I help you get started with LEDs - Cosplay Tutorial

LEDs and electronics are super fun, but can be easily intimidating. So in this video I give you and easy and beginner friendly start into the colorful world of LEDs. I start at the very basics and I hope it will show you, how easy it is to install lights into your costumes and props!

- Svetlana

This video was sponsored by Skillshare.

My LED Books:

Products used:

Our Youtube filming equipment:

*All Amazon links are affiliate links that we get paid for if you buy a product. You can support us by using these links. Thank you!*

___

[Scarecrow]

My soldering was equally crappy until I started using Flux. I highly recommend it. Dip either end of the connection in flux and then solder. It evaporates, drawing the solder in and creating a really neat and solid connection.

[CreepyClayCave]

VIELEN DANK! Endlich jemand, der dieses LED -Thema anschaulich erklärt.

[CHEFPKR]

So happy for this video. Currently working on my Cyberpunk cosplay and want lots of LEDS

[Cheetahgirl_Studios]

Can I just say, I absolutely love your tutorials. Most other tutorials I’ve seen are overly formal and lack a sense of connectivity. But your sense of humour and personality make your videos a lot more enjoyable and easy to approach. Not to mention that you create tutorials for people of all skill levels. I’ve been looking to get into making costumes for a while now, and this channel has helped me a lot with where I should start and get me started. Cheers!

[revenantcosplay]

I always remember which side of the led is positive with + is more and - is less so the positive leg is longer. I also recommend getting a silicone mat, possibly with trays, for soldering. It protects your work surface in case any rogue solder gets anywhere and you can set your parts on it and keep them in one place without losing them.

[PortalFPV]

Pre Tin everything you're going to solder. Will make things so much easier

[JonMcPhalen]

Tip: You don't have to use the EXACT value from the resistor calculator -- using the next highest from a set of standard resistor values will work just fine. I always recommend these values to my friends just getting started in electronics (and I have two boxes designed for fishing lures that hold these values for me): 100, 220, 330, 470, 680, 1K, 2.2K, 3.3K, 4.7K, 10K

Resistors are cheap insurance for your LED projects! Have fun -- like Svetlana does -- and your projects will be a hit!

Buy Svetlana's books! :)

[lxshwa]

This was the first actually simple LED noob tutorial I could actually follow. Thank you for exposing everything in such detail an also for showing exactly what you use. I’ve never done anything like that and this has been a big help

[Galnyi]

A comment to 17:27 : This method will reduce the brightness of the LED if you use the 3V battery. That schematic will work with the 9V battery as long as the LEDs are ~3V. To make the 3V battery version work optimally you could simply parallel connect the LEDs insted (they are serial connected in the example).

Also if you dont want to have to worry about changing/charging your batteries that often, could you parallel connect batteries together as well. Parallel connecting batteries will do nothing to the amount of voltage and such you will get on the circuit, it will just make it last longer (like the whole con day if you do your math). You can also get battery holders that already do that for you.

Another thing is that it's more commonly/universal to add a switch/break on the red wire aka after the + part on the battery. But doing so on the black wire works fine too.

Also electronics are usually made to handle a roughly 5-10% +/- or something in voltage (may say so in the specifications of the LEDs or such), because it's not always that easy to get exactly the voltage you desire. Cable lengts/thickness can throw that off so since the cable has resistance as well.

Anyway,
Buy Svetlana (and Benni's) books!
Keep up the good work!

[shiroiokami]

Thank you so much, I just needed a tutorial to understand how LED works
I was totally clueless before but I absolutely wanted to insert LED in my next cosplay

[Justrex]

The perfect beginners intro to LED's. Thank you, guys! I can't wait to put some lights in my next cosplay!

[lasermouth]

Wow! LEDs have always mystified me. You just dumbed it down for me perfectly. Thank you so much! Love your presentation as well. Very fun and encouraging.

[sarahdillman]

Thank you for not leaving anything out or hoarding your knowledge, this is so helpful.

[BariumCobaltNitrogn]

I think understanding Ohm's Law is a great tool to understanding the relationships between volts, amps and resistance, which will tell you instantly what size battery and resistor to use for any number of led's. All you need to know is the volt requirement or forward voltage of your particular led and use fresh batteries. You could light the poor little single led for a week, instead of letting the smoke out, with just one resistor. It's also good to know how many amps the led really really wants, cuz it's not the volts that kill you, it's smoking! You have great videos with clear, easy to follow steps and an awesome attitude!

[jonathonhazelton]

LED stands for “Light Emitting Diode”
“Light Emitting” is very straight forward, this “diode” emits light.
As for what a “diode” is, it is a simple semiconductor, with 2 different electrodes, an anode and a cathode (“di” “ode”, “cath” “ode”, “an” “ode”, “electro” “ode”, you can see the pattern).

Semi-conductors are materials that aren’t an insulator, or a conductor, kind of halfway conductive. Our common semiconductors used Silicon Crystals. What the impurities (called doping) are in the silicon crystals change the electrical properties of the semiconductors. Semiconductors are pretty boring as a single crystal, it’s basically a resistor/conductor, it’s when you layer these crystals that magic happens.

Diodes act as a one way gate, electrons only flow one way through them. This is why LED turn on in only one direction.

The light emitting properties of the LED is caused by the special doping that was used.

[traviss]

LMAO at the tip cleaning.

This video was perfect, thank you for giving me the confidence to build better stuff.

[jiromuchizuki]

Thank you so much. I want to make a book nook with LED lighting and your advice and encouraging words make me feel like I can actually do it.

[Balladearest]

This is SO helpful! I am starting my next cosplay very soon and this tutorial is super easy to understand! Thank you!!!

[wpnbger]

I just started watching videos on LED installations for a project I'm planning, yours was the second one I've seen. Your way of breaking down a installation made it seem so simple. And you know sometimes the simple way is the best way. The project I'm planning is a wood carving of a painting that has neon lights on it. I plan to use Led lights hidden in the wood to light up the neon arrows in the painting. And also have blinking orange and yellow LEDS reflex off the wood wall to look like fire.

[VoiceMyDreams]

EXTREMELY helpful, excited and confident to try it myself!