Making Light Painting Spirographs

In this instructable I will show you how to make light painting spirographs, which are one of my favorite techniques in light painting.

First of all I do not take credit for this idea, I know it has been done long before my time, but I feel the necessity to spread it further. You will also need to know how light painting works, which you can find out through one of my other instructables, or a photography website I'm particularly fond of.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Create-a-Light-Painting-Animation/step4/Light-Painting/

http://www.diyphotography.net/painting_with_light/

For this project you will need to find these items:

- Bike wheel (1 to 2 foot diameter)
- Bike peg*
- LED chain lights of proper length
- Hot glue (also having epoxy helps)
- Battery holder and switch (if lights don't have them)
- Ratchet and correct sized socket for peg

* The bike peg is not necessary as there are many cheaper replacements. It is going to be used to make a handle, and since I had four laying around and they're made for bike wheels this was my best option.

Take the lights and spread them evenly around the inside of the rim, with the LED facing outward. Use hot glue to attach each one as you go along.

There is a good chance the string of LED's will be too long for the bike tire. If this is the case its easy to shorten them, though doing so too much may affect the LED's themselves.

At this point you should also attach the switch and battery holder if there isn't one already attached.

Now there have been many such devices made without bike pegs, I've heard paint roller handles work well in their place, but I believe it best to use bike pegs because they're practically made for the purpose.

Take of the lug nut on the side of the wheel that the switch is pointing too. Drop on your peg over the threads and put the lug nut back in place, making sure its tight with a ratchet. Very simple.

I'm assuming those who are reading already knew what light painting was, and how to take these kinds of pictures, or they learned through my other instructable or the diyphotography page.

Operation is very simple. Hold the peg and put pressure on the tire against a surface, in my case it was a bridge throughway, turn the switch on and run the wheel across the surface of where you want to draw. Thats basically it, then you've got a light painting spirograph photograph.

Now that you've learned how to make light painting spirographs you may want to try your new talent on something a little more ambitious, like a light painting animation, so I will shamelessly leave these guides here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Create-a-Light-Painting-Animation/

https://www.instructables.com/id/Light-Painting-Physiograms/