Spark AR Tutorial: Transform Your Illustrations With Augmented Reality (AR)

Learn to add new dimensions to your illustrations with Naranjalidad using Augmented Reality

Would you like your illustrations to jump off the page and take on new dimensions? Spark AR doesn’t only allow you to create filters that warp human faces, it is also a tool that you can use to transform your illustrations using augmented reality.

In this tutorial, Beatriz 'Naranjalidad' Ramo (@naranjalidad) explains step by step how to transform your illustrations with Spark AR and leave the two-dimensional world behind. Separate your illustration into different layers and save each one separately onto your computer. Now you can create your own filter!

1. Select Fixed Plane Tracker

Create a new project and select the option Plane Tracker, so that our camera searches for a texture, not a face–as would be the case if you were to select Face Tracker. Once selected, we will add a Fixed Target Tracker, found in the Focal Distance drop-down menu.

Here you will see an empty box appear that doesn’t have a texture, so we will add our own: the illustration that we want to convert into an augmented reality illustration. This will be the texture that our camera will search for to activate the filter we are preparing.

2. Add the different layers of our illustration

Now that we have the base of our AR illustration prepared, we add each layer of the broken down image so that they sit on top of the original image.

To do this, we create a new Plane, which we will place in front of our illustration. In this plane, we add a Material, to which we will also add a texture. This texture will be one of the layers of our illustration that we have previously created to make the filter and give it a 3D effect. For each layer that we want to add to our filter, we create a plane. In other words, if our filter is going to be made up of 10 superimposed images, we need to create 10 planes.

One thing that we should bear in mind is the order in which we place the layers. If we make a mistake, the illustration won’t make sense.

3. Adjust the size of the layers

Once you have added all of the layers that are going to make up our 3D illustration, it’s possible that you will notice that they are distorted or that the sizes aren’t as they should be. To fix this, we will create a Null object inside of the Fixed Plane Tracker, which will allow us to group the planes together. Drag all of the planes to the Null object, and then you will be able to scale, modify, and adjust every layer of your illustration at once.

4. Separate textures

Now we just need to separate the textures to create the depth that characterizes these types of 3D filters. Depending on the distance between these layers, the final effect will change drastically.

Have you created your own filter? Remember that augmented reality is full of new and fascinating possibilities for any digital artist. Be sure to make the most of it!

If you have enjoyed this tutorial, remember that you can learn how to turn your illustrations into augmented reality filters using Spark AR in Naranjalidad’s Domestika course, Illustrated Filters for Facebook and Instagram Stories.

You may also like:

–Photoshop Tutorial: Adding Shadows and Highlights to Your Portrait
–Spark AR: Create Filters for Facebook and Instagram Stories
–How Did Digital Illustration Begin?