Hey Robot_Butler, well I'm hoping to heavily modify anything I've seen to the arduino because I can program in C & C++ so it should be an easy transition. The arduino is way over powered for this purpose but my main caveat is that what I build is noob friendly, for folks like me with no electronics background, so I'll change the code accordingly to suit the hardware.

Fingers crossed over the next month or two I can experiment, then post the step by step and the code to go with it! It definitely won't be perfect but hopefully it will at least educate people in what not to do! lol.

The other reason I chose the arduino is that it was a board made for artists and designers, so it should hopefully be enough for A) me to actually make work and B) For other people to follow along and make work