Feasibility of backside illuminated artwork idea

[meltman]

Hey guys. While brainstorming ideas for the next arcade I thought of an idea that I dont think I've seen executed. If someone has done something similar please post.

The idea is to have black and white artwork on the side of the cabinet or a marquee, but when the cabinet is turned on have the artwork "spring to life" with colored illumination behind it.

Is this even feasible? I'm sure it would take some serious LED power and a dark room to really be noticeable but I thought I'd ask the community if they've seen examples of this in the wild.

[BadMouth]

It's very expensive, but EL sheet would work and has been done.
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?25078-Arcade-Electroluminescent-Panel
(it's just white light in that example, but it comes in different colors)

It would take an awefull lot of EL $heet or LEDs to light an entire side.
Maybe just certain elements?
It would definitely work for a marquee.

An opaque ceiling light panel might be a cheap way to experiment with the idea.
I have no idea how the stuff cuts though.

[meltman]

Pretty interesting. I dont like that EL degrades over time though. I've played with the stuff in the past.

That's *close* to what I was envisioning but not quite. I was thinking of having the artwork be visible in black and white and light up the color through the black and white to produce the color image.

That light-up control panel you linked does throw some new ideas into the mix. Since I'd have some depth to work with I could use LED's and a diffuser to achieve the same effect without the expense and degradation of EL.

That and I'm not *too* keen on having high voltage directly under the control panel. One spill away from a bad night I think.

[mcseforsale]

What about side-lighting plexi, then applying the art to it, then another sheet over the top?

How big are we talking?

On my CP, the buttons are illuminating the edges of the plexi:


Get a 1/8" piece of plexi,  print only the black portion in some sort of vinyl (most sign shops can do this) to use as a mask and lightly "frost" the exposed area with some 2000 grit emory.  Then apply your art and another sheet of 1/8 and you'll be golden.  Apply LED tape to the outside edge and only the frosted part will light up.

I'll be making some arcade signs this way this summer when it's too damn hot to work outside.

AJ

AJ

[wp34]

There was a prototype of something somewhat similar to what you are describing done here -

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105795.0

I've been playing around with a concept using EL Tape but I'm mixed on the results.

If you get something going please post pics!

[meltman]

There was a prototype of something somewhat similar to what you are describing done here -
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105795.0
I've been playing around with a concept using EL Tape but I'm mixed on the results.
If you get something going please post pics!

This is very close - I was thinking of trying to shine through printed vinyl which might be difficult. Depending on artwork you could render it all in black halftone over a clear sheet and shine through pretty easily.

Hmm.. gears turning.

How about slapping a pacled64 behind it and going nuts?

[yotsuya]

Is this even feasible? I'm sure it would take some serious LED power and a dark room to really be noticeable but I thought I'd ask the community if they've seen examples of this in the wild.

This is probably the wrong time to ask this question, as we're now seeing a lot of things here that we haven't seen/probably will never see in the wild.

Having said that, good luck. People figure out stuff here all the time.

[AzureKnight]

What artwork are you thinking?  The whole side or only part?  I'm thinking you could cut out portion of the side panel and replace it with plexi then lay the art over top of that with lighting behind it.  I guess that depends a lot on how complex the artwork is and how big.  If you wanted to do the whole side then you would have to get creative to still have support for shelves and stability but nothing an internal frame shouldn't fix I would think.

[PL1]

These guys do translights and marquees.  They can probably do a custom print size for you if you ask them nicely.

http://www.gameongrafix.com/products/pinball-translite

In order to keep the colors from bleeding over, the plexi should be on the outside (gray), followed by the translight.(black and white) Use a router on the side of the cab(tan) to cut the areas that you want illuminated.(red, green, blue) Drill holes to insert LEDs.(orange)


Scott

[knohbody]

What about two translight prints, same image, one black and white, the other color. Put the color one behind the black and white one. When you light it from behind, the color will bleed through.

[darthpaul]

What about side-lighting plexi, then applying the art to it, then another sheet over the top?

How big are we talking?

On my CP, the buttons are illuminating the edges of the plexi:


Get a 1/8" piece of plexi,  print only the black portion in some sort of vinyl (most sign shops can do this) to use as a mask and lightly "frost" the exposed area with some 2000 grit emory.  Then apply your art and another sheet of 1/8 and you'll be golden.  Apply LED tape to the outside edge and only the frosted part will light up.

I'll be making some arcade signs this way this summer when it's too damn hot to work outside.

AJ

AJ

I did something similar on a smaller scale, edge lit some plexi, sanded back side and applied a vinyl sicker to the front.

[Le Chuck]

Tron theme I'd use EL tape and just commit myself to cutting miles of tiny lines.

-or-

Idea I had for a SW repro cab, print cheap plotter template art and mark all the deathstar, engine, and star lights.  Drill through for LED hookup on the backside, on art side route in a depression and flush mount tiny plexi discs. (pencil eraser sized).  Color code the LED as necessary and hook array to arduino.  Pinhole the art before application, apply and program a light show.

If you did the above idea with black and white art and had it printed in a manner similar to what rear window wraps are made of (thousands of tiny holes) then you could use the LEDs to add the color.  By filling in the negative space with colored light, at that close range, I'm pretty sure the eye would blend it into a solid sheet of color for you. 

-or-

Spend several thousand dollars and have custom cut OLED sheets made to fit your cab (already feasible tho asspensive).  Hook up to computer as a second monitor and do whatever you want, side art based on game, put two web cams on the top and make it invisible, have it display light shows and give everyone seizures, sky is the limit.