For this weeks #DES241 #MixedRealities challenge, we were tasked with creating a VR face filter using Spark AR. Spark AR is a free application, created by Facebook, that allows anyone to create virtual reality filters, which can be uploaded to Instagram or Facebook. Filters utilising VR technology have become a central part of social media over the past few years. They enable the user to morph and add 3D graphics to their face and surroundings.
I decided to create an Instagram filter for an Instagram account "Lifeless Vegetable". I used a makeup block and edited the properties on it to create black eyeshadow and lipstick. To place the "makeup" on the users face in real-time, I used the face-tracker asset. The face-tracker asset allows the makeup to move with the user's face naturally, for example, when blinking, the false eyelashes move with the eyelids. I then added bouncing text saying "Lifeless Vegetable", placed on a fixed position on the screen. I also placed an image of my friend Jack attached using the face-tracker to the forehead and created green spheres resembling bubbles emanating from the nose.
