Longtime AtmosFX decorator Sal C. wanted to experiment with his recently purchased Illumibot Projection Mapping Kit. So, naturally, he 3D-printed a replica of his Sewell, New Jersey, home. (As one does.) Now he tests Valentine’s hearts, Halloween singing statuaries, and everything in between on his kitchen counter before projecting them onto the real thing. His neighbors get professional-grade projection mapping shows. His family gets a tiny glowing house next to the coffee maker.
When we say Sal is a longtimer, we mean it – he’s been creating Halloween displays when AtmosFX Decorations came out on DVDs. He started with the dancing skeletons of Bone Chillers (still one of his favorites) and projecting onto pumpkins. But when he saw a joint video from AtmosFX and Illumibot on YouTube, something just clicked. He’d been researching projection mapping ever since seeing the technique at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, but, as he tells us, the technical complexity always felt like too heavy a lift. Now, Illumibot made it accessible.
From Sal’s perspective, the integration between Illumibot and AtmosFX makes the process remarkably simple. When Sal subscribes to Illumibot, his email links directly to his library of purchased AtmosFX Decorations – like the dancing skeletons – which appear right in the Illumibot phone app. He can even purchase new decorations through the app. From there, he creates timelines and adds his AtmosFX Decorations as overlays to the AI-generated house facade, resizing, rotating, positioning, and masking them to fit perfectly in windows and on doors – all using simple tools on his phone.
For Valentine’s Day, Sal wrapped his house in hearts, roses, and chocolates using Illumibot’s AI tools, then added the My Valentine Decoration to his garage door – transforming his home into something that looks like it belongs in Fantasyland. But here’s the beauty of Illumibot: switching to a completely different theme takes just minutes. Sal has been testing Halloween versions featuring Zombie Invasion!, Bone Chillers and Barbershop Busts decoration collections, turning the same Valentine’s Day house into a haunted mansion with singing statues in the foreground or skeletons twirling in the windows.
Of course, we love the ingenuity of the 3D-printed house model, letting Sal perfect his designs before going live. Using an inexpensive mini projector, he tests placement, timing, and effects on the scale model – making adjustments until everything looks right. Then he exports the final version from the app, which combines all the videos and sends them to the Illumibot device connected to his high-powered projector.
“My neighbors loved my creations this holiday season,” Sal tells us. “I’ve had folks in the neighborhood stop and compliment me while walking by the house. A neighbor across the street sent me a picture of their grandson watching our house out their window. It really made my day!”
During Christmas, Sal says cars would stop to watch his seven-minute show, and neighborhood kids came in groups with their families. The same setup that made Christmas magical can now create Valentine’s charm or Halloween scares – or anything else. It just showcases that with Illumibot and AtmosFX Decorations, you’re really only limited by your imagination.
Have you used Illumibot to decorate for the holidays? Any holiday? We’d love to see what you’ve created! Send photos and videos to us using this simple online submission form. Every submission will earn you points redeemable at the AtmosFX online store. And if you are selected as a future AtmosFAN of the Week, not only will you inspire fellow decorators around the world – you’ll earn a free decoration collection, too!
