I want to design a nether portal from Minecraft that can be turned on and off. I plan to use black painted plywood to create the frames, with purple cardstock behind the holes. In the center will be a sheet of engraved acrylic lit by LEDs along the top that are inside the frame. I will also string LEDs around the inside of the frame to give the frame a purple glow when it is turned on.
Artist Questions:
How should I set up the lights to illuminate everything?
How should I attach the acrylic to the wood?
What color do you plan to make your engraved acrylic?
I am planning to use clear acrylic with purple LED lighting on the sides.
I would personally 3D print a base that houses the light and the acrylic would sit in that. the base could then be screwed into the wood or glued with epoxy. Alternatively you could create tabs and have the plastic interlock into the wooden frame.
Yeah my plan is to have tabs in the acrylic that fit into the wood, and the LEDs will be placed behind those tabs to shine light into the acrylic.
i think there was an acrylic edgelight kit that was shown in class that might work really well for this! i love this idea. are you planning on engraving the sides of the box to get the light to shine through?
Thanks! I’ll definitely look at the lighting kit since I am still trying to figure out what to use. My plan is to cut holes in the side of the box and put purple cardstock behind it so that it will appear to glow.
Do you plan on vector engraving or raster engraving the swirls in the acrylic section of the portal?