shirt ?

[yaly]

What about the pants?

[jkco613]

This is a great instructable - highly detailed and easy to follow. I want to use this suit for a costume and need to turn it on/off easily, quickly and repeatedly. I figure the best way to do this is to add a handheld pushbutton switch. Can you advise me on the best way to do this, i.e. what type of switch and where/how to connect it within the circuit.
Mind you, I know very little about this stuff. Just trying to create a cool costume! Thanks!

[nerd12]

still like the suit though.

[nerd12]

you would look better in a half life HEV suit. you do look like gordon

[alante1]

Hey sheetmetalalchemist my name is alante edwards i have a very good idea for a league that i want to start. I like your tron shirts, and i think that your skill can really be a great asset to what i need, i wanna know if u can make that into a full padded body suit and hemets. If your intrested in my idea you can email me at [e-mail]. ps. do you or anyone you know, know there way around non-expanding recreational foam.

[dansan101]

HI! im looking at replicating parts of this project.
I have a sheet of cloth backed vinyl and was hoping to attacht it to a cotton shirt, Will the iron adhesive be strong enough? or should i look at fabric glues?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Hello dansan! I think the iron-on adhesive stuff should work - it has been working for me. A lot of it has to do with wear and abuse - the iron on adhesives work great as long as you aren't wearing the garment every day. If you are wearing the item daily, you may need to look into something more robust (like a fabric glue).

[dansan101]

THANKS! Also, i wont have access to a laser cutter and will be doing it VERY carefully with a craft knife. Im struggling with the scaling the pattern to suit my shirt, any advice?
or a program that i can use to view and scale the images?

[yodead2]

Hello sheetmetalalchemist. I would like your opinion on the led lights if you got a moment. Since I have no experience in soldering or electronics, I was going to go the led Christmas light route powered by AA batteries. I have the links for three different styles of led lights below ranging from wide-angle to droplet leds. I wanted to ask if any of them would be ideal to produce the diffusion effect you mentioned in your instructable. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

http://www.christmas-light-source.com/White-Micro-Drop-LED-Battery-Operated-Light-Set-_p_2039.html

http://www.christmaslightsetc.com/p/Battery-Operated-Micro-Fairy-LED-Lights-18-Blue-Lamps-4-Spacing-Green-Wire-40111.htm

http://www.christmaslightsetc.com/p/Battery-Operated-Christmas-Wide-Angle-Lens-20-White-LED-Lamps-4-inch-Spacing-Green-Wire--19256.htm

[amirza3]

Man,I love it.that gotta be cool.but it's a little difficult to do this

[GlowWireGuy]

Nice. Very creative solution!

[eecharlie]

This looks great, I really like the specific detailed specs that make it easy to reproduce (not that I have time to this halloween!). It would also be great to see what your total budget was.

A suggestion- has anyone looked into side-emitting waterproof LED strips? They seem to exist for indoor 'architecture' lighting, i.e. my first search result may have the LEDs a bit spaced out but still looks pretty good: http://aptlight.com/productsview.php?id=90&proid=118

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Thank you sir!

I actually looked at side emitters too :). They *might* work. You'd have to do some experimenting with how far away from the white sections of the garment they'd be placed. This was my problem - too close to the see through part, you'd see points of light. Too far away, you'd see nothing. There may be a happy medium that I didn't take enough time to discover.

BTW, the strips I used were made for cars, so waterproofness is easy: 
http://www.oznium.com/side-emitting-led-strip

[tdees]

I love it man... I have been trying to come up with ideas for a tron costume and your method is both creative and refreshing.... thanks!

[keast]

How do I get something cut with a laser? Can I take it somewhere?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

You can take it somewhere! One option is to see if you've got a local hackerspace that has one: http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackerspaces, or use these guys: http://www.ponoko.com/

[warpling]

When you say you needed 11 of them, do you mean 11' of LED strips, or 11 segments total of various lengths (it looks to me like each foot section can be broken into 6 segments of 3 LEDs). Thanks!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

11 feet of LED strips, then cut into segments. You are correct that each strip can be broken into as small as 3 LED sections!

[athomas27]

Would using white-coated wires minimize how much they would show up, since the wires would reflect a little more light?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

maybe! You don't see these wires anyway though since they are pretty much hidden underneath the leather bits.

[digitalgoddess]

What AWG did you use, and was it solid or stranded? I'd assume stranded?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Hey Digi Goddess! I actually used solid wire - its a bunch easier to solder IMO. I think it was 18GA if I remember correctly - seems to be holding up great. Hope that helps!

[digitalgoddess]

Thanks so much, and your method and costume are great, really appreciate your posting!

[ahunt7]

wait, where is that red and black wire coming from?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Your favorite wire box...or the store :)

[r351574nc3]

Have you considered neoprene?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Yes! Someone else here actually mentioned this. It sounds like it could be viable, but YEOW would it get hot!

[D-RezFTW]

Hi i just signed up here solely for your tron suit project :D Its so legit! and cheaper, awesome looking alternative to el tape or el panels. sooo on to my problem.
I am confident i can do everything described in your project i just dont have any experience in mobile battery power sources so i need to know something before i start making mine only to find i cant afford an expensive mobile battery source LOL.

I want to buy this led strip(http://www.amazon.com/HitLights-Lighting-Strip-Blue-Meter/dp/B005GL55IU/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1318204155&sr=1-16) and i will cut and extend the single led strip with no solder strip-to-strip connectors(http://www.amazon.com/LED-Strip-Connector-2-Conductor-2091/dp/B00452BCRY/ref=sr_1_8?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1318222313&sr=1-8) where needed.

So my question is if i am merely cutting and extending the same strip of led lights what do i buy for battery power? All i know is it needs 12vDC power. It prob needs power for about 4 hours, but the less expensive the better.
Thanks so much for your project here and help :)

[sheetmetalalchemist]

If you need to suit to be lit for 4 hours, you'll need an expensive battery pack :). Check out the math I did on the page with the battery pack on it to calculate total amount of time the suit could be lit. One option that could work is to carry around 8 disposable D batteries. That will get you to 12V, but they will be one time use (and way more expensive than a rechargeable solution in the long run).

[windrift00]

Ok I have a comment. I cannot figure out how to get the files for the Vector images to work. I found a place that will laser cut my leather, I just need the vector images and the correct size that I need so I can give it to them to cut. Can you help me out, I'm totally lost here :(

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Um...I'm trying to figure out what you mean by "work" :). Do you not have a program to open the files? Are the files corrupted? Don't look right? Are you getting errors from your laser cutter guys? Help me out a bit :)

[windrift00]

I couldn't find a program to open them. I downloaded one that converted the dxf to jpeg, then I increased the size by 27% (Which should fix the size if I did my calculations correctly). Do I need to convert back to dxf to give it to the laser cutter guys?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Yep - laser cutting will need some kind of vector file. Try inkscape. Its free!

[ahunt7]

answer this please
you solder the ends of the led wire to the ends of the trail tech then connect it
but what is the other plug for???

[sheetmetalalchemist]

I'm assuming you mean the other connector on the battery itself, right? That connector is for charging the Li-Ion pack

[ahunt7]

ok so the line for charging is specifically for charging and nothing else right?

[jeffereymcquiston]

sheetmetalalchemist or anyone,

i bought a replica motorcycle suit (that doubles as a costume) from udreplicas so it's not foam rubber like in the movie but i like it cause it serves a dual purpose

question: sheet or anyone out there, wud u be willing to take my suit and put the lights on it. (WOULD $1000 SEEM FAIR OR MORE?) i realize doing this by the halloween party on oct 22nd 2011 is probably impossible but i wud be willing to pay extra. the party is the biggest in buffalo ny (2000 people) if no one can do it by then i wud still be interested so i cud where it next halloween. the suit already has white reflective strips on it so the layout is already made. it wud just need the lights. the motorcycle suit can't be washed so if it's easier it cud just be a permanent sew in. i can't find anyone on the web who is willing to do this or that's as good as u steel. if anyone knows who can do this please list or email [e-mail] thank you. SORRY FOR THE LONG COMMENT

[ahunt7]

so the shirt material is nearly see through and the leather isnt right.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Yup - you've got it!

[syntheticpanda]

Great write-up, thanks for this. I'm planning on using led strip lights for a similar project, and I'm curious about the safety of a battery that can discharge so much current (admittedly I know almost nothing about electrical safety, other than high current = bad).

Could a battery like the one you used cause serious harm if the terminals contact the skin (worst case, wet skin on opposite sides of the torso)? I realize it's not likely and that most risk could probably be avoided with proper waterproofing, but I'm thinking of the worst possible scenario here.

Thanks!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Greetings Sir Panda!

Its really unlikely that you'll get hurt by the electricity coming out of the battery. Remember that the wires and the circuitry is way more conductive than your skin, and electricity is always going to take the path of lowest resistance. This is how welders can get away with welding in the rain with 220V @ 10-15 Amps and not get destroyed.

The most dangerous part about using this battery is charging it. If you aren't going to use the stuff that I used, make sure you get a proper lithium charger with a current limiter. If you don't, you risk blowing up the battery, burning down your house, and generally ruining your weekend. Just sayin'.

[syntheticpanda]

Thanks for the quick response! I was a little unnerved by some of the high maximum discharge rates of the li-po batteries I've looked at, but you're right, the skin has too high a resistance for 12v to be lethal. That is, of course, assuming that the leads don't break the skin! o_O

[delgeezee]

Please update the battery link to the exact battery you used. Its the last thing I need.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Whoops! Sorry about that - I updated the link in the step, but here it is for your convenience: http://www.batteryspace.com/li-ion18650boxbattery12v-132v77wh4aratewithregulatorandlowbatteryalerttrailtechplug.aspx

[delgeezee]

Thanks so much for the reply. I am going to try the 8xAA battyery pack @ radio shack for 3 bucks and see how well that holds up before i buy that battery. I am using and audio sensitive RGB controller attached to RGB strips in my Tron style Halo costume.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

You're welcome to give it a spin! Though you may want to do some math first - note that alkaline AAs only carry about 2700mAh of capacity. If you use the same amount of LEDs that I did (11 feet), you are only going to get about 1.5 hours out of your battery pack (11ft. x 130mA/ft. = 1430mA total. 2700mAh/1430mA = 1.9hr under ideal circumstances). The pack I used is 6200mAh in capacity, giving you a total of 6200mAh/1430mA = 4.3hr under ideal circumstances.

[Apxeon]

how much did this cost you? i really want to make a tron costume, and this is perfect, i definitely have the skills or have access to that kind of thing,but i dont know how much id need to muster together to pull this out by halloween...

please respond!!!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

I'd say plan on about $400 to get the whole thing right. A lot of the cost is in the LEDs, so if you are looking to trim some cost, you could consider using different LED strips.

[cbyrd2]

I think I will use your directions but I will instead do a "Kevin Flynn" jacket with the large strip going down one side.
Thanks!!

[atilladolphun]

this is neet some day i am going to make one of thees costumes then work on a bike of some some sort if i ever get the money for it.

[stanielk]

Hi, this is my first time using instructables, so please be patient with me. I truly admire your costume as well as respect your use of techniques. It has inspired me to attempt to make a suit like this. If you dont mind me asking, what type of budget were you working with, because researching the different products, it starts to add up. Especially for the silicone sealed led lights?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Hey Stanielk - sorry for the delay. Its not super cheap. If you follow the links in the instructable, you can see if any of the pricing has changed, but the LED strips run ~$15/ea and the power pack is about $90 (though I already had this lying around from a different project). I think total cost to me to build everything was ~$180 or so after getting the fake leather and whatnot.

[stanielk]

Thanks for the reply! Ive been experimenting with other materials with your LED lighting concept to make the whole body costume. I've also been inspired to build the helmet as well. Wish me luck! I will post pictures soon hopefully in a month of 2... Thanks for the creative inspiration!

[lwall]

This is awesome. I am going to try to make it. It probably won't work because I am not technical at all.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

boo - don't tell me you gave up already! Hopefully this looks awesome.

[D00M99]

Finally! Someone has finally figured out how to make an AWESOME Tron suit WITHOUT EL-wire! YAY!!! Works much better for wider light strips.

[Tifetup]

EL sheets work pretty well too! They allow complex shapes with even lighting!

[swilliamson1]

how do you cut and re solder the el tape and sheets I cant find any threads on the net saying how to do it. thanks man. if you could shoot me an email [e-mail].

[mu0p]

I've been looking for a source to buy EL sheets for ages, Im sick of the wire!!! Please let me know where you got yours! Thanks~!

[Tifetup]

I finally posted an instructable with 'most' of the details. I still need to add some stuff.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Sam-Flynn-Suit-from-TRON-Legacy/

[kokoriyu]

Do EL sheets light up brightly even in the daytime? I have been scouring the internet for information on how bright they are versus EL tape to no avail. D:

[Tifetup]

It really depends on the color... My blue one is pretty visible against the black. I have't stood in direct sunlight though...and it is the winter where I am...

[D00M99]

They have EL sheets? Since when? And where?

Nice suit by the way. Looks quite comfortable too!

[Tifetup]

Thanks! For the most part it is, but it is also a motorcycle racing suit so it is pre-built in a crouched position. A little baggy in certain places...lol.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sam-Flynn-Suit-from-TRON-Legacy/

[Virtual Adept]

If I recall correctly, EL sheets were used on the costumes in the movie. I would think that they would be a lot more expensive than EL wire right now, given how new they are.

[openroad12]

(removed by author or community request)

[openroad12]

Actually they used stuff called light tape for the actual suits http://www.lighttape.co.uk/

[Tifetup]

The sheets, especially the cuttable ones I used are more expensive. The movie used different materials. I'm not sure how accurate the UK light tape rumour is. I know the stuff they used was a lot more flexible, almost like a fabric which I recently discovered a contact for. I'm working on getting more info.

[swilliamson1]

hello i was wondering also if you ever found out what material they actually used on the movie.

[Virtual Adept]

In Cinefex Magazine #124, page 39, it is stated that Disney went to a company called Oryon Technologies, which makes screen-printed electroluminescent lamps. They worked up the costumes' circuitry patterns as vector files in Photoshop and Illustrator, which were then scaled up appropriately and printed layer by layer onto the fabric. The lighting was printed onto thin screens, which were then cut apart, sewn together using conductive thread, and velcro'd on. The lamps were powered with miniature (they're described as 'nano-' in size, whatever that means) lithium power cells and custom fabricated power inverters that were hidden inside the identity disk sockets on the backs of the costumes.

Also, the costmes' lighting effects were enhanced in post-production, so keep in mind that your real-world mileage will probably vary.

[openroad12]

Cool you should keep me informed on whatever you find out about the fabric

[Virtual Adept]

A few months ago, a group of propmakers on one of the big forums (I don't remember which one, it was one of the ones that requires you to be active in the propmaking community just to get on, I had to dig it out of Google's cache) all went in on a lot of black lycra with the hexagonal pattern printed on it and divvied it up amongst themselves to make their own T:L costumes. It was the same forum where there were people who tracked down one of the copies of _Digital Frontier_ from the Flynn Lives ARG so they could measure it, scan it, and make their own copies, if that helps you narrow it down any.

I don't know who they had make the fabric for them, or what it cost. I'd think it was expensive.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

*swoon* thank you kind sir or madam or robot!

[sub893]

cool!

[PeterC1031]

Just wondering about attaching the velcro to the fabric with stitch witchery... I know you used adhesive backed velcro for the LED strip side but what about for the fabric side? Do you use sew-on velcro for the stitch witchery side or does the stitch witchery also work with the adhesive backed velcro? Thanks!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Stitch witchery will definitely work on the adhesive backed side. Actually, it makes you life way easier because the s.w. gets glued to the adhesive backed velcro when you flip it over and doesn't wander all over the place on you!

[PeterC1031]

Thanks for your reply. I was wondering if the velcro with s.w. is strong enough to hold a load without falling off. The adhesive seems pretty sticky but adhesive never seems to stay on fabrics very well... I hope the stitch witchery will be able to hold a side load... I am hoping it will keep a fabric tightly stretched without falling off.

[NatNoBrains]

Nice...
Much better than the others.
But I don't have a laser cutter ma-bob :(

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Thank you! You could probably also do the work the laser did if you're really good with fabric scissors and are super patient. Maybe just print out the designs on a large format printer and start cutting? You should make an orange one ;-D.

[Virtual Adept]

You can cut faux leather with a very sharp knife, a very new pair of EMT shears, or a scalpel. The cutting edges will start to dull and mess up your cuts, so keep an eye on how much trouble you're having if you use them and switch out if you need to.

[srilyk]

You could also use a sharp knife (hobby, exacto, box cutter, or the rolling kind they sell in the fabric department of box chains here in the US) and a metal ruler.

Also, excellent instructable!

[NatNoBrains]

It's alright :)

[EaglesFan77]

What about an old wet suit from a thrift store or somewhere instead of faux leather? That would be form fitting and stretchable plus completely opaque. And you can get it as a one piece full body suit so you could make the whole thing.. Like the idea for LED's though, EL tape is to expensive.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

I was just talking with someone about this the other day! Its a good idea. My only concern with a wet suit is that it would be *HOT*. This Tron (i.e. me) spends a fair amount of time shaking his booty in while wearing this suit, and I fear that it may end up in Tron heat stroke if I used a wet suit. Maybe its not as bad as I would have thought though! The faux leather wasn't too expensive - about $30 in the end.

[Virtual Adept]

In the past, I've had success with putting chilled reusable cold packs down the spines of some of my costumes. The ones that have fabric sewn around them so you can tie them in place (say, your lower back or both shoulders) are easy to retrofit to hang properly.. They're great for preventing heat stroke, especially if you like to cut a rug while you're wearing them.

[Erissed1]

Great tutorial! Now I'm thinking in how to make a Quorra's outfit and this would help me a lot. Thanks

[dragonofeternal]

Very great tutorial. Helped me figure out how to make the lighting for a different (but similar) costume.

[sypher]

I was thinking about doing the exact same way! Thanks for blazing the trail, I am so going to do this now... What was the cost of the electronics?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Awesome to hear! The stuff I used was pretty expensive - 11x 12in. LED strips @ $15 a pop hurts :(. I think there may be some people in the comments below though that are finding cheaper ways to do this too. Good luck!

[-Courtney-]

OMG, amazing!
I'm working on my Quorra 2.0. EL wasn't working too well. This is genius, I will definitley employ a few of these techniques. Thank you!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Glad to help out another super nerd :). Can't wait to see the final project!

[-Courtney-]

I'll be sure to send you photos. I'll also be making a Sam costume for my brother.
Do you think LEDs will be strong enough to be seen through a very thin white vinyl instead of t-shirt fabric?

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Uuuuuum - maybe...its hard to say :). Maybe the best way to proceed is to buy a small section of LEDs you are planning on using and put it behind the vinyl to see how well they shine through. That's pretty much how I figured out how many / which LED strands to use for my suit. Hope that helps!

[rexubaub]

i love tron legacy. and anything associated with it! great costume, it gave me an idea of how to make one! Thanks!

[pavlovmax]

Awesome Man! =)))

[gamma12]

I promised my grandchildren I would make them some robots costumes. Costume is no problem but they want lights for off/on switches and other blue blinking lights just to look cool. How do I pull that off?? you guys seem to have some great ideas with LED's .... can I use them and where would I buy them. Thanks for your help.

[skittlespider]

I would suggest a set of christmas lights. Many come with programmable parts to control blinking and things like that. Also if you get a few colors, that could help you figure out who is who while they are in costume.

I don't have much experience with LED Christmas lights, but I assume they work on a similar principle.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Sounds cool! I talk about how I did the lighting on this suit starting with step 8: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-lit-Tron-v20-suit/step8/Picking-some-LEDs-for-the-lighting/. However, EL wire could be a little easier if this is your first foray into wearable electronics. A link to a pretty good guide for attaching EL wire to garments is here: http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-add-EL-wire-to-a-coat-or-other-garment/ Hope that helps!

[TinCan]

I bought a one meter RGB LED strip from Sparkfun.com with 60 LEDs. Because they are RGB you could change colors at will.

Nice suit!

[sheetmetalalchemist]

I was thinking about doing this so I could change from good guy to bad guy, etc. but wanted to save some cash on the light strips. If you make one with the RGB LEDs, I'd *love* to see the results!

[TinCan]

The 60 count RGB LED 1 meter strip is only $24.95 and Wowzers they are BRIGHT! 12 volt strip. I plan on doing a hat band with the strip I just received.

TC

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Please post pictures! I can't wait to see what it looks like.

[mojo-chan]

I'm surprised mainstream clothing has not started to do this kind of thing. Not on this scale but some lit rings around the wrists or the waist would be cool.

[pcmods]

Mainstream is making clothing like this - http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/

[Tifetup]

A worthy effort. It's good to know other people are trying to make it real!!! I wish I had a laser cutter!!! That would have saved me a lot of trouble cutting EL sheets with an Exacto blade.

[tox1cchicken]

DO YOU HAVE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW YOU MADE YOURS?

[MK3424]

It should be called as a TRON LEGACY suit

[paulzef]

I've had similar problems with fabric in other projects I've done, I found that a layer of very black (that brand new black that you can only seem to find in clothing) fabric like the ones they use for T-shirts (it had a tight weave meaning less light gets through) with a metalic layer of black fabric from a dressmakers or craft store layered on the back (metalic side ine, very thin) blocks like ALL the light for LED's. I've even got a cape made of it :) If I get around to doing this project, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

Wow - that sounds like a great idea. It would also probably be way more comfy than the fake leather that I used. Can you laser through that metallic stuff though?

[sarahmilan]

Wow. This is just awesome. 

[billytwix]

never knew about led strips before now! this looks significantly cheaper than custom cutting el strip.

[Batness]

Awesome, good luck with the contest! :D

On another note, could this be done with a black shirt, and then cut-outs of a different color? Hmm.

[sheetmetalalchemist]

That's a good idea! I think the only kicker would be finding a black shirt that is opaque enough to block the LED light. You'd probably also need to redo the design just a hair to make sure the black overshirt stays all in one piece. Cool suggestion though!

[hughscott5]

This is EPIC!!

[RemsX]

nice man!