TLS Store...Actually...Maybe?

[Starling]

There's another materia in DoC that I couldn't find a picture of, but I still can't get screenshots to work on this laptop. Keep in mind that some of those are glowing because they're in use.

 

[trash panda]

Mrrrkay. I purchased the 4.5cm/1.77 inch orb molds. I'd love to get the 2" or 2.5" orbs, however I don't know if this little project is going to be a success or if anyone will actually buy these. Plus I can't stop blabbing about the price of resin; you get it. SO, for now I'm going with the smaller orbs.

Looking into LED lights vs LED stands.

So we have materia and keychains on the way. Is there anything else worth looking into?
Aside from some FF chibi art, I have plans to introduce a TLS keychain adorned by none other than....THE CTHULHOOKIE MONSTER.

 

[trash panda]

So, this is how they come out of the mold. Anything that's touching the mold comes out sort of matte.

I sanded this one down a little bit, jammed some wire in it and added a glaze. (I did this in a facking hurry so don't say it looks like shite).

The material is very lightweight. I don't feel like putting on clothes right now to do a pavement test outside, but I did chuck them against my garage floor (cement) and I see no signs of damage. 0.0

 

[Flare]

^Oooh, they look great! And good idea to do a damage test, I never did that with my clay stuff because everything I sculpted I liked...
How easy was it to put the wire in it like that?

Also, the sparkly effect in those is nice; that would probably work for materia.
Found these as well for size reference of materia:

Spoiler

Materia seems to have a natural faint glow/sparkle to them because of the life inside of them; I don't think it needs to be bright, but if LED lights are too complex/much money right now, I'd recommend sparkles, as that's cheaper and will catch light to make it seem like it's glowing.

 

[Starling]

The also seem to be pretty reflective, so you could always put more emphasis on that.

 

[trash panda]

How easy was it to put the wire in it like that?

It wasn't easy at all.
But that's a good thing. That just says something about how durable they are. I tried poking a hole with a needle, and even a knife. It took a lot to convince that stupid little wire to get in there.

I'll just have to find another way to get the wire inside (presumably before it's completely cured).

I think, based on those pictures, the molds/size that I got will be just fine.

I do want to find a way to get the LED light inside of the materia because, if I'm to be totally honest....if I were to buy something like this I'd want the fecking thing to glow from the inside.

 

[Flare]

...Glow in the dark paint?
Fireflies?

I'm trying to think of more ways than just LED lights. 'cause it's fun.

 

[Starling]

Is there a way to make it glow in the dark from the inside i different colors?

 

[Ite]

An LED light shining up from the base, especially one that you could change the bulb, would create a single product that fits anyone's colour preference (and satisfy us nerds who want a materia-colour of the month desk ornament lolol)

It would also lend to the glowing aspect of the stones. Uhm clearly that's my vote.

Edit: Holy cow, you'd want to put the light *inside* the crystal? That would be cool. That ice bath idea is pretty neat too.

 

[Flare]

Hmm, if you could somehow make them sort of hollow inside.... perhaps a strand of small Christmas lights could work to if you shove them inside the materia. Probably not going to work....

 

[Channy]

Spoiler: I have purchased marbles and I am currently experimenting.

 

[Starling]

Imagine if they could be made hollow with a sparkly liquid inside.

 

[trash panda]

This looks very decent:

I believe I may go the LED route after all.

I've looked into glow pigment, and while the stuff is impressive...it's VERY expensive.



EDIT: LOL Channy don't blow up your kitchen. XD


EDIT EDIT:
The white materia looks a lot like Jade:

 

[Kionae]

I imagine that if materia were real, it would look very much like gemstones or...good grief...I've forgotten the name of this stuff:

The first is orbicular jasper, sometimes called ocean jasper. The second is amethyst.

Have you considered opal? It can often be had for cheap if you don't mind buying from China, and has a very nice effect to it since it's translucent.

For example:

Spoiler

 

[trash panda]

^I'll look into that right now. ^.^

 

[Pixel]

The translucent resin would look better tbh

 

[trash panda]

Okay, so I've got the resin, the molds...I've got plenty of iridescent paint. I'm shopping around for the right LED lights and trying to determine which method is better: inserting inside of the orb or placing below in some sort of stand. If I were to buy such a thing, I'd want the light to be replaceable.

I'm going to practice my materia textures/patterns on the keychain molds until I get it right. THEN I can start producing materia. ^.^

I'm going to start off with the white materia since I think that one would be the biggest hit.

 

[Channy]

Make it pale green, not white. Pisses me off when people forget it's not actually white despite it's name.

 

[trash panda]

^ I will keep that in mind.

Oh and maybe the box it comes in should be wrapped in a pink ribbon. <3

 

[Pixel]

I have no idea how to have an LED inside. Either submerged in the resin, or a hole made, and LED put in after. But I have no idea where to get little cables that connect to a battery.

 

[trash panda]

^I'm doing thorough research on that myself....not sure if it's smart to put a light/heat source inside a ball of plastic.

I have to say, I was really impressed with some samples that I saw of light activated glow in the dark powder....I just don't think I can convince myself to pay close to $30-$40 for 6 ounces.
And I wouldn't even consider getting the cheaper stuff just to save money because from the perspective of the customer, I'd be pissed if I paid for a glowing materia that didn't glow for more than 10 minutes.

 

[Flare]

The light source has to be something that would last for a while, I think. Also, if you can replace it without spending a lot of money once it wears out, all the better (like changing batteries or something).
What if the materia was highly reflective? Nah, that's probably not gonna work.

Edit: I think black materia might be popular too, y'know, since it summons meteor and is associated with Sephiroth.

 

[trash panda]

I think we've narrowed it down to LED lights and glow pigment.

So um....yeah...hopefully we can have this all figured out before Christmas.
I should have (at least) the keychains sorted out in the next month or so.

 

[Kionae]

Make it pale green, not white. Pisses me off when people forget it's not actually white despite it's name.

You know... I always thought it was white or almost white until Aerith actually used it and it started to glow.

 

[Ite]

Just as the black materia is black but glows purple.