This brief tutorial will walk you through how to make a light up costume using electroluminescent wire (el wire). This costume in particular was custom made for DJ performing around the world. I worked closely with the designer and the el wire supplier to produce this piece in about two weeks' time. With these simple steps, you too can customize your costume with el wire to light up the night! Built in 2007 (my first el wire project ever!) , it's still in use today.
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Signing UpStep 1: Planning
Since this was my first foray into the world of el wire, I had no supplies in stock, and no idea what exactly I would need. I did extensive research to determine the most cost-effective way to achieve the design, and decided to go with thatscoolwire.com, whose products were both affordable and well-reviewed.
After securing a supplier, I needed to determine just what and how much el wire I would need. I went with 4.0mm el wire for the main body and 2.2mm el wire for the glove details, both in 'Power Green'. You'll find that different suppliers stock different weights and colors of el wire, so it's worth doing the research to find exactly what you need.
This design required too much wire to be lit by a single battery pack that the performer could wear, which meant that I needed to cleverly design a lay out that would neither exceed the capacity of each battery pack, nor be disruptive to the designer's vision or the DJ's performance.
I started by roughly pinning out the design with yarn onto my old beat-up male dress form. By no means accurate, it was a good way for me to figure out which wires would connect, where to place battery packs, and how many I would need. Talking with the el wire supplier on the phone about the capacity of the different battery packs apropos the lengths of wire I would need was extremely helpful.
After securing a supplier, I needed to determine just what and how much el wire I would need. I went with 4.0mm el wire for the main body and 2.2mm el wire for the glove details, both in 'Power Green'. You'll find that different suppliers stock different weights and colors of el wire, so it's worth doing the research to find exactly what you need.
This design required too much wire to be lit by a single battery pack that the performer could wear, which meant that I needed to cleverly design a lay out that would neither exceed the capacity of each battery pack, nor be disruptive to the designer's vision or the DJ's performance.
I started by roughly pinning out the design with yarn onto my old beat-up male dress form. By no means accurate, it was a good way for me to figure out which wires would connect, where to place battery packs, and how many I would need. Talking with the el wire supplier on the phone about the capacity of the different battery packs apropos the lengths of wire I would need was extremely helpful.
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Awesome job, scoochmaroo!
Win Guy
black or white
will the paint do the same job as the el wire
:)
could u use glow in the dark paint
:)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkbyqo_americas-got-talent-2011-team-iluminate-quarter-finals-performance_shortfilms
seems someone took this costume one step further.
I saw their first performance a while back and new I recognized that idea from somewhere, it wasnt until I stumbled upon this instructable again today that it hit me. EL wire costume+microcontroller+music+choreography= one of the coolest performances i have ever seen.
I think a call to NBC for your cut of the royalties is in order. lol
As for everyone else, this is a video from America's Got Talent of the dance group Team iLUMINATE performing in the quarterfinals showing what can truly be done with this costume.
Reminds me somewhat of the movie 'TRON'.
Very well done! ^^
www.youtube.com/watch <New trailer
The model was about 5'10". They changed the batteries before every performance and swapped those into other devices, just to make sure he was never going on with low power. I charged $2000 for the costume, which included design consult, and sewing expertise, but I couldn't tell you how much materials might cost if you were starting everything from scratch.
Call Andy! He's my go-to man. If you know what you want to make, you call him and he'll make it happen. Talk about a time and money saver. I didn't waste an inch of wire! http://thatscoolwire.com/ Tell him Sarah sent you.