D.O.C. is a Los Angeles-based graffiti and artist crew that has been active for over seven years. Its members bring a diverse range of styles and approaches to their work. But graffiti is an art form that is rarely seen in the making because artists often work in secrecy to avoid getting caught, so audiences typically encounter the finished piece rather than the process behind it. I saw an opportunity to make that process visible and accessible to anyone, anywhere. I approached the crew with a collaboration built around a series of custom live AR filters, allowing people to experience their work as it comes to life.
The concept is simple: point your phone at a part of your body through the app, and the AR filter brings the graffiti artist to life in real time. A miniature version of the artist appears on your skin, creating a custom piece of body art specifically for you. The experience unfolds chronologically, with each stage of the artwork represented by a numbered image. As the artist progresses, users can check in at any moment to see how much of the piece has been completed, turning the normally hidden process of graffiti into an interactive, ongoing experience.
Each artist from the D.O.C. crew would have a distinct scale, color palette, and placement across the body, tailored to complement the visual language of their individual work. Rather than simply displaying a finished piece, the filter becomes an ongoing live art experience that can live on your wrist, neck, cheek, or anywhere else you choose. The focus shifts from the artwork as an end result to the process itself, inviting audiences to appreciate the making of the art as much as the final piece.
The AR filter production process begins with the artist working against a solid-color matte wall, preferably green, while the process is captured on any camera or mobile device. The footage is then processed through color keying to isolate the artist and artwork, before being combined with pre-built layers of visual effects and integrated into the mobile AR experience.