16ft Snowflake Makeover - smart pixels

[James Hill]

If we all are busy with other’s problem solving for THIS year, then I understand waiting till after the season for help BUT wanted to start the thinkers out there.

I have built a number of years ago a 16 foot snowflake for my roof with dumb LEDs and want to switch it over to smart pixels for next  year. There are six arms with 3 sections on each arm and a star in the middle. Each arm from the center star has a Y branch, then a star, then another branch. When I switch over to smart pixels I was going to have each arm on one port of the pixie (6 ports with one having the center star). What I don’t know is, how do I create this prop(s) in the program? I assume it will be custom because of the branches? I understand the initial prop will be grouped as… ‘branch’, ‘star’, ‘branch’ X 5 and one more with the center star. But because of the shapes and positions to each other, I have concerns that this can even be done.?! Where do I start? New to pixels – and unfamiliar to grouping with arrangements ie. Horizontal Stack etc.

 

Other info:          Each inner branch has 22 LEDs

                            Each star has 36 LEDs

                            Each outer branch has 35 LEDs

 

                            Each arm would have (in total) 93LEDs

                            The arm with the centre star (in total) would have 129LEDs

 

Any help now or later…greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[TheDucks]

How far apart are the nodes? (it matters to my suggestion).

I did something similar (at a Micro scale) with a HC coro-flake. I ended up with just 2 patterns. Odd and even arms (3 odd, 2 even).

In some places I enter, with every other node, and leave filling the gaps on the way back out. (sample )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V1s-Xx_u5yvG5Hy0oRCjOp5b3e4XP9V4/view?usp=sharing

Yours will be a whole lot trickier with those mid point diamonds. Try for Symmetrical if possible and No (long jump) splices.

BTW That is OUTSTANDING 👍

 

[dibblejr]

Huuuge difference between what TheDucks is talking abouu and what you can do in S5.

In S5 take a good picture of your prop.

Creat a new preview just for this prop. That will give you space to work on, test and then once complete save and export it for use in your good preview.

In the Prop Def under “custom node placement” add the picture for the background.

Adjust the working grid size so that most of the nodes fall within a grid. Not all will so just get as close as possible.

Figure out which arm you want to start with.

Number that arm using the bottom left tool “auto increment” and number that 1-# of nodes

Save it

Back to prop def use the LOR setting with the unit ID foe that pixie port.

Save, now it will be in its own preview.

What I do from there is move the prop without changing the size. Just slide it out of the way because the next segment will land on top of it if you don’t.

Repeat that process one step / section at a time until yoir prop is complete using the correct port unit ID for each.

Once complete rearrange the prop in the preview design to resemble your prop.

Then you create a  group 

Next ads your ME rows of you haven’t done so in the prop def

Write a test seq and see how it looks.

Once satisfied save and export to the LOR Import/Export folder

When ready to add to your food preview juts import it in.

JR

[James Hill]

5 hours ago, dibblejr said:

Huuuge difference between what TheDucks is talking abouu and what you can do in S5.

In S5 take a good picture of your prop.

Creat a new preview just for this prop. That will give you space to work on, test and then once complete save and export it for use in your good preview.

In the Prop Def under “custom node placement” add the picture for the background.

Adjust the working grid size so that most of the nodes fall within a grid. Not all will so just get as close as possible.

Figure out which arm you want to start with.

Number that arm using the bottom left tool “auto increment” and number that 1-# of nodes

Save it

Back to prop def use the LOR setting with the unit ID foe that pixie port.

Save, now it will be in its own preview.

What I do from there is move the prop without changing the size. Just slide it out of the way because the next segment will land on top of it if you don’t.

Repeat that process one step / section at a time until yoir prop is complete using the correct port unit ID for each.

Once complete rearrange the prop in the preview design to resemble your prop.

Then you create a  group 

Next ads your ME rows of you haven’t done so in the prop def

Write a test seq and see how it looks.

Once satisfied save and export to the LOR Import/Export folder

When ready to add to your food preview juts import it in.

JR

Thanks JR, I think this is what I needed to get started. Will give you a shout if I run into problems. Again thanks. 

If I wanted to create movement from left to right, top down, diagonal, or even center out... using the advantage of smart pixels (individual pixels)...because of the branches...I guess I would have to program individual pixels rather than combining some pixels in prop def? If I combined some, it would only be set up for one directional movement. (If you understand what I am thinking. LOL) But that's OK, I can program the same way I am now...and for those songs that call for a little extra pizzazz I'd spend more time. Also I guess I could save a special movement to clipboard.

 

[dibblejr]

37 minutes ago, James Hill said:

Thanks JR, I think this is what I needed to get started. Will give you a shout if I run into problems. Again thanks. 

If I wanted to create movement from left to right, top down, diagonal, or even center out... using the advantage of smart pixels (individual pixels)...because of the branches...I guess I would have to program individual pixels rather than combining some pixels in prop def? If I combined some, it would only be set up for one directional movement. (If you understand what I am thinking. LOL) But that's OK, I can program the same way I am now...and for those songs that call for a little extra pizzazz I'd spend more time. Also I guess I could save a special movement to clipboard.

 

You can share pixels in S5 with a pixie controller however only in ME rows.

You would have to go to “add/ edit ME Rows” and add and  in the grids 

Or as you stated you can sequence per RGB channels per pixel

JR