Spellcaster
For this mini project, I decided to make the staff, Spellcaster, from the Wizards: Tales of Arcadia TV show on Netflix. The staff is life-sized and also glows at the top gem just like the staff in the show. I made this project to be very similar to a prop and as show-realistic as possible. As required by the project guidelines, uses many NeoPixels and has a series of states it goes through when a button is pushed. Each state is moving or changing either with color, brightness, or NeoPixel. This project also mixes a variety of physical components with an Arduino, all while keeping the Arduino well hidden and easily accessible so as to make the staff as legit as possible.
Above are the official examples of from that I used for inspiration and reference. The image on the left is the official concept art with its design and colors, and the image on the right is a screen cap with
Above is more inspiration from another person's project where they also made a show-accurate with EVA foam, but without electronics.
For the overall design of the staff, I made by own turn-around model in Adobe Illustrator, so I would have something to reference for details and colors. I also added general size dimensions for certain areas of the staff. I also used these templates to print out a layout diagram of the staff so I could reference it for size.
Using the references above, I made different pieces to laser cut and hot glue together for a foam core prototype. I used the outline I made to create separate pieces to cut out, making the staff top-down with foam core. For the handle, I used a wooden dowel. for the round panels at the top, I used frosted-acrylic and spray painted it blue to make it look like the gem at the top of the staff.
I continued to make the rest of the body with foam core, completely enclosing it. At the top, I 3D modeled a guard in Fusion and printed it out to glue onto the top.
Above is the STL file for the guard I modeled.
After the foam core model was complete, I began to add black air dry foam clay to the body to keep the body firm and smooth out the form. This would also allow me to skip a step in painting the body black as the foam clay was already black when it dried.
When I finished the foam clay, I began to paint certain areas with a gold tempura paint I bought, using the reference I made. For several spots, I had to repaint many areas with several coats to make sure the gold showed up smooth. Afterwards, I just put the electronics inside and tested it.
The Arduino and electronics go inside the staff above the handle. The back panel opens with velcro and the button is inside. There is also a 5V power supply that sits inside that can be unplugged and plugged in easily.
Above is the EDA and Figma diagram for Spellcaster.
