Fun With Filters

You’re having a great day, so you snap a selfie. But before you post it, you want to add some extra pizzazz. You scroll through dozens of filters. Some of them stretch your smile super wide. Others fill your screen with sparkles. It’s a tough choice! But who makes all these filters, and how do they do it?

Leighton McDonald (@late_fx) is a virtual designer who works with augmented reality, or AR. Companies hire him to create filters for social media platforms.

You’re having a great day, so you snap a selfie. But before you post it, you want to add some pizzazz. You scroll through dozens of filters. Some of them stretch your smile super wide. Others fill your screen with sparkles. It’s a tough choice! But who makes all these filters? And how do they do it?

Leighton McDonald is a virtual designer. Companies hire him to create filters for social media platforms. McDonald works with augmented reality, or AR.

AR uses digital elements that you can view through your camera. It layers images over what you see in reality, like adding a pair of sunglasses to a video of yourself. As you move in the video, the virtual sunglasses move with you.

McDonald first started working with AR in college. A construction company hired him to develop a program that could identify underground pipes before digging. First, they mapped the ground using LiDAR, a technology that uses lasers to scan surfaces. Then the program used the scans to create an AR map of underground pipes and display it on the windshields of digging machines. That way, workers could see where pipes were and avoid tearing up those parts of the ground.

Years later, McDonald began creating 3-D sculptures on his computer. He wanted an easy way to share his art with the world, and realized he could use AR to post interactive sculptures on Snapchat. “People got to play with it, and it was really cool,” he says.

Since then, McDonald has made more than 60 filters. He often works with companies, artists, and musicians. He recently collaborated with rapper Lil Uzi Vert to make a filter called Uzi Diamond. It places a small virtual diamond in the center of a user’s forehead, mimicking the rapper’s style at the time. It got 3 million views in two days!

McDonald’s favorite inspiration for his filters is futuristic technology. “In the future, I think we’re going to be walking around with video game skins as a second option on our clothes,” McDonald says. “Styles won’t be limited by what can be physically manufactured.”

This technology uses your camera to layer digital images over what you see in reality. For example, an AR filter can add a pair of sunglasses to a video you make of yourself. As you move in the video, the virtual sunglasses move with you.

McDonald first started working with AR in college. A construction company hired him. It wanted a program that could identify underground pipes before workers started digging. First, the company used lasers to scan the ground. Then McDonald’s program used the scans to create an AR map of underground pipes. The map could be displayed on the windshields of digging machines. That way, workers could see where pipes were and avoid hitting them as they dug.

Years later, McDonald began creating 3-D sculptures on his computer. He wanted an easy way to share his art with the world. He realized he could use AR to post interactive sculptures on Snapchat. “People got to play with it, and it was really cool,” he says.

Since then, McDonald has made more than 60 AR filters. He often works with companies, artists, and musicians. He recently collaborated with rapper Lil Uzi Vert to make a filter that mimics the rapper’s style. It places a small virtual diamond in the center of a user’s forehead. It got 3 million views in two days!

McDonald is inspired by futuristic technology. In the future, he believes, people will be able to use AR filters even for things like clothes. “Styles won’t be limited by what can be physically manufactured,” he says.

To craft an AR filter, McDonald first sketches out an idea in Photoshop using a hand-drawn shape or a photo. Next, he uploads the sketch into Spark AR, which is Facebook’s software program for creating filters. For a 2-D effect, McDonald places the sketch on a plane, or a digital rectangle floating in space. The finished picture appears on a user’s video according to where McDonald placed it on the plane. He then adjusts the design so that it looks the way he wants it to and moves in a way he likes.

For 3-D art, McDonald uses a program called Moto. He places his sketch on a 3-D grid with x-, y-, and z-axes. Then he layers 2-D shapes on top. Triangles don’t bend well in 3-D space, so he usually uses rectangles. To make a smooth surface, he layers dozens of tiny rectangles until the edges no longer appear!

When he completes his modeling, McDonald uploads it into Spark AR to add finishing touches. Then he sends the prototype filter to his friends to test. If the image doesn’t appear where it’s supposed to, or if it lags behind the user’s movements, it’s back to the drawing board.

McDonald encourages anyone who’s interested in working with AR to learn computer coding. But marketing, he says, is just as important. “If I’m designing something I want to go viral, I think about the person who would be using it,” he says. “You have to make your art culturally relevant.”

To create an AR filter, McDonald first sketches out an idea in Photoshop. He bases it on a hand-drawn shape or a photo. The next step depends on whether he’s making a 2-D or 3-D effect.

For 2-D, McDonald places the sketch on a digital plane. That’s a virtual rectangle floating in space. The position of the image on the plane determines where it appears on a user’s video. McDonald then adjusts the design so that it looks and moves the way he wants it to.

For 3-D art, McDonald uses a program called Moto. He places his sketch on a 3-D grid with x-, y, and z-axes. Then he layers 2-D shapes on top to build 3-D surfaces. He usually uses rectangles, because triangles don’t bend well in 3-D space. To make a smooth surface, he layers dozens of tiny rectangles. After enough layers, the edges no longer appear!

When he completes his modeling, McDonald uploads it into Spark AR. That’s a software program specifically for creating filters. There, McDonald can add his finishing touches. Then he sends the filter to his friends to test. Sometimes the image doesn’t appear where it’s supposed to or lags behind the user’s movements. Then it’s back to the drawing board.

McDonald encourages anyone who’s interested in AR to learn computer coding. But marketing is important too, he says. “If I’m designing something I want to go viral, I think about the person who would be using it,” he says. “You have to make your art culturally relevant.”