Remember when we all went wild over the puppy filter on Snapchat? Well, it did something to our brains and since it was rolled out in early 2016 there has been massive growth and increasing interest in filters – especially on Instagram.
Stories have a very special place in people’s hearts whether it’s for the spontaneity they bring to our daily usage of Instagram or the way they miraculously allow us to fuse art and technology together… or possibly even because stories are temporary, and well, hopefully, we all know that not everything deserves a permanent place on the grid.
If your Instagram stories are a real work of art then you can always archive them into your story highlights for all to see in one nice little collection above grid (AG) but like most news, stories last for 24 hours making for fun, engaging bite-size updates of your world… and stories just got waaaayyyy funner…more funner…funnerer….you know what I mean.
Since Instagram stories launched they have taken on a life of their own. From a slight color filter to an entire augmented reality – like having artificial aviator sunglasses placed on your face (cost saver) or a cat filter to rival the beloved puppy dog filter… and now, with the launch of the same software that Facebook uses to create Instagram Filters in the first place; Spark AR Studio – you can create your very own.
While Spark AR Studio was initially closed to the general public and restricted to a beta test group of artists and celebs alike, they have since opened their cyber doors to the rest of us allowing users to take Instagram Stories and our imaginations to the extreme in a fusion of art and technology that was once restricted to the likes of the creators of Pokemon Go.
Think futuristic metallic AR overlays that place a plastic glossy rainbow veneer over your face…or how about some flowers growing out of your eyes? This is the sci-fi renaissance that your Instagram stories have been waiting for.
Not only can you create AR Effects (and put them on your face) but you can also access the entire existing effects gallery right there on Instagram, which means that you get to discover all of the unique effects from the wider creator community too. How cool is that?
And It’s So Easy to Use!
To access other creators filters, simply head to their profiles and tap the filters button atop of their grid (the smiley face with the sparkles). This will enable you to see a preview of all of that creator’s unique filters and also allow you to try them on!
Trying on a filter will open up your stories camera so that you can see how it will look on your story. If you love it you can simply hit save in the lower right-hand corner and use that filter again and again whenever you like as this savs the filter directly to your effects tray.
To find even more filters for your stories just keep on scrolling through (to the right) of all of your available filters until you see the ‘browse more effects’ search tool. This then opens up the effects library where you can then search through filters made by creators all over the world and get inspired to make your own AR effects too!
We can’t wait to see what type of AR Filters you make so make sure you tag us in your original AR effects in your Instagram stories: @plannthat
Happy Plann’ing!
