Been putting together something for the wall here..

Been putting together something for the wall here… its a canvas i painted using acrylics then added the techy goodness. mmm…
It runs off a nodemcu, and is wifi / smartphone controllable , has various patterns built in and sliders to customise them …(using code from Jason Coon’s ESP webserver and various bits of random fastled stuff )…and will be sound responsive shortly as well …

just trying to make some better diffusers if anyone has any suggestions…

Or if you have any more code that would work well let me know as I want to add loads of patterns etc
if i remember rightly I think i adapted a script somewhere that will let it wirelessly stream from glediator as well…

Anyway, hope you like…

or this playlist which has more vids of it

I used to prefer dull laminating foil. Here I showed a matrix with and without this kind of diffusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmkCvihs0wo

Just do a search for ‘translum’ within this forum (or anywhere on the www actually. It is a professional light diffuser used for photographic purposes mainly. It is expensive but looks awesome.

Many here simply light sand some thin acrylic sheet. On a budget, plain or rice paper may do but will give you some texture that you may or may not want !?

However, as with all diffusers, the distance from light source to diffuser is the key to get the desired effect!

Yes, a little gap between the LEDs and diffusion can change the look a fair amount.

More ideas: drafting vellum + acrylic sheet, or acrylic sheet pre frosted, or that you frost to taste with spray or by sanding or sand blasting.

Translum materials give high-end results but are expensive and/or suck while handling… There exists translum coated Plexi as well - and it looks damn good: https://plus.google.com/115124694226931502095/posts/SxLfYtphb8x

Here in direct comparison: left side translum, right side toilet paper. https://plus.google.com/115124694226931502095/posts/YxazKtMd31M

@Stefan_Petrick Thanks for the laminating foil tip and video - looks fantastic - (and to everyone else too - very kind !)

I’ve already tried various other different possibilities and distances etc - but will look into that and maybe some velum … I presume no one makes a plastic grid with holes spaced out correctly to divide it up into sort of square pixels behind the diffuser - if not I might make one or look at 3d printing …

@Stefan_Petrick thanks for the tip about laminating foil / sheets … Got some today and absolutely perfect… (Also tested a roll of frosted glass window foil but it doesn’t diffuse as effectively as the laminating sheet)

My pleasure to be helpful. @Lawrence_Clark

@Lawrence_Clark @Stefan_Petrick Can you share a bit more about how you’re using this laminating foil? I just learned about this stuff from this post. Looks like there’s many different colored metallic sort of foils. Do they tint your lights? What “color” or type of laminating foil are you using? Do you get it at a local store or prefer to order it online?

@marmil I just got some normal 160 micron laminating pouches (80microns x 2) and am making a frame to hold it far enough away from the lights to have the desired effect… they diffuse light really well

@marmil I only know the cheap pure plastic foil. No metal effect, no color. The surface has a kind of micrograin which makes it dull - and that does the trick. Distance: Like with any other diffusor so that the lightspots touch each other or very slightly overlap. I got the foil from a local store because they sold single sheets. Some cent each one. Basically every office using a laminating machine has this stuff arround. And you need just one or 2 sheets. Some charme might help to just get some differnt foils and play with them.

I looked at this post again and see two different terms: laminating foil, and laminating pouch. I had searched for laminating foil which brings up stuff like this:

which doesn’t seem quite right to me and is why I think I was confused. Searching for pouches indeed finds something which looks more like something I could use to diffuse LEDs.

This also reminded me that a long time ago I bought some frosted plastic sheets that are used for binder covers. The thicker 55 sheets are rather strong.

Thank you for throwing out and sharing the ideas.

@marmil Sorry for my poor english - I meant laminating pouch. You want them as thick as possibble and with a matt finish. Some general information about it can be found here: https://www.fellowes.com/row/en/solutionscenter/laminating/Pages/choosing-the-right-laminating-pouch.aspx