Introduction: Rainbow Vision Spectacles

About: Black sheep engineer, Chartered, and very silly. Currently living in the UK. I have been fortunate to have lived, studied and worked in Hong Kong, Norway and California. I believe physical models help people…

This Instructable helps you create independently colouredvision goggles!

It's nothing much more complex than cereal boxes, some coloured films and split pins. But following a request on Twitter, I realise it needed a breakdown to make it simple - and no better place than here =)

In case you're interested - the project started because I was 'investigating' if colour affected your performance on Crazy Golf (as supposedly John Lennon wore coloured lenses as it changed his mood/focus/creativity...). I wondered if different colours helped people to focus / take risks / relax-into-the-shot more...

I also just like the idea of any serious sports person wearing these (though I'm not holding my breath!). If you like these, please vote in the Rainbow Contest!

Supplies

Cereal Boxes. Craft Knife / Scissors. Sellotape. Compass (or small round objects to draw around, (bottlecap will do - as I have done!).

Glue Gun (I used a small cordless one LINK). Normal Glue Gun is fine also, but don't over-heat it.

Coloured Cellophane Gels - LINK.

Spilt Pins - LINK.

Step 1: Colour Wheels (Compass Vs Round Objects)

Find a large round object like a tin. I got one 100mm diameter. Draw around this, and mark the centre.

Take a smaller round object like a bottle cap, or inner of a tape roll. Mine was 25mm diameter.

Evenly space 6x the small circles in the larger one, leaving about 5mm from the large circle, and from each other. One can of course do this more accurately, (see this video LINK), but I'm a fan of showing that accuracy is not always as crucial as you think, and you can work faster with some small inaccuracies....especially for a fun thing like this!

Step 2: Mirror and Copy

As to my earlier point - things need not be exactly spaced - but they do need to be accurately copied: Here I simply turn the first 'wheel' over, and draw around it, to get a mirror copy of it.

I repeated the same again, taking note of where the circles 'matched' with a small pencil mark.

By the end, you'll have two sets of colour wheels, which align nicely.

Step 3: Add Gels / Colour Cellophane Sheets

As you might expect you can be way more accurate with cutting out these coloured films, but in truth, as they will be encased between card, all that matters is that they cover the viewing holes...

I used doubled sided tape to roughly hold the sheets in pace.
TIP - Suggest using a knife to pick off the backing layer, once placed down.

Work 2-at-a-time, so that the left and right wheels are mirror-images of each other. It's not vital, but it looks nicer ;o)

I'm sure this is obvious, but I added double layers of colours like red, to make it more intense. And likewise, I added red + blue to make indigo / violet. You can of course mix up whatever suits you ;o)

Step 4: Assemble Wheels

Taking careful note to check alignment first, then begin adding glue in-between the coloured gels, and sandwich together. You should have two disks, probably with the plain card on the outside, and the printed on the inside.

Step 5: Make a Hole

If you used a compass, this simply needs to be enlarged with a knife or a pencil slightly.

Or just draw a line between each opposite circle, and it'll show the centre!

Step 6: Tailor to Your Face

Cut out a section that nicely fits over your nose. The strip is 75mm wide FYI.

If you have a friend, get them to measure your pupil-to-pupil distance. But if like me, you'd rather not bother people with dumb stuff like this, then you can hold the card in place, and rest your thumb knuckles gently on your closed eyes. Mark the distance.

Create 'test holes', to check you got it right, and if all good, draw around with the cap/tape as shown to the same sized circle/hole as the colour wheels' ones.

Step 7: Add Front Cover

I duplicated the same two holes, and nose groove in a second sheet of card.

I then made this smaller by trimming away some excess, so that the colour wheels were more on show, but you can embellish this anyway you like =)

The main final point - is to allow space to push the split-pins through all 3 pieces of card. Folder over the legs of the Split Pin, as shown. Add some glue in the top and near the nose if desired. Take care not to glue the wheels in place also!!

Step 8: Add Head-Band

I trimmed some excess off main piece of card, as shown in the first picture.

I then added a long strip of card (about 40mm wide, by 250mm long). I contoured this so that it fit nicely in relation to the wheel, and meant it covered the printed card somewhat.

Step 9: Fixed / Variable Headband

If this is just for you, glue the headband in the right fit for you.

Cover over the legs of the split pins for safety near your eyes. You can even add some around the nose and forehead area also, as this gets oily on hot days!

Optional: If like me, you want other people to try this out, I used velcro (hook & loop) strips to allow it to fit to many people. (Head sizes vary more than pupil distance, so even small kids 3yrs+ can use this I found).

Step 10: Done!

Go try your 'John Lennon - Mellow Yellow' shades, or go calm with Blue. Perhaps passionate with Red... the choice is yours.

And if it's not obvious - also try mixing the colours - if you're uses 3D Specs - these also work for Red/Green 3D images!!

If you liked this, please vote, and do take a look at other project (some more useful than this): JudePullen.com

Thanks

Jude

Colors of the Rainbow Contest

Participated in the
Colors of the Rainbow Contest