If you’ve always thought of yourself as a work of art of some sort, you can now actually become one through the power of augmented reality. The Google Arts & Culture app now lets you use an Art Filter which you can play around with before you learn about some of the most famous artworks and iconic artifacts of all time. You can become the painting or you can try on these historical items from the safety of your own home.
We always look forward to updates and new things from the Google Arts & Culture app and this latest one is no exception. Google worked with the owners of these iconic pieces of art to bring five educational 3D-modelled augmented reality filters that you can use for your selfie photos and now also videos. You can become a Van Gogh or Frieda Kahlo self-portrait or turn into the Girl with the Pearl Earring. You can also try on a traditional Samurai helmet or an Ancient Egyptian necklace.
Using machine learning based image processing, the art filters will give you high-quality detail from any angle that you want to try it on. The Arts & Culture app also previously had an Art Transfer feature but it was limited to stills and also used on-device processing. This one is also processed on your smartphone so it won’t get stored unless you choose to save and share it. But this time around, you can play around with video as well.
You will of course need the Google Arts & Culture app to use this filter. Open the app and tap on the rainbow camera icon on the homepage. You can then choose from among the five Art Filters that you can use and play around with them. You can tap on the shutter button to take a photo or long-press it to take a video as you pose in various angles. The important thing of course (we hope) is that you learn about the artwork and the artist even as you pose for selfies.
We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it: you need to have Google Arts & Culture especially now when you can’t visit actual museums and cultural landmarks. There is a lot of free content that you can discover and explore within the app especially 3D and AR-based content.