The Talking Ghosts Project
Using Coroplast Material
When making talking figures, the first thing you need is some sort of model or sample of what you want the final product to look like. Sometimes it gets changed or modified, or sometimes it's good enough to use as-is. In this case, we found a sample of clip art with three ghosts that looked just about right for the desired outcome, even though we only wanted two. Se we trimmed it down to a pair, and these look just like what the doctor ordered! We wanted a pair of ghosts that can talk or sing with the display, and this will do the trick.
So after choosing the sample, we first project it onto a large piece of butcher paper and trace the pattern out full-size. Sometimes you have to simplify a pattern, but in this case the ghost patterns have just about the right amount of detail. With coro, you have to be careful not to try to put too many lights too close together or you can lose the detail of the pattern. We projected the pattern, and then traced it out on the butcher paper as shown.
Once the projection and tracing of the pattern is complete, then the layout can take place and marking the pattern for holes to be punched for lights. Light spacing of 0.7" to 1" works out pretty well, depending on the size of the figure. In the case of these talking ghosts, there are two lower lips that are turned on and off alternately with different LOR channels to simulate talking. They are about an inch apart at the widest spot.
Here's a closeup of the face of one of the Ghosts that shows the mouth structure and the two lower lips. They'll be animated using a Light-o-rama controller so that the viewer will get to experience the Talking Ghosts singing and talking with the music.
Here's a photo of the Ghosts with LED lights installed, showing how the final product works. Looking good!
Finally, here's the finished product with the Coroplast surrounded by a small simple wooden frame. This gives some stiffness to the coroplast and also makes for a nice finished package. The Talking Ghosts, on display at Belardo Lights - the Halloween Edition. Come by and check them out...