Conceptualizing a Wizard’s Staff, the first element is an orb – a ball or crystal, probably 4″-6″ across. These commonly glow when getting ready to cast a spell and then go dark again after the spell has been cast.
This is how most Wizard’s Staffs are built – some LEDs inside a ball that can be turned on and off.
We can do better than that! A 4″ or larger ball has plenty of space to hold LED strip lights. Using LED strip lights we can achieve a wide range of effects: glowing, different levels of brightness, changing colors. We can even implement patterns, effects, and shows – think MegaTree in a ball! We can build “magic spells” that power up and have special effects when “cast”. Hmm, if we are going to do that we really need to add sound effects… This goes beyond any of the examples I’ve been able to find online.
With an idea of how to build an orb, the next question is how to hold it. Possibilities include just attaching it to the end of the staff, a shepards crook, a basket of some sort, a cobra head, or a dragon paw.
Which leaves the tiny little question of how to actually build it. Just a minute – this is the sort of thing that 3D printers are made for! I’ve wanted a 3D printer for years, but kept putting off getting one because I didn’t have a project that would use it. I know myself well enough to know that I need something to utilize a new tool immediately; otherwise it will just sit around gathering dust.
A 3D printer backed by a machine shop combined with MegaTree lighting technology driven by my warped little mind and aided by a (equally warped) electrical engineer should be able to pull this off! This is where you channel Dr. Frankenstein from Young Frankenstein: IT! COULD! WORK!
If we are going this far, what else can be included?
If an Arduino controller is going to be used we can have multiple interactive and dynamic “spells”. This means that we need to design at least 3 “spells” and have a user interface for selecting spells as well as casting them.
If we are going to power up and cast spells with the orb, what about having clear sections of the staff itself that have lighting effects – power running up the staff and into the orb? I haven’t seen that done before and it could be quite interesting.
Sound is clearly a requirement. So controllers and speakers must be integrated into the design.
Can we build a laser into the staff? What about throwing fireballs?
This is looking like it is going to need a lot of power. Definitely more than a couple of AA batteries can handle. The body of the staff should have enough volume for the needed batteries but we are going to have to design a real power subsystem.
This is going to be a true design and build project. One with artistic, engineering, construction, hardware and software elements. Will the results be magic or a let down? I dunno; going to have to build it to find out!