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Snapchat has announced new features that allow creators to build their own face filters, including photo distortion and integrated GIF stickers.
The feature is available in Lens Studio, a free desktop platform launched by Snap Inc in December 2017 that allows designers to create their own lenses.
Before this update, creators were only able to build their own “world lenses”, i.e. augmented reality (AR) objects which can be used with the rear-facing camera. These new features allow creators to build face filters for “selfie” options.
The new templates include face paint, photo distortion, baseball caps, the ability to attach 2D and 3D objects to faces and heads, as well as “trigger”, which allows users to create filters based off facial movements like raising eyebrows.
Lens Studio users now also have access to GIPHY’s library of animated GIF stickers in their filters.
Creators can share their masterpieces by submitting a custom lens to Snapchat from Lens Studio, giving out special codes that can be used by others to unlock the lenses.
To promote creators’ custom lenses, Snapchat will generate a Story for public lenses; community lenses that anyone can use will be highlighted in the Discover tab for people to find.
Users can browse all public snaps posted to the Our Story feature over the past 24 hours, then swipe up on any snap to unlock the lens for themselves.
Although any Snapchat user can use Lens Studio to create their own lenses and filters, the app is predominantly aimed at professional creators including artists, designers, and illustrators, as it requires a level of expertise to use.
On iOS, Lenses are supported on iPhone 4S, iPod 5th generation, iPad 2nd generation and original iPad Mini devices and above. On Android, Lenses are supported on most devices with Android 4.3 and above.
