RGB Lighting

I'll start with some background for what I'm trying to do, then get into it... I have been doing some technical theatre which mostly includes lighting and sound. One of the biggest limitations I have been having doing this is with 'practicing' lighting at home because I don't have thousands of dollars to pour into my own lighting rigs which are $500-$1000 each, and there are 55 of them. And 2 that are $5k+.) So, obviously, I turn to Arduino.

I've played around with some RGB LEDs before, and was mostly satisfied with them but recently while playing and prototyping designs I noticed how the LEDs were putting out very discrete cones of light for each color. Is there any way to mix the color from the LEDs better as to eliminate the discrepancy? Some I have though of, but haven't tried are:

  1. frosting the outside of the LEDs
  2. using multiple and mirrors/reflectors to 'combine' multiple beams
  3. use a lot so it's not very noticeable

My main goal is to create a scale model of the stage and use single LEDs to simulate fixtures, and control it with an Arduino.

Any and all advice, even if not super related is greatly appreciated!

  1. frosting the outside of the LEDs

Yeah, I think diffusion is the "trick" but you'll loose intensity so you might also need multiple LEDs.

P.S.
I think there's a computer program that can simulate lighting but I don't know what it is... Maybe it's a added feature of a DMX controller application...

What type of RGB LEDs are you using?

If you put an aperture in front of the RGB led that cuts the outsides of the color cones, would that be enough?

You could aim 1 red, 1 blue and 1 green led at the same spot. It'd be way cheaper than 1 RGB led. In my time light boxes were white or red or green or blue and were aimed at spots on the stage, individual colored leds would simulate that on small scale. With a 3D printer, little holders might be easy to make.

As an add-on to DVDdoug's reply in #1 above ... Keep your eye open for someone throwing out (or selling dirt cheap) an LED TV. Even if it doesn't work or the screen is cracked. There is an awesome diffusion panel inside that is the same size as the screen.