Project Idea 1: Lively Waterfall
For this project idea, I want to create a framed piece of art that feels like it is moving. I want the sky to be an LED board that will smoothly transition between the colors of the rainbow. Then I want the waterfall to consist of some sort of paint/material that can then reflect the color of the sky as it changes. The goal of this project is to make the waterfall look realistic and to have the water look like it is actually moving.
Project Idea 2: Sunrise Adventure
For this project idea, I want there to be movement within the sky and the water. I want the light source to come from the sun where it is centered like a sunrise/sunset scene. I want the sun to be an LED board that changes colors smoothly between the rainbow. Then within the water/sky I want there to be animals/figures drawn in different colors so that the animals look like they are moving while the colors change.
Questions:
- What difficulties do you think I will run into trying to make either one of these ideas work?
- Do either one of these projects seem feasible within the amount of time we have?
- Any additions that could enhance each design?
I personally think that the Sunrise Adventure concept is very interesting as it has many different aspects to it. Some trouble I can see while doing this however is if you don’t use LED for the water and birds. My reasoning is because usually when different images are portrayed with different colors it comes from one light across the whole piece. With the only light source being inside the sun of the piece my worry is that it won’t illuminate the birds or the water enough to be properly seen. Maybe adding supplementary LEDs behind the birds that turn on and off with different colors would have a more visible outcome.
I think the idea of a sunrise is cool, since in the sky that is typically the time of day when things get pretty colorful and cool to look at. Though the current idea, the sun being the only light source is certainly a place of concern. I think like previously stated, it wouldn’t be enough to properly convey the reflections and effects that you hope to achieve alone. But I do think adding extra lights for the birds, and in particular the water would be great for the project! With the LEDs in the water, it would allow you greater control over how the reflections are portrayed in the water, as they likely won’t look perfect by pure circumstance. And you might be able to pull off some even more interesting effects by having two areas of LEDs under your control!
I also like the Sunrise Adventure idea! I think it would be possible if you added a frame around the edges to hide the electronics, you could add some LEDs close to the animals and change the gradients to match the sun. I think this would have a similar filtering effect that would make those of the same color more prominent. Was your goal with the animals to make them appear to be moving or changing animals altogether?
I really like the sunrise idea. I imagine it would be difficult to get the animals to do what you want but I could see some color filters being used to get a similar affect.
Either of these would be great, and afterwards these could be hung up as cool decoration pieces. I like the bird idea for the sunset one. Maybe for the waterfall you could try it with stars/shooting star (if you go down this route).
I also like the idea of sunrise better! Regarding the difficulties of this work: maybe you will find useful the technique which Carnovsky RGB are using in theirs. Applying layers colored different colors with different lenses on top might work here but I’m not sure..
I find the concept of the different colored drawings within the work a lot. This effect is very visually stunning and I think can be implemented in either of the ideas. I would try to find a way to make this work into which ever idea you go with.
I think both of these ideas are compelling and would be quite nice. I like the idea of integrating the light element into a more traditional painting or drawing. I can imagine mounting the image in a deep picture frame that has room inside it for the electronics. You might want to pull the LED back from the surface and have it project on/diffused by a translucent layer in the painting.
One issue that comes to mind is that LEDs are quite directional in the way the light is emitted. So your “sun” LED for example would be shining out toward the viewer, but it might not actually reflect that much in the water below, so you would possibly have to simulate that in another way (maybe it’s just a 2nd LED).
There are lots of colored LED lights available that can do color changes, some of which even support different patterns. You might have a look at some of the options on Amazon for examples.
I like that at the end of this project this is something you can display. I like the idea of the waterfall reflecting what’s projected from the sky. I wonder if you can create the effect by folding the image where the sky meets the waterfall. It’ll create a nice 3D aspect to it and you can have one light source.