Instagram Filters are on the rise now and have become one of the tops in the list of Digital Marketing priorities.
Many brands and others have started making their own filters in order to promote their business. Also, there are many Instagram Filter makers who do make Instagram filters on their own for their zeal and passion in the AR World. And then comes, some of the people like us, you and me, we want to create Instagram filters maybe because we love to learn and do creative stuff.
Instagram Filters however has made a drastic change in the Digital market world. Especially, the business and brands with beauty products.
This AR world has just started and it’s already taking the hype on the internet, there is more to come and so it is a wise decision to learn to create your own Instagram Filters.
Below are a few of the many benefits of learning how to make your own Instagram filters:
- You get exposure if your filter goes viral.
- Brands will reach out to you so that you could make filters for them, returning you with a good amount of profit.
- You can promote your or your friends’ business by creating an Instagram Filter.
- Building your own Instagram filter will get you more followers.
- It’s fun to create your own Instagram filter.
How to Make Instagram Filter?
Making an Instagram filter is no rocket science. you don’t need any technical knowledge to create your own filter. In fact, it’s just like learning to edit your Instagram post or videos.
No coding or other related technical kinds of stuff.
You just have to be creative with your Filter ideas and then it’s just some clicks away to build that filter.
You will learn to create your own Instagram Filter from scratch. We will make a face tattoo Instagram AR filter. Continue reading to know-how.
Things required to make Instagram Filter?
Below is the list of things that you will need to make your very first Instagram Filter.
- A computer. You will need a computer because the software that we are going to use doesn’t support mobile devices and other related. This however works on almost every computer operating system.
- The most important and a “must-have” requirement is the “Spark AR Studio”. This is the piece of software that we will use to make our Instagram Filter.
- Other requirements depend on the type of Instagram Filters that you are going to make. Since we are going to make a face Tattoo Instagram filter, we will need additional two things that you will know as you follow along with the post below.
What is Spark AR Studio?
Spark AR Studio is a piece of software [100% Free] meant to build Instagram and Facebook Filters. It helps you to customize videos and images. Spark AR Studio makes it easier for every individual to make their own Filters.
Spark AR Studio is made by Facebook Inc. and Is 100% Free to download and install and use the software. There is no hidden charge.
Spark AR Studio uses a codeless design making it easier to access. there is a patch builder that makes it easier to understand what’s going on in the process of making the filter.
It allows you to make an Augmented Reality (AR) Filter. AR are computer-generated effects that work in real-time. It will use your camera and detect your face and the other images in and around that come within the camera lens.
How to Download the Spark AR Studio?
You can simply visit the Spark AR Studio website and Download the Software. Or You can download it from below.
Make your First Instagram Filter (Face Tattoo Filter)
I hope you have already Installed the Spark AR Studio by now. If so, then we are ready to make our First ever Instagram Filter.
We will start with a simple filter and then we will go on the hard stuff later in the future posts. (They might already be available by now, do check out other related posts)
Okay, so after Installing the Software, Open it.
When you first open the Spark AR Studio for the first time you will see a Login page you’ll have to log in using your Facebook account.
Free Templates to Get Started
They have some amazing templates to get you started you can use certain templates for certain needs but we will make it from scratch so that you can understand what’s going on.
[See Image below]
Start Building Face Tattoo Filter
You can use a Template to get started but it’s better to start from a Blank Project to know what’s going on so that we understand what we are doing.
Let’s now create our very first Instagram filter. Click “New project” and select the “Blank project”.
In the studio, you will see various options and various features, we will not discuss that now but rather start making our face Tattoo Filter. If you want to know everything in detail then I’d suggest you watch the video that is available above.
Since we are making a face tattoo filter we need face reference assets you can do without the assets too but using it makes the work a lot easier.
Downloading Face Reference Assets
You can download the “Face Reference Assets” from Below.
The face reference assets will be a zip file.
You will have to extract the files in your file manager. Inside the file folder, you will see 2 different folders, one being “mesh” and the other “texture”.
We will open the Texture folder and we will see 5 different images. We are going to use either of the two images pointed in the image below. one Image for the Male face and the other for the Female face. I’ll tell you when to use this face reference tool as we continue with the tutorial.
Adding objects in Spark AR studio
To create the face tattoo filter you will first have to add an object and to add the object, click “add object”.
Then, search for “face mesh” from the search bar.
After it’s found, click “insert”.
You will then see the face mask in the face of the person in the Spark AR Studio.
The default name of the face mesh will be “facemesh0” but it is always better to rename it for convenience.
Adding assets (Applying Materials in an Object)
Now on the right-corner, click the plus ( + ) icon of the materials.
You will see that the face mask changed into something silver in color. You may have also noticed that a new material folder has been added in the assets section.
Rename the material to whatever you want. In this case, I have renamed it to “Face Tattoo Material”.
Downloading Tattoo images for the Instagram filter
We are almost done, we just need to get the tattoo image. You can get any tattoo image from Google. I have used one random face tattoo image that I found on Google.
Aligning Tattoo image with the reference face (using Canva)
After that, you will have to use a photo editor. You can use any software that is available on your computer Photoshop works great but I used “Canva” as shown in the image below.
Canva is free to download and is available for PC, Android, and iOS.
In the canva app, Create a new design and select Instagram post size or select 1080 X 1080 Px as it is the best size for face filters.
Now import the face reference asset that I told you to download at the beginning of this post.
After importing the Reference image, Right-click and set it as a background image.
The reference image will help us adjust the image accurately so that it turns out perfect on our faces.
Then, import the tattoo image that you have downloaded. (If you’ve downloaded already)
You will have to adjust the size of the image according to the face of the reference image. The nose should be on the nose, the lips on the lips, and so on accordingly.
After that remove the reference image and download this image. You can download it without a background if you have a subscription for canva. If you don’t have any subscription then you can use some other apps or websites to remove the background of the exported image. I recommend “Remove BG”, It will allow you to download the transparent images.
Adding Texture in Spark AR
Till now in Spark AR Studio, we’ve learned and have added the face mesh and materials in the face mesh.
Now we need to add the tattoo. And to add the tattoo, we need to add a new texture.
You can simply go to your file manager and drag and drop the final tattoo image in the asset section. You can rename the file for convenience.
After that, click on the material and then on the right corner click the texture drop-down and select the image texture that we just imported.
Okay, so the filter is now ready
Now You Just have to Test your Filter and publish it on Instagram and filter.
Since you’ve created your first Instagram filter, Learn “How to Test Instagram Filter before Publishing” and “How to Publish Spark AR Filters on Instagram and Facebook”
