Sound Reactive LEDlights With Arduino Cosplay/fursuit Tail

A fursuit or cosplay tail with LEDs that react to sound! I made a tail, but you can use it for any type of cosplay or craft :) Or without the craft part. You can also just put it in a bowl, on your desk, in your closet, anything really...

What I used:

Materials for the tail:

• White fur
• Foam (Soft and light)
• EVA foam (10mm thick)
• Velcro
• Glass fiber strings (used one of these)
• Belt

Electronics:

• Arduino (I used an uno, but a nano might be better)
• Jumper wires
• 3 male to female
• 13 male to male
• Breadboard/PCB board
• Sound detector (I got something like this)
• Powerbank 5V
• USB cable compatible with Arduino
• 330Ω resistors
• LEDs (make sure they are WS2812B)

Tools:

• Sowing mashine/Needle and thread
• Gluegun
• Fabric sissor
• Sharp, small knive
• Soldering machine and supplies (It's not that bad if you can't do this part.)

If this is your first time working with an Arduino and LED, I recommend watching these videos.

--> Really nice for starters :D

--> Code + Tutorial :D (This is the code I modified for this project.)

The base

This step is about making the tail base. If you are making something else... Make sure there is enough space and a sturdy place to put your Arduino, cables, etc! :D Skip to "Step 3: The Arduino" for the LEDs :)

We start with the design and shape of our tail. Draw and cut it out on your EVA foam. Make two circles, one from foam and one from EVA foam. Cut the foam in half so that it fits at the end of the base, and use your hot glue gun to glue them on the base. Glue the EVA foam circle on there and make a cut for the belt to pass through. After the first ring, there needs to be some space for our project. So glue 1/4 of a circle to both sides so that we have a little platform. Then repeat the first circle, getting smaller and smaller until you reach the tip of the tail. Keep a tiny bit of space between each ring so there is space to move.

Now we need to make sure our powerbank and all the other stuff have a place as well. I specifically made the casing out of EVA foam, not something hard like a 3D-printed case. Although a 3D-printed case would still work, the tail still needs to move. This way, it bends a bit with the tail but is still safe.

Make the 1/4 circle the base, like in the drawing. Fill in the half circle with EVA foam so you have a little room. If you have a big powerbank like I have, it might be nice to make an extra casing with a snug (like a bug in a rug) fit so it stays put. I also made a small, thin cover for the wired part, but that isn't truly necessary.

The Fur

I'll be describing how I made the pattern, what I marked and how I did the glass fiber highlights. It isn't really explained in great detail, so if it's a bit unclear, I suggest watching this video from Neffertity on YouTube! Lots of tips and easy to understand :D

Wrap your tail base in plastic wrap and tape it up. Make it like a ductaped burger. Try to minimize the layers; it's best to keep it as thin and smooth as possible. Also, if you made a flexible tail like in the first step, make sure it does not bend and is as straight as possible while wrapping it up.

Now use a marker to make arrows that point in the direction you want your fur to flow. Then add a line that traces the spine of the tail. Also, mark the places you don't want to shave. I also made a separete part [Blue] that is not attached to the [Red]. That will be our door to the Arduino.

Cut it out. You might notice that some parts are still a bit round. Make darts in your pattern (if you don't know what it is, you might be smart to watch the video). All the pattern parts should lay flat. Trace them on the back of your fur, and make sure the arrows and the fur directions match.

Cut the fur, stitch it all together, and now you have a big fur sleeve. Don't glue it to the base. It's going to be helpful to put it on and off when you need to. The [Blue] part is secured with velcro. Stitch the velcro on the fur and glue the other side of the velcro to the tail base. Now you can reach your project without unrolling the fur sleeve while your LEDstrip stays in place.

(If you want it extra fancy, you can add some scrap fur on the tip of the tail with this trick and have extra flowy fur at the end.)

The fiber glass spikes are really simple. Just cut your the lenght you need. Make a little dot of hot glue and push it on there. That way there is a little platform around it to keep it up right and on there. Now you can just make a little cut above the LED string and pop it right in there.

The Arduino

Mainly explaining how I wired it and how I put it in the tail. The pictures might be enough for that.

Make sure all the pins on the Arduino are the same, or change them later in the code. I tried it out on a breadboard before I soldered it all. The only thing I forgot to try was how long the wires should be once they are in the casing. It might be nice to try and see which one should be shorter than others for a cleaner finish. But long jumper cables won't really be a problem.

The Code

Here is the code :D Don't forget to download and address FastLED on the Arduino IDE. 

With this code, you can adjust:

• When they are supposed to be on
• What color they are in between frequencies
• Where they should move too
• How fast they move

You probably need to adjust the sound numbers (frequency) to your surrounding. But before you try that, you should try to adjust the sensitivity of the sound detector. Turning the screw to adjust it while its on.

I used CHSV for color, so you only need to replace one number for different colors.

How It Started

For this project, I made a tail that lights up when it hears a sound. The reason I made it is because it is fun! It's fun to interact with it, and it makes people happy. You can wear it wag it, and it gives you a light show when music plays. It's simple but really effective.

I thought about making something that is small and easy to take with you. But I wanted to make it fun and silly for me and the people around me. So, from my own experience, I wanted to make something fluffy. And to add on to that, something you could wear. I made a fursuit to go to cons with, and the reactions are always really positive! I bet the joy would be doubled if it not only lit up but also activated on sound :D. These are some of the concept sketches and process photos. I thought about making claws, then wings, but ended with a tail. I'll also put other concept sketches in there!

My first idea wasn't anything with light, though. I wanted to try and wolferine claws! With servos that trigger with a button to extend nails like a cat paw. Eventually, the idea of making the nails glow popped up! I started some research on LED, and I was hooked.

Reflection

This was a project that truly made me happy. I enjoyed this rollercoaster of an assignment. Jumped in the air because I got my first LED light working after 2 hours, learned how to make a simple code, got burned by glue, failed my soldering more than I can count, probably ate foam and tin, listened to music on 100% while testing the sound, failed my code, got sad, fixed it, and got happy. I loved all of it. Before I started, I didn't even know what an Arduino was. But now I can do simple coding, have learned a bit about what FastLed is, how to connect it to sound, how to address individual lights and their color spectrum, and how to solder. Probably even more...

I'm pretty sure I am going to upgrade it; the fur I used is low quality, and the case and wire work could definitely look better. The code could also be improved. I might even make a full LED suit. I AM HYPED AND EDUCATED.

Thank you to everyone who got to the end and maybe even created or learned something from it!