5 XR Creators You Should Follow | May 2023

I first discovered the world of AR while taking an Intro to Unity course in college. There, I fell in love with 3D modeling and mini animations but quickly realized that creating full-blown VR worlds and games required a lot of time and effort. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the process, but I was looking for a faster turnaround time for my creative projects. That’s when I stumbled upon Spark AR and Lens Studio, two incredible and free programs for creating AR filters. I was blown away by the possibilities and knew I had to learn more. So when the pandemic hit, I made the most of my time by waking up at 4 am to study before work and then putting my new skills into practice in the evening. After a year and a half of dedication and hard work, I finally mastered 3D modeling, AR filters, and animation (well, almost!). But the journey wasn’t just about developing technical skills. Along the way, I discovered my creative flow and developed a passion for using AR as a medium for storytelling and self-expression.

I’ve always been fascinated with crafting experiences through unconventional, creative means. I grew up in rural South America, in an unusually intellectual and curious family. As a child, I was drawn to writing, music, performance, and even taught myself to use some software and basic coding skills to create characters, objects, and scenes for storytelling. I started working as a freelance graphic designer when I was about 14 and transitioned into a tech career in my early 20s. I taught myself to code and held a traditional software engineer role for several years while experimenting with Unity for fun on the side. In 2016, I received a Cultural Innovation Award, which allowed me to develop a Unity 3D interactive experience exploring digital identity and post-human experiences.

The project was featured in a collective art show in Buenos Aires. I ventured into creating filters with Spark AR Studio in 2019. My first filter, vedette++, went viral, amassing hundreds of millions of users worldwide and leading to client requests and commissions. I was working full-time in the Digital Innovation department of an American company, developing proprietary AR and AI beauty solutions, and part-time freelancing creating Instagram and Snapchat filters for around 9 months until I decided to become a full-time freelance XR consultant. I’ve since collaborated with global brands and agencies, specializing mostly in webAR immersive experiences for marketing and entertainment using three.js, A-frame, and 8th Wall.

I’m a 3D designer specializing in digital fashion and XR from Brazil. Before, I used to conduct physical experiments with painting, but then I started to bring those physical experiments into the digital realm through projection. From there, these experiments started to become more digital with the aim of exploring new forms of self-expression and fashion. After creating some digital collectibles, I had the desire to expand the experience to wearable digital clothing and accessories. And that’s where my desire to experiment with AR and VR began.

Projection Experiments

AR Experiments

VERÃOCAOTICO
by priscila.nassar

NATUREZABUGGADA
by priscila.nassar

IKI Headpieces
by ikibeads

My passion has always been about breaking the barriers between the digital and the physical, pushing the limits of technology and innovation while combining all of my skills (as a brand, digital, and motion 3d designer) to create immersive experiences when I create a whole new branding for my clients or creating for myself and audience. I have this passion in me for learning and growing constantly. Using AR really gave me this opportunity to create the impossible and add extra value, fun, and engagement.

In 2019 I was looking for something that would be my hobby and work at the same time. I was already a photographer by that time and I was interested in working with visual things. At that time, it was the beginning of AR and I thought that this is a great direction for me, because it gives you a lot of ways for creating impressive stuff.

What are the best AR / VR works you created? Could you show them to us and describe the workflow behind those creations?

Portals. Ever since I first learned that you can create an entire virtual world within an AR portal, I have been in love with this idea. The fact that anything you can imagine can ultimately be featured here is mind-blowing. And this is a great way to showcase any company’s product.

Portal World

Sharzi World

Image Tracking. I love Image Tracking filters so much! I think the idea that you can either take a basic image and expand on the look, or animate it is the most fun portion of the experience. Making simple 2D content come to life is both exciting for the AR Creator and the user.

The Follow Me filter was created as a business card that lets people see a sample of my work. It also has a link attached that will bring people to my Instagram profile. I loved the idea of making business cards fun!

The Depth Illusion filter was also a lot of fun. Playing with the idea of making a 2d image seem like you’re looking into a box/room. This was a fun R&D project I did to showcase to clients how we can create a mini world in any of their images.

Fashion Catwalk. This is one of my favorite filters. When Snap AR released Ray Tracing, I was so excited to see what it could do. I started playing around with ideas and realized how fun it would be to feature a model walking through a jungle modeling clothing. And having the mirror reflect the back of her outfit so you get a full 360 view.

Face filters! The ultimate foundation of how I started learning about AR. These 3 filters are actually my most successful filters. All the filters combined have reached over 5 million views and 500 days of Snap Camera Play time.

From Back Home: This was a fun filter that felt like the energy of NYC and how I grew up. It felt fun and urban.

Rich Autie Filter: This was a filter that I believe a lot of people can connect with. This filter is that one aunt that comes over in the most elaborate and amazing outfits. She gives the best gifts for the holidays, and is super rich! She is literally everyone’s favorite aunt.

Butterfly Summers: This filter has the most success out of all of my filters. It was my first time trying out a simple fun summer filter. And I think it worked out well. Sometimes the simplest filters are what people love the most.

Rich Auntie
by Babe Here

Jungle Fashion
by Babe Here

From Back Home
by Babe Here

Follow Me
by Babe Here

Butterfly Summers
by Babe Here

Although some of my best and most recent work is under NDA, I can share several experiences I’m particularly proud of:

2023. MENTAL WELLNESS IN VIRTUAL REALITY FOR META’S PRESENCE PLATFORM HACKATHON

I recently had the honor to be selected to participate in Meta’s Presence Platform Hackathon here in London. I was very lucky to form a team with highly talented and amazing XR creators Allan Berger, Jeffrey Wang, Matija Mandurov, and Balraj Bains. We named our team “Emotional Architects” and developed Mindgaze, a VR app to help individuals suffering from PTSD. Research indicates that VR treatments could be more effective and short-term for certain neurological disorders than traditional methods. Our app guided users through EMDR therapy sessions, utilizing eye movement to reprocess memories and replace negative beliefs with positive ones. We incorporated voice commands, movement detection for eyes and hands, and AI voice-to-image for 360 environment generation, to provide the most organic, natural, and personalized experience possible for patients.

2022. AUGMENTED REALITY FOR LONDON FASHION WEEK

I had the pleasure to join my friends from Trendimensional – a world-class digital fashion studio from Barcelona – to develop an AR experience for their IDENTITIES capsule digital collection during London Fashion Week. The experience was part of PICNIC, an immersive event at W1 Curates Studio in Shoreditch, which featured a 23-meter LED screen and allowed the users to try on a piece from the collection that was showcased as a fashion film in the space.

2021. AVATAR CREATOR FOR GOOGLE’S ANDROID DEV SUMMIT

In creative partnership with ARfected (NL), Gramafilm (UK), and Google’s Android team. I developed a fun comic-style web-based avatar builder for that year’s Android Dev Summit. It received a lot of love from the Android devs twitter community.

2020. OFFICIAL VIDEO CALLING EFFECTS FOR META’S MESSENGER

I collaborated with The Electric Factory – Official Meta Spark Partner – to create some of Meta’s official filters for Messenger. This was both exciting and challenging since these were among the first Messenger filters available to partners.

2019. AI/AR-POWERED SKINCARE FOR ULTA BEAUTY

As part of the Digital Innovation team at Ulta, I helped develop an AR and AI-powered service to diagnose skin conditions and recommend a skincare routine with products you can buy directly from the app.

2017. MUSIC PUZZLE IN VIRTUAL REALITY

I created a VR puzzle game as a tribute to Vaporwave, an aesthetic and music genre I was captivated by at the time. The Simon says-type game featured classic Vaporwave sound effects and an original Vaporwave track I produced myself. Here’s a recording of the gameplay.

2016. INTERACTIVE 3D ART INSTALLATION

Interactive 3D art installation made with Unity and Twitter API exploring digital identity. Cultural Innovation Award by Buenos Aires’s Culture Department.

I created some clothing cards, sold through NFT, in which it is also possible to use the clothes through AR filters. I created these clothes through the VR headset, Quest 2. After modeling in Gravity Sketch, I took these clothes to Blender and refined them. And then I took them to Lens Studio.

I have also developed an experience for VR, called “Synthetic Nature”. It explores a supersaturated world of fictional creatures. It was a more complex work, which involved using 3D software and the Unreal Engine to bring the experience to VR.

I feel my fave ones are my political filters that made a strong statement, ‘Gender Equality’ lets you participate and immerse yourself in a global protest anyone can take part in. The fight belongs to all of us. We create a movement and inspire others to join using real people, everywhere.

As a side note, most of my political filters got banned which I’m a bit proud of since they were super viral before they got reported (love stretching the limits).On the other hand, though, I love creating these fantasy futuristic installations where you walk in this small moment in time and space in-between worlds. You might see two Androids making love by transferring data to each other or a Squid-cat hybrid monument being worshiped. I love incorporating sound effects to complete these worlds/moments.

Outer World
by delirium1

Android Love Affair
by delirium1

Gender Equality
by delirium1

My most popular filter is Underwater. I wanted to create something visually simple and beautiful and it got success. It was challenging to create a perspective simulation of water with shaders. This filter were in Spark promo materials as well.

The Hole in the floor and Plastic bag filters are my new filters, now I’m trying to make filters more conceptual and in line with the style of my photographs like when you can’t find a border between a real and virtual world. I’m looking for inspiration on Instagram pages of different artists, movies, and life around:)

UnderWater🌊
by korobov_denis

Hole in the floor
by korobov_denis

Plastic Bag
by korobov_denis

What is your plan for the future? What do you want to work on or what kind of skills would you like to develop?

My future plan is to keep creating fun and creative AR filters that make people smile and bring joy to their lives. While I love making filters for big companies, my dream is to also work with local businesses and help them bring the latest technology to their communities. I want to create utility filters that people can use in their everyday lives, such as filters that help you choose a restaurant or ones that show you the best deals at your local store.

Another important goal of mine is to bring more AR technology to the youth in my community. There are so many exciting careers in this field, and I want to help expose young people to these opportunities. By teaching them about AR and other emerging technologies, I hope to inspire them to pursue careers in this field and make a positive impact on the world.

As I continue to develop my skills, I also want to focus on training and teaching others about AR. I want to help people feel empowered and excited about the possibilities of AR and to make sure they don’t feel intimidated by the technical jargon. I believe that everyone can learn about AR and use it to express their creativity, tell their stories, and solve real-world problems. So, my future plan is to continue exploring the world of AR and inspiring others to do the same.

My primary focus is to continue honing my XR skills and strive for mastery in the field. I’m lucky enough to be dedicating my life to doing what I love and collaborating and learning from some of the brightest and most creative people in this industry so that motivates me to keep pushing myself to be better.

I’m very much looking forward to continuing to develop Mindgaze, performing tests with therapists and patients, and hopefully being able to help real people. Lastly, I can’t wait to keep collaborating and innovating along with my friends from Trendimensional in the digital fashion space.

My plan for the future is to further specialize in 3D and augmented reality. I believe that I want to evolve my skills in modeling and take these assets to experiences that bring greater immersion. I believe there is a lot to learn.

This is a tough one, I have a list of I think 15 new softwares and AI’s I want to start mastering and the list just keeps growing, so I hope I’ll be able to fit it all soon lol.

I want to develop more skills, experiment, and create amazing engaging XR experiences. My focus is on developing my 3D art skills, creating amazing brand experiences for the brands I create, and exploring more digital fashion. And of course, I want to keep making waves with my activist filters and create an impact. My goal is to keep pushing myself to learn and grow, and just keep playing and exploring.

Futuristic Glam
by delirium1

Techno Girl
by delirium1

The Moth
by delirium1

My plan for the future is to polish my visual style to make it more solid and find new interesting mechanics for creating filters. I’m developing my skills in 3D, discovering the world of generative art, and finding new ways of expressing myself.

What is your dream project or collaboration?

My dream project would be to work with a local mom-and-pop shop, or even a big brand, to create a series of fun and playful AR filters. I love the idea of using AR to help businesses showcase their products in an exciting way, whether it’s giving customers a portal experience or letting them see how a piece of furniture would look in their home.

Of course, I’d want to put my own whimsical spin on things – maybe add some silly animations or hidden surprises that customers would discover as they use the filter. But ultimately, what I love most about this kind of project is the opportunity to work closely with business owners and really understand what makes their brand special. Creating an experience that’s both fun and useful for customers, because I think AR is a powerful tool and can do so much.

So whether it’s a small mom-and-pop shop or a big-name brand, I’d love to collaborate with businesses to create AR filters that truly capture their unique vibe and help them connect with customers in a whole new way.

My ultimate goal is to work on AI and XR-powered Brain-Computer Interfaces, exploring the intersection of cutting-edge technology and human cognition, as I see this as one of the most exciting evolutionary steps of humanity.

My dream would be for a physical clothing brand to collaborate on a digital-physical project with my aesthetic. It would be really cool to produce prints and 3D models and see them materialized physically. I also love collaborating with Brazilian artists and am open to collaborations outside of Brazil as well.

I’m always seeking to collaborate with different creatives, to be a part of a creative artistic collective that creates amazing projects. A big fashion brand and to just go wild, or do some activist political work that educates, makes a statement, impacts and makes a change in people’s lives.