Animated Paper Circuits

An interactive "live" animation that responds to touch without any programming!

This is a really fun project and could be incorporated into a book or a greetings card, and also e-textiles, or many more surfaces. There are more examples of pieces I have made on my blog: http://blog.beccarose.co.uk/tag/book-art/

You will need:

LEDs (surface mount or other)

3V coin cell

Copper tape

Paper

Binder clip

Adhesive

Soldering equipment /or/ tape

You should have as many frames in the animation as you have LEDs. In my example I used 5 frames of a bird flying, and 5 LEDs. Once you have decided what you will animate, draw it onto thick(ish) paper (I have used construction paper in this example, but you could use cardstock), and use a craft knife to cut it out (or use a vinyl / laser cutter if you have one handy!).

Use an craft knife to cut out the animated sequence you chose in step 1

Mark everything out in pencil first.

To get the position of the LEDs, position your frame page on top, and make a small pencil mark at the center of each cut-out frame.

Lay copper tape as in the diagram -note that if you have any breaks in the tape you will need to solder, as most copper tape is only conductive on one side.

Add a small piece of card to connect the battery to the switch. This can be glued or taped.

The LEDs will be at the back, with the frames in the middle, and a blank page at the front...for the magic to happen!