Using LEDs for Cosplay
Incorporating LEDs into cosplay is safe, easy, and can bring excitement and life to your character!
Cosplayers can find unlimited uses for mini LED lights, including enhancing props, emphasizing parts of your costume, and even adding some flair to hair! We can help you illuminate your cosplay and become your favorite character using our lighting kits.
Why Choose LEDs for Cosplay?
LEDs are safe. Small LED lights create no heat, so they’re much safer and more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs. Depending on the number of lights and type of power supply, our tiny LEDs can last for hours on a single battery!
LEDs are easy to use. Our battery-operated LED lights easily connect to a variety of accessories and power supplies, all of which can be discreetly and safely stowed away under fabric and other materials.
LEDs are long-lasting. Our LEDs are guaranteed for 2 years. We stress-test our LEDs to ensure that they’ll run for many years.
LEDs are also stunning. Our lights come in a variety of colors and effects so you can hold fire, make sparks fly, or have a crown of lights floating around your head. The only limit is your imagination!
How do I power my LEDs?
For cosplay purposes, use our battery-powered LEDs . Powering your LEDs using batteries allows you to easily hide your setup within your costume. With either 3-volt or 9-volt LEDs, you don’t need to worry about electric shock, no matter how many lights you’re using. We sell 4 different styles of 3-volt battery packs, all of which are perfect for powering our 3-volt mini LEDs..
For most projects our 3 volt LEDs will power your project. Some of our circuits that provide effects like alternating LED groups require 9-volts, for these we recommend our 9-volt battery holders. All varieties of our power supplies come with instructions and an optional switch.
How do I connect my LEDs?
You do not need a soldering iron to connect Evan Designs’ products. Simply twist the appropriate wires together and use shrink tube to secure the connections. We work with customers from a wide variety of electrical backgrounds, from total newbies to electrical engineers. We have an entire page dedicated to helping you find exactly what you need. For more about specific sizes, tips, and instructional information, check out our Resources page, listed under the Support tab at the top of our website.
What do I need to light up my costume?
We’ve simplified the LED experience by pre-wiring all of our LEDs and power supplies. Wires are easy to shorten, and we sell high-quality hook-up wire so you can extend your wiring as much as you need. We also recommend using shrink tube to cover any exposed wiring and keep wires neat and easier to conceal. So LEDs, a power supply and a few pieces of shrink tube is all you need to get started!
How many lights can I use?
The number of lights that can be used at full brightness per battery pack varies, but we can assure a certain number of hours with good quality batteries. Larger LEDs are typically brighter.
With 10 LEDs hooked up to one battery pack, you can expect the following hours of light:
- Coin cell holder with 1 coin cell: 3 hours
- AAA battery holder with (2) AAA batteries: 30 hours
- AA battery holder with (2) AA batteries: 100 hours
- 9v battery snap with (1) 9v battery: 24 hours
Up to 50 of our LEDs can be attached to a single AA battery pack, which yields the longest battery life with full brightness, so it’s perfect for all-day or weekend convention! Need something smaller? No problem! We have 3-volt power supplies in packs as small as a dime that can keep a small number of lights bright for hours.
Smaller coin cell batteries do have some limitations. When using a coin cell batteries for powering LEDs do not mix solid LEDs with flashing or flickering LEDs
Which types of LEDs should I use?
We carry 2 distinct types of LEDs: Bulb and SMD. SMD LEDs, or surface mount diodes, are generally flat LEDs that have a wide spread of light. These LEDs are perfect for most cosplay lighting needs because they have an even distribution of light from all angles and are flat, which allows them to be more easily pieced into your costume. Bulb-style LEDs have a more narrow angle of light, meaning they’re more similar to a spotlight or flashlight, but they can also have a use, since our LEDs are very bright .
How do I achieve different lighting effects for my cosplay?
Different combinations of LEDs can produce stunning effects! Our various kits come with everything you need to create the effects below.
Fire: Simulating fire is a huge obstacle many cosplayers face. Our fire kits can help! Choose from flashing or flickering fire kits to replicate flames in your costume. Our flickering fire kit includes tiny flickering LEDs and is more realistic but also quite subtle, so this kit is best for cosplays that stay stationary for the effect to be seen. For a flashier effect that’s more easily noticed while you’re moving, use our flashing fire kits. The flashing fire kit includes cellophane to better diffuse and refract the lights, enhancing the effect to make it more realistic. All of our fire kits come with optional power supplies.
Electricity/Sparks: Our welding kits have been used in a variety of ways, including to simulate crackling electricity, sparks from a welder’s torch, and spooky haunted house lighting. Each welding kit comes with 3 LEDs and an optional power source.
Side Glow Fiber Optic: is extremely flexible and can be easily sewn or glued into your costume to achieve a stunning stream of light. Simply attach 1 LED to each end of the cable to light up the entire length.
Flickering/Twinkling: Our flickering LEDs come with a custom circuit that creates a random flickering or twinkling effect in each LED. Combine these LEDs together to create a fantastic fairy light display, a magical showering of sparks, or the glowing embers of your enemies. Available in most colors and sizes, these LEDs are extremely popular with our customers, and our selection of flickering LEDs is constantly growing, so check back often!
Sirens: We carry a variety of sirens that can be incorporated into any cosplay. Firetruck and police sirens are available in 9-volt kits that include an optional battery snap. Check out our Ghostbuster siren as well! This item is perfect for emulating the Ecto1, as seen in the original movies. Each siren can be made in one of 4 sizes, including our incredibly loud RC power-wheels siren. Each comes with a switch that you can hide in a pocket
Scanner Lighting: From Cylon eyes to electronic scanners, our Knight Rider kit (named after the popular series from the 80s) has the lights you need to take your electronic cosplay from okay to oh WOW. This kit includes 6 LEDs pre-wired to a circuit that creates this amazing sequence-stobe effect.