
`youtube:AWhSDzm1Mo8`

## What we're making

In this tutorial series we'll be going over how to create a beauty/aesthetic filter for Snapchat from start to finish. If you've never created a Snapchat filter before, we'll be helping you every step of the way and have you creating your own lenses in no time!

## Your computer

First things first, you need to make sure your computer is powerful enough to run Lens Studio. Chances are your current computer will be just fine, but I recommend looking at the [Lens Studio system requirements](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/download/) for an up-to-date list of what you need. As of this writing, Lens Studio is only available for Mac or PC - it cannot run on Chromebooks, Android, iOS, or Linux. Just about any Mac or PC manufactured within the last few years will run Lens Studio, but the better your computer, the better Lens Studio will run. If you are buying a new computer and intend on running Lens Studio, please thoroughly check the specs of the computer. It is entirely possible to buy a new computer that was actually manufactured several years ago; even though the computer is "new" it might not be able to run Lens Studio.

## Download and install

Once you've read over the privacy policy and whatnot, [download](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/download/) and install Lens Studio. As I'm writing this, the current version of Lens Studio is 4.1.1. Lens Studio is updated every few months, so it's quite possible there's a newer version available as you are reading this. I always recommend sticking with the most current release; don't go looking for old versions. Lens Studio is always adding new features and very rarely removing or changing anything, so most tutorials will still be applicable to the newest version of the software.

Once you've finished installing Lens Studio, launch it, create a new project, and let's get started!


Let's get started with Lens Studio! Lens Studio is Snapchat's tool for creating lenses. It is a super approachable, yet powerful piece of software. The first thing we need to do is install it.

Introduction


`youtube:WoqDKi8BVSg`

## Don't skip me!

I know you are eager to jump in and get started, but bear with me. If you've never created a lens before, you are going to get stuck at some point. If you've created hundreds of lenses before, you are also going to get stuck at some point. As you go through these tutorials, there are going to be new concepts and ideas and you might need help. Fortunately there are lots of places to get help.

## Look back over the tutorial

I myself am still learning a ton and watching tutorials. When something isn't going right, the first thing I do is rewind the tutorial to the last part where everthing was working, and rewatch the portion that is giving me trouble. Sometimes I missed an important step or I accidentally clicked the wrong button. If you run into any trouble, this is the first thing I want you to try.

## Comment on the video

Each of my tutorials has an accompanying video version. If you run into any issues and can't figure it out, feel free to comment on the video and ask your question! Sometimes it might be a few days before I can answer, but usually I try to offer help within a day. Now, not all questions are suitable for YouTube comments. Something like "How do I add a face retouch?" is a suitable question because it has a straightforward answer. If it takes you more than a sentence or two to describe the issue or you need to share screenshots, the Lens Studio forum will be a better place to ask.

## The Lens Studio forum

Lens Studio has an [official forum](https://support.lensstudio.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/community/topics). It's not the most active forum on the planet, but if you have a more complicated issue and need to share screenshots of what is going on, this is the place to ask. Members of the Lens Studio team will occasionally chime in, but also members of the community are able to offer help. If rewatching the tutorial doesn't help and it's not a quick question you can ask in a YouTube comment, this is the place to ask. As a bonus, if your question relates to one of my tutorials you can tag me, modelsbymike3d, in your question to make sure I see it.

## LAB

Generally I recommend you first ask your question on the official Lens Studio forum. But, if you have a more technical question then you might have better luck asking on [LAB](https://lab.popul-ar.com/) by Popul-AR. This is an unofficial forum and does not have a ton of Lens Studio users, but if you have a scripting related question this is a good place to ask.

## How to ask for help

This might be the most important tip for getting help. Ask clear questions. I often see people post things like, "It doesn't look right please help!" The problem with that is that someone now needs to ask a follow up - the original question does not contain any information that will help solve the problem. A better question would be, "I added a color correction post effect but the preview doesn't match what I was seeing in Photoshop. The colors seem too saturated." This question, along with screenshots of the lens setup, will probably get a quick answer that solves the issue. Try to make it as easy as possible for someone to answer your question.

## Helpful links

- [Lens Studio forum](https://support.lensstudio.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/community/topics)
- [LAB](https://lab.popul-ar.com/)


Are you stuck? Whether you are creating your first filter or your thousandth filter, at some point you are going to get stuck. Fortunately there are lots of places you can turn for help.

Getting help with Lens Studio


`youtube:y5Pc9vA_rts`

## To retouch, or not to retouch?

Should you, or should you not, add retouching to your lenses? On one hand, [the overuse of filters](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/202002/selfies-filters-and-snapchat-dysmorphia-how-photo-editing-harms-body-image) can cause self-esteem issues. But I've also spoken with people who used to suffer from acne that the face retouching is what gave them the confidence to start posting selfies. It's not a simple yes/no question, so here are the guidelines I personally follow when it comes to retouching.

- Absolutely no modifying the shape of the face to enhance "beauty." It is actually pretty common for lots of the beauty lenses on Snapchat to make subtle changes to the face - a smaller nose, larger lips, slimmer cheeks, larger eyes. I stay away from these changes. I will use face deformation if it matches the lens I am making (e.g. making someone's face shorter as part of a cartoon effect), but I don't modify the shape of the face to be the "ideal" shape.
- Skin retouching only if the purpose of the lens is as a basic beauty filter. Not every lens needs skin retouching, but I do know it is popular and there are valid reasons to include it.

## How to add face retouching

Face retouching is super easy to add in Lens Studio. All you need to do is click on the "+" button in the Objects Panel and scroll down until you find the "Face Retouch" (or you can search for it too).

![How to add face retouching in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/face-retouch/adding-retouch.jpg)

You can change any of the retouching parameters by selecting the retouch component that you added to your scene. The "Face Index" option determines which face the retouching is applied to with '0' being the first face. If you want to add retouching to multiple faces, you can right-click on the retouch component, select "Duplicate," and then change the face index ('1' would be the second face and so on).

![Face retouch parameters](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/face-retouch/retouch-settings.jpg)

I usually leave all the other parameters on their default settings; they seem pretty reasonable. Feel free to adjust the intensity or disable any of the settings you like, but be careful with high intensity values. Too high an intensity on the "Soft Skin" parameter will start getting pixelated and too high an intensity on "Teeth Whitening" will make the entire inside of the mouth white.

For this tutorial I'm going to go ahead and keep everything at their default settings and then duplicate the face retouch and set the face index of the new one to '1.'

## Helpful links

- [Face Retouch](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/face/face-effects/face-retouch/)


Learn how to add skin smoothing to your filter! Lens Studio has some great, automatic face retouching capabilities. All you need to do is add the retouching, adjust a few sliders, and you are good to go!

Face retouching in Lens Studio


`youtube:GOnLKqTjPT8`

## Why add a color correction?

When you see a professional photograph or go to a movie, what you are seeing is not exactly what the camera saw; some sort of color correction has been applied. It might be to enhance certain features of the image or to set the mood. The Snaps you send to your friends might not be as refined as a Hollywood blockbuster, but you can certainly use some color correction in your lenses the same way the movies do. A color correction will help you achieve a particular aesthetic or feel for the lens.

Color corrections might be applied as presets in the case of photos or as LUTs (lookup tables) in the case of video. Lens Studio uses LUTs to apply color corrections, but they aren't quite the same as what video editors or Photoshop uses. Instead, they are particular png images that have had color corrections applied to them. Lens Studio has quite a few built-in, or you can create your own using something like Photoshop. Let's talk about each of those methods.

## Using the built-in color corrections

Lens Studio comes with 39 different LUTs built right in. I have a [handy visual reference guide to all of them here](https://arbootcamp.com/lens-studio/lut-reference). The easiest way to add a color correction would to be import one or more of those built-in LUTs. You can control the strength of each color correction to dial in the exact look you want for your lens. To add one of the built-in LUTs, click on the "+" button in the Objects Panel, find the "Color Correction" entry, and then choose the LUT you want to use. When your color correction is selected in the Objects Panel, there will be an "Alpha" slider present in the Inspector Panel which will allow you to control the strength of the color correction. By adjusting the strength and layering a few color corrections together, you can create tons of interesting looks without ever needing to leave Lens Studio.

![Adding a built-in LUT color correction in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/adding-a-lut.jpg)

## Creating your own LUTs

The built-in LUTs are great, but maybe you're a photographer with your own presets or you need a particular look. In that case you'll need to create your own LUT. Here I'll be walking through the steps using Affinity Photo, but that's by no means the only way to make LUTs. [Here are some tutorials](https://arbootcamp.com/lens-studio/color-effects) for if you use VSCO, Lightroom, or Photoshop. For a free alternative I recommend using Photopea; [I have a tutorial here](https://arbootcamp.com/snapchat-beginner/lut-color-correction) which goes over how to use it. I do not recommend you use GIMP though. GIMP is a fantastic image editor and I used it for many years. However, the edits are all destructive meaning they actually modify the image; you can't go back to fine tune your changes or apply them to a separate image. For that reason I recommend Photopea over GIMP if you are looking for something free.

### Example images

While creating our own color correction, we need a way to preview our changes. Take some pictures with your own phone or head to a site like [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/) or [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/) for some free stock photos. Stay from images that have a clear color style because that will cause a mismatch between what we see in our photo editing software and our lens on Snapchat. Try to find some images with different lighting conditions (light and dark) and grab a variety of skin tones. Once you've found some example images, create a new project in your photo editing software, load in all your sample images, then lay them all out. The size of your project doesn't matter, just make sure you have enough space to see your sample images. I'm going with 2000px by 1000px.

![Example images laid out in Affinity Photo](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/sample-images.jpg)

### Make your edits

We are going to make all our changes with adjustment layers so that we can swap out any image we want. If you have never worked with adjustment layers before, look up some tutorials for the software you are using. Also keep in mind that the only changes we can make are those that have to do with colors - you have to imagine each individual pixel is independent of all the rest. Things like blurring, sharpening, noise overlays, etc. won't work. But things like adjusting the contrast, saturation, color balance, etc. do work.

![Using adjustment layers in Affinity Photo to make a color correction](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/adjustment-layers.jpg)

### Create the LUT

We've made our adjustments, but now we need to get them into Lens Studio. Some software will let you export a LUT file, but that is not what we want to do - Lens Studio cannot read them. Instead, head over the [Lens Studio page for post effects](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/post-effect/), scroll down a bit, then download the Base Lookup Table - it will be a png file. Once you've downloaded that, load it into your image editor in the same project you made the color corrections in. Make sure the image is below all the adjustment layers so that the color corrections are applied to it. Don't worry about scaling up the image either, leave it just as it is.

![Importing the base lookup table into our image editor](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/import-base-lut.jpg)

Our next step is to export the base lookup table with our changes applied. The exact steps will depend on the software you use, so if you aren't sure I recommend you find your software of choice [in this list here](https://arbootcamp.com/lens-studio/color-effects) to see how they do it. No matter which software you are using, make sure you export the lookup table as a png file. In my case I'm using Affinity Photo so these are the steps I follow:

- Select my base lookup table layer
- Go to File -> Export (not Export LUT, just Export)
- Make sure the file format is png
- Change the Area option to "Selection Area"
- Double check and make sure the export size is 256px by 16px
- Click Export

![Exporting the base lookup table from Affinity Photo](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/export-settings.jpg)

### Import into Lens Studio

Once you've exported your lookup table, the next step is to import it into Lens Studio. Click the "+" button in the Resources Panel then select the png file you just exported. This will import our LUT, but it won't apply it to our lens. To apply your LUT, add any color correction to your lens from the Objects Panel then in the Inspector Panel change the texture to the one that you just imported.

![Importing a custom LUT in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/color-corrections/import-lut.jpg)

## Helpful links

- [Visual reference for the Lens Studio LUTs](https://arbootcamp.com/lens-studio/lut-reference)
- [Post effects](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/post-effect/)
- [Creating LUTs with different software](https://arbootcamp.com/snapchat-beginner/lut-color-correction)
- [Creating LUTs with Photopea](https://arbootcamp.com/snapchat-beginner/lut-color-correction)


Add a color correction or LUT to enhance the feel of your lens! A color correction is a nice way to enhance the look and feel of your lens. Color corrections are controlled by lookup tables, or LUTs for short.

Color Corrections


`youtube:gz-NHNnusT8`

## Why add grain?

Grain overlays are one of those things that show up repeatedly in beauty lenses. It is by no means a requirement to include a grain overlay, but it can help give a more vintage feel to your filters. If you want to give your users a choice, in a later tutorial we'll be going over how to enable/disable grain when the screen is tapped. But for now let's take a look at how to add grain to lenses.

## Finding grain

Do not Google "film grain" and download an image you like. Do not Google "film grain" and download an image you like. Yes, I did repeat myself there. Do not Google "film grain" and download an image you like. Just because an image appears in a Google search result does not mean you can use it in your projects. The chances of the owner of the grain image finding your lens and having it taken down for copyright infringement are essentially non-existent, but if you ever want to get paid by clients to make lenses and filters, you better make sure you are in the habit of checking the copyright of anything you use in your lenses.

Fortunately it isn't hard to find grain images that are free to use. My favorite place to get film grain is from [Film Composite](https://www.filmcomposite.com/free-film-assets). They offer paid overlays, but they also have a really good assortment of free grain overlays. Find one or more images you like and download them.

## Importing into Lens Studio

There are two routes to go with grain overlays - static and animated. Static grain overlays consist of a single image while animated ones consist of multiple images. Let's go over each.

### Static grain overlay

A static grain overlay is super simple to import. All you need to do is click the "+" button in the Resources Panel, click on "+ From Files," find your image, and import it. You may need to resize your image in an image editor prior to importing if the file size is too big, but other than that it is super straightforward.

### Animated grain overlay

For an animated grain overlay, we are going to import our images as a [2D animation](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/2d-animation/). This does not work with video, only image sequences. Inside Lens Studio, click the "+" button in the Resources Panel, find "2D Animation From Files," and then select all your frames. This will open a new window with some different settings. You don't really need to change anything here for a grain overlay, so you can just click the "OK" button. The main option you ever would need to change here is the image format (either jpg or png) depending on if your animation frames contain transparency.

![Importing a 2D animation sequence in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/grain-overlay/frame-import.jpg)

## Adding the grain as an overlay

Now that we've imported our grain, we need to add it to the scene. Start off by adding a "Screen Image" in the Objects Panel. If you don't already have an orthographic camera in the scene this will create one, otherwise it should add the screen image to an existing orthographic camera.

With the screen image selected, change the texture to either the static grain image or the 2D animation that you imported. Then change the "Stretch Mode" to either "Fill" or "Stretch." This will ensure your overlay covers the entire screen and does not leave any gaps.

At this point your grain should be filling the preview, but you won't be able to see the rest of your lens. The last step will be to change the blend mode of the overlay. If you downloaded your grain from Film Composite, they will include the appropriate blend mode in the description of the grain (e.g. Hard Light, Overlay, etc). If you got your grain from somewhere else, check to see what they recommend or start out with overlay. If the grain is too strong, you can adjust the alpha of the image to add some transparency and reduce the strength of the grain.

![Configuring the grain overlay in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/grain-overlay/overlay-settings.jpg)

## Helpful links

- [Free grain from Film Composite](https://www.filmcomposite.com/free-film-assets)
- [2D animation import](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/2d-animation/)
- [Grain tutorials](https://arbootcamp.com/lens-studio/grain)


Want to add some grain to your lens? Grain is a popular choice for lenses. It adds a more authentic or vintage feel and is super easy to add.

Grain Overlays


`youtube:Duq-gEX9PWE`

## Why text?

Text, used well, can add a nice touch to a lens. Used incorrectly, it is downright annoying. Fortunately, through the use of dynamic text, Lens Studio makes it easy to keep our use of text tasteful.

## Adding text

There are two kinds of text you can add - Text Objects and Screen Text. Text objects exist in 3D space and can be attached to things e.g. the user's head. Screen text exists in 2D space and is overlaid over everything. In this tutorial we'll be going over the 2D screen text.

Use the Objects Panel to add some Screen Text to your scene. Just like with Screen Images, it will either be added to an existing orthographic camera or a new camera will be created for you.

## What should our text say?

You can put anything you want really, but I recommend keeping it simple; people want to take Snaps and add their own captions. Your text could be a word that goes along with the theme of your lens like "love" or "mood," or you can use dynamic text to insert the current time or day.

You can find the dynamic text option below the text input box for the screen text. If you click on "Insert" you will see a list of all the different choices. The awesome thing about dynamic text is that it updates automatically. If you choose the "Username" option, it display the current user's Snap username. If you choose "Day," it will always show the current day of the week. Dynamic text is a nice way to add that little touch of personalization.

## Customizing the look of our text

Now that we've settled on what our text is going to say, let's make it look nice. The default font is nice for displaying information, but if we are making an aesthetic lens we'll probably want to change that.

To change the font of your text, click on the box for "Custom Font," click on the "+" button in the window that pops up, then choose a font from the Font list or load your own font from somewhere like [DaFont](https://www.dafont.com/), [Font Squirrel](https://www.fontsquirrel.com/), or [Google Fonts](https://fonts.google.com/) (just be sure to check the license and make sure it is fine to use).

![Choosing a new font in Lens Studio for screen text](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/text/choosing-fonts.jpg)

In addition to customizing the font, there are many more options you can change such as the size, alignment, and color of your text. Play around with the different settings until you are happy with the result.

## Positioning your text

So far we've added some text and maybe given it a new font, but so far it is just sitting in the middle of the screen. That might not be what we want, so let's talk about positioning text.

Before you start moving your text around, click on the Full Frame Region that your text is nested under. Over in the Inspector Panel you'll see four different options - Full Frame, Live, Capture, and Safe Render. The screen region dictates where you are allowed to place objects. If you don't want your text hidden by the Snapchat user interface while someone is recording, you'll want to use Safe Render. If you only care about the placement of your text after recording, then Capture will probably your best bet to ensure none of your text is cut off. Full Frame, Live, and Capture are usually pretty similar if not the same, but due to device differences Capture is safest to use when placing text.

Once you've defined your screen region, you can re-select your text and start dragging the handles to resize and position your screen text.

![Adjusting screen text size in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/text/adjusting-text-size.jpg)

You can use the "Pin To Edge" feature if you want to keep your text a specific distance from the side of the screen. This works especially well if your text is also aligned to that direction (e.g. left aligned text and pinning to the left side of the screen).

![Pinning text to the edge of the screen in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/text/text-pinning.jpg)

## Helpful links

- [Text](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/text/text-overview/)
- [Screen Regions](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/2d/screen-transform/screen-region-device-simulation/)
- [DaFont](https://www.dafont.com/)
- [Font Squirrel](https://www.fontsquirrel.com/)
- [Google Fonts](https://fonts.google.com/)


Customize the lens experience with some dynamic text! Snapchat already lets users add text to their pictures and videos, but you can also add text to your lenses if you need something like a timestamp or the user's name.

Text


`youtube:-v2yRfXseBc`

## Put the user in control

Sometimes when creating a lens, you might be wondering whether or not you should include a grain overlay. Or maybe you have a few different LUTs that you can't quite choose between. One option would be to create separate versions of your lens. Another option would be to include multiple options within a single lens and let the user decide what they like.

## Two choices

Let's take a look at the simplest scenario in which there are two options to choose between - perhaps it is between with or without grain, or maybe two different post effects. A super simple way to handle this situation is to use the Behavior Script. Now don't get scared by the name, we don't actually have to write any code - all the hard work has been done for us by the Lens Studio team. The Behavior Script is added through the Objects Panel and can be found under "Helper Scripts." This will add a "Behavior" object to your scene with the Behavior Script ready to be configured.

![Adding the Behavior Script in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/tap-interaction/adding-behavior-script.jpg)

### Using the Behavior Script as an on/off switch

Let's start by looking at how we can use the behavior script to turn a single item on/off. This is useful if we want to enable/disable a grain overlay or enable/disable a LUT. Select the Behavior object in the Objects Panel and then take a look at the Inspector Panel. The default Trigger should be "Touch Event" with the Event Type as "Tap." This is exactly what we need, but feel free to take a look at the other triggers and event types. To enable/disable our grain or LUT, change the Response Type to "Set Enabled," click on the box next to Target and select the scene object you want to turn on/off, then change the Action to "Toggle." Now when you tap in the preview you will turn your selected object on or off each time you tap. If you want to start with your object disabled, just disable it in the Objects Panel.

![Using the Behavior Script to toggle an object on or off on tap](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/tap-interaction/behavior-toggle.jpg)

### Using the Behavior Script to switch between two objects

What if instead you want to switch between two different LUTs? Fortunately the process is nearly identical to using the behavior script as an on/off switch - we just need to add a second behavior script. You can do this by adding a component, selecting the script option, and then adding a behavior script. Or you can click on the little gear on the script component, select copy, then select paste.

![Copying a script component](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/tap-interaction/copy-script.jpg)

Once you have your second behavior script, change the "Target" of each one to be each of your LUTs (or other element you want to switch between). Then in the Objects Panel, make sure one of your LUTs is enabled and the other disabled. For example, I have two LUTs in my scene, one is named "My LUT" and the other is named "BW." My Lut starts out enabled, and BW starts out disabled. When I tap, the first behavior script will toggle My Lut to be disabled and the second behavior script will toggle BW to be enabled.

![Using two Behavior Scripts to switch between two different scene objects](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/tap-interaction/behavior-switch.jpg)

## Many choices

The behavior script is awesome. But it doesn't really work if you have more than two choices you want to let the user switch between. In this case you will need a custom script, but don't worry, I've already done all the work for you. You can download the script below, and if you are interested you can read about how to create it [here](https://arbootcamp.com/snapchat-beginner/tap-to-change).

<a href="/assets/downloads/TapToChange.lsscript" download>Download the tap to change script here</a>

Once you've downloaded the tap to change script, use the Resources Panel to import it into your project. Once you've imported the script, add it to your scene somewhere. You can create a new scene object and add it there, or you can add it to your camera. However, do not add the script to any of your LUTs (or other objects you want to cycle between). If a script is attached to an object which is disabled, it will not run. In my case I just added the script to my main camera.

Right after adding the script component you are going to see an error message in the logger. That is because we have not yet selected our script inputs. In the Inspector Panel, click on the "+ Add Value" button inside the "objects, values" section of the script. Do that for as many LUTs as you want to switch between and then assign one LUT to each input.

> Make sure you don't have any behavior scripts set to tap events if you are using this script because tapping will also trigger those.

Now when you tap in the Preview Panel you'll be able to cycle between multiple LUTs or other objects in your scene.

![Setting up the tap to change script in Lens Studio](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/tap-interaction/tap-to-change-script.jpg)

## Helpful links

- [Behavior script](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/scripting/helper-scripts/behavior/)
- [Tap to change script](https://arbootcamp.com/snapchat-beginner/tap-to-change)


Put the user in control! Tapping the screen is a great way to switch between two choices in a lens or to let the user cycle through several choices. Learn how to do this using the behavior script and a tap to change script.

Tap Interaction


`youtube:-Vu5aqo-eTg`

## Why previewing your lens matters

This might sound like a pretty basic concept, but previewing your lens is a vital part of creating your lens because it will help you catch any errors or mistakes in layout. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a lens using a 2D element that was misaligned because the creator forgot to test different screen sizes.

## Using the Lens Studio Preview Panel

The first place you'll be previewing your lens is in the Preview Panel. Please take a minute and read over the [official documentation](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/general/previewing-your-lens/) for the Preview Panel. The most common things you'll be doing here are switching previews for face vs world lenses and trying different screen sizes. Anytime you have 2D elements that are not tracked to something in the scene, make sure you take a look at a few different screen sizes and aspect ratios to make sure everything looks good on all devices.

Another thing to do here is to test your lens on users of different skin tones if you are using any sort of color correction. Fortunately Lens Studio already has a diverse set of preview videos. It is much better to find issues now (like turning certain skin tones orange) than to have someone call out your filter on social media - I've seen it happen before.

## Testing on your device

Once again I'm going to have you read [Lens Studio's guide](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/general/pairing-to-snapchat/) on how to pair your device with Lens Studio. I always recommend testing your lens on your phone before publishing, even if everything looks fine in the Preview Panel; I once ran into an issue that happened only on my phone and not in Lens Studio. Some things are also hard to test in the Preview Panel.

> Sometimes pushing the "Send to Snapchat" button doesn't actually send the lens to my phone (even if Lens Studio says it does). Don't worry if this happens, just push the button again and your lens should be pushed to your device.

## Helpful links

- [Preview Panel](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/general/previewing-your-lens/)
- [Pairing your device to Lens Studio](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/general/pairing-to-snapchat/)


Learn how to pair your phone with Lens Studio! Testing your lens on your phone is a great way to double check everything and make sure there are no issues with your lens.

Previewing lenses


`youtube:wSUFV1enXzE`

## Project Info

Before you submit a lens, there are a few more steps you need to do and these are found in the Project Info panel. You can find the button for it just above the Objects Panel right next to the Publish Lens button. Go ahead and open that up.

## Lens name

You need to give your lens a name. You are limited to 18 characters and can use letters, numbers, dashes, and spaces. You cannot use special characters though. Your lens name can describe exactly what your lens does such as "Grain Overlay," or you can go with a more abstract name like "Summber Vibes." Keep in mind that people also search for lenses, but during the submission step you'll have the chance to add some descriptive tags to help with that, so it is okay to use more abstract names.

## Lens icon

The lens icon is what will show up in the lens carousel when someone is using it in Snapchat. The icon is relatively small so avoid excessive text. I recommend scrolling through the trending lenses section of Snapchat to see what sorts of icons people are using for their lenses.

## Lens preview

Of all the settings in Project Info, the preview might be the most important. You want something that showcases your lens and stands out in the lens explorer. You have a few options for creating a preview.

1. **Use one of the default videos.** When adding a preview, Lens Studio will apply your lens to all of their preview videos and let you choose one for your lens preview. This works, and I certainly have done it with most of my lenses, but it's a great way to blend in with everyone else.

2. **Use the lens.** Another option for creating a preview video is to send the lens to Snapchat and record a preview from the app. This is a great way to create a custom preview, especially if your lens requires an action that isn't covered by any of the default videos. Do keep in mind that your preview video has to be in a 9:16 aspect ratio and Snapchat uses your devices aspect ratio. You may need to crop your video and if you are on an iPhone convert it to an mp4 file. You can use an app such as Adobe Premiere Rush or an online service such as [Zamzar](https://www.zamzar.com/). If you go this route, make sure you choose the "Upload Video With Lens" option so your lens doesn't get applied twice.

3. **Use a pre-recorded video.** This is another option for creating custom preview videos. You can either record a video yourself (without using the lens) or you can grab a video from somewhere like [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/). No matter which route you go, the video you end up with should be 9:16 and I recommend a resolution of 720x1280. Pexels does let you filter videos by orientation (vertical vs horizontal) and quite often will have a 720x1280 version you can download. This is a great way to get a nice looking preview video, but I am noticing more and more Pexels videos being used for previews, so just remember that you don't have exclusive use of those videos. Once you do have your video, use the "Upload Video Without Lens" option in Project Info and your lens will be applied.

## Other settings

There are a few other settings in Project Info that may be helpful.

### Size

This section is purely informational and will let you check and make sure your lens is not too big to upload

### Lens is made for

Usually you won't change these settings - most lenses work on both the front and rear cameras. If you are creating a lens for Spectacles, then you will want to select that option. If you are creating a world lens where you are tracking the ground, I recommend turning off the Front Camera option so that your lens opens to the rear camera (world tracking only works on the rear camera).

### Hint

If your lens requires some sort of interaction (such as tapping, smiling, etc.), you can have Snapchat display a hint to the user.

![A completed Project Info panel](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/name-icon-preview/project-info.jpg)

## Helpful links

- [Project Info](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/submission/configuring-project-info/)
- [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/)


Give your lens a name! A good name, icon, and preview will help users know what your lens does and how it works.

Lens name, icon, and preview


`youtube:2hkRxf5-oUE`

## Time to submit

Once you are finished creating your lens and configuring the project info, it is time to submit! Start off by clicking the Publish Lens button up at the top left of the window. Lens Studio will take a few seconds to package everything up and then it will open a browser window for you.

> If you are using a lot of images in your lens, you might get an error about the unpacked lens size being too large when trying to submit. If this happens, you'll need to optimize your images by resizing and/or compressing your images outside of Lens Studio. Once you've done that, try publishing your lens again.

If you not already signed in to your Snapchat account in your browser, you'll be prompted to sign in. If you are not redirected to a submission page after signing in, go back to Lens Studio, close the "Upload Successful!" dialog, then click the Publish Lens button again. This time your browser should open to the submission page.

> You may or may not see the option for a Business Lens. This option will only appear if you've been added to a business account to upload lenses intended to be run as ads.

![The lens submission page](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/submitting/submission-page.jpg)

Click on the Community Lens option. You can either submit a new lens or overwrite an existing lens. In this case I am submitting a new lens so I will choose that option.

## Lens details

At this point you will see some info about your lens. If you want, you can change the preview video here. However, name and icon changes have to be done in Lens Studio and then the lens re-uploaded.

### Lens tags

Lens tags are used to help people search for your lens. You can add up to eight tags and each tag must be at least three letters long and can contain no spaces. These are super helpful if your lens name is not directly related to what your lens is. For example, I named my lens "Beach Day" but that doesn't really describe what it does. One of my lens tags could be "grain" because that is part of what my lens does.

### Scan triggers

Snapchat has a feature called scan that lets you long press in the camera view and it will use machine learning to try and recognize objects that are visible to the camera. Scan triggers let you link your lens to specific objects, so if you create a car themed lens you can select "Car" as one of your scan triggers. You can choose up to three scan triggers for a lens. If you click the dropdown you will only see a few options, but you can start typing to search and see if the object you want to detect is something that Snapchat can detect. Their list is somewhat limited, so try to keep your searches generic.

### Visibility

There are three visibility settings for lenses:

1. **Public** means the lens will appear on your profile and is searchable.
2. **Hidden** means the lens will not appear on your profile nor in search results but is still useable via its link or snapcode.
3. **Offline** means the lens cannot be used even if you have the link.

![The lens details page prior to submitting a lens](/images/tutorials/lens-studio-beginner-beauty/submitting/lens-details.jpg)

## Submit

Once you are happy with everything here, click the Submit Lens button. Your lens will go through a review process and you will receive an email (make sure you have an email address associated with your account - this is done through the Snapchat app) letting you know if your lens has been approved or rejected. Lenses are usually approved, but sometimes rejection happens because there are technical errors and it doesn't run properly or you didn't follow the [submission guidelines](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/submission/submission-guidelines/). Rejection emails will usually briefly describe what is wrong with your lens. Make sure you read the email so you know what to fix. If the email isn't clear, feel free to ask on the [official forums](https://support.lensstudio.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/115000052703-General) and include screenshots of your lens, preview video, and your project in Lens Studio so that people can help assist you.

## Where to share your lens

Once you've published a lens, you probably want people to use it! Here are a few ways you can share your lens.

### Use it yourself!

The first and most obvious way to share your lens is to use it yourself! Use it when messaging friends, post something to your story with it, or make a Spotlight video with it.

### Official forum

The official Lens Studio forum has a [Share Your Creations](https://support.lensstudio.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/115000052006-Share-Your-Creations) section specifically for creators to share their work.

### Reddit

There is a [subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/SnapLenses/) dedicated to Snapchat lenses that is also a good place to share your lens.

### Facebook

If you are on Facebook there is a [group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1765926403713763) on there for Lens Studio users. You can share your work and ask for help.

### Print

Physical media can also be a good place to share your lens. Snapchat launched an "Open Your Snapchat" campaign where they plastered snapcodes on the sides of buildings in various areas. You don't need to do anything that big, but adding a snapcode to a flyer or sign can also help people find your lens.

## Lens analytics

Inside the My Lenses portal (where you finished the lens submission process from) you can access your lens stats. I won't go into detail here so as not to bore you, but I do recommend [learning what each measure means](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/sharing/lens-analytics/).

Some of your lenses may never gain many views, some may gain billions. Don't ever let yourself be discouraged by how many views you are getting. I've had lenses that got hardly any views and then one day to the next got a bunch. A lot of it comes down to what is going on in the world of social media. As a quick example, I made a [Daft Punk lens](https://www.snapchat.com/unlock/?type=SNAPCODE&uuid=8fe0b44e021747fda198aff72434efe3&metadata=01) that didn't do great, but then a couple years later it took off for a few days when Daft Punk announced the end of the band. Sometimes it just takes time. Keep in mind that the first lenses you make might not be the greatest and that's perfectly okay - you are learning something new.

I like looking at my lens analytics to know which lenses are doing great and which aren't, but at the end of the day I make lenses because it is fun. Use the stats, but don't let them control what you are creating.

## Helpful links

- [Submission guidelines](https://support.lensstudio.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/115000052703-General)
- [Submitting lenses](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/submission/submitting-your-lens/)
- [Sharing lenses](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/sharing/sharing-your-lens/)
- [Lens analytics](https://lensstudio.snapchat.com/guides/sharing/lens-analytics/)


Get your lens out there! Learn how to submit your lens and then start sharing it with your friends!

Beginner Beauty Lens Studio