Are you looking to add some flair to your art and take it to the next level with technology? Look no further! In this course, you will learn how to create an animated and augmented sticker that you can share on any digital platform. With a focus on intermediate creators who have some experience with the Unity game engine and 2D animation, this course covers a range of skills that will give you a solid foundation in using technology to enhance your art.
We will start by creating a plan for our animation and storyboarding it, before adding in-between frames and cleaning up and coloring our animation. We will also explore ways to enhance our animation by modifying existing frames. Next, we will move on to augmenting our physical sticker using augmented reality. We will create a roadmap of augmented features and digitize our sticker, before creating an augmented reality project with an image target in the Unity game engine. Finally, we will augment our sticker with an animated PNG sequence and enhance it further with digital assets like animation, sound, 3D models, and particle effects.
By the end of this course, you will have a dynamic and immersive sticker that you can share with the world. So join me on this creative journey and let’s explore the world of animated and augmented stickers together!

What are Augmented reality stickers?

Augmented reality (AR) stickers are digital graphics or images that are overlaid on top of a real-world environment when viewed through a device such as a smartphone or tablet. These stickers can be static images or they can be animated and may include additional interactive elements such as sound, 3D models, and particle effects. AR stickers can be used for a variety of purposes, such as entertainment, education, advertising, and more. They can be created and shared through a variety of AR platforms and tools, including the Unity game engine and Vuforia. When viewed through an AR-enabled device, AR stickers can bring a new level of depth and interactivity to everyday objects and environments.

How do I make my own AR stickers?

There are a few steps you can follow to create your own AR stickers:

Choose a platform or tool to create your stickers: There are a variety of platforms and tools available for creating AR stickers, including the Unity game engine, Vuforia, and more. Choose a platform or tool that fits your needs and experience level.

Plan and design your stickers: Before you start creating your stickers, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to create. This could involve sketching out your designs on paper, creating a storyboard or roadmap, and gathering any reference materials or inspiration.

Create the assets for your stickers: Depending on the type of stickers you want to create, this could involve creating 2D graphics, 3D models, sound effects, or other digital assets. You may need to use software such as Adobe Photoshop, Blender, or Audacity to create these assets.

Set up your AR project in the platform or tool: Once you have your assets ready, you’ll need to set up your AR project in the platform or tool you are using. This will involve creating an image target, setting up game objects and scripts, and configuring the project settings.

Augment your stickers with digital assets: Once your AR project is set up, you can start augmenting your stickers with the digital assets you have created. This could involve adding animation, sound, 3D models, or other interactive elements to bring your stickers to life.

Test and refine your stickers: As you work on your stickers, be sure to test them regularly to make sure they are working as intended. Make any necessary adjustments or refinements to your stickers as needed.

Publish and share your stickers: Once you are happy with your stickers, you can publish and share them through the platform or tool you are using. This could involve exporting your stickers as a file or uploading them to an AR app or platform.

Create a plan for your animation:

Before diving into the animation process, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to create. This step involves brainstorming and sketching out the different elements and actions that will be included in your animation.

Storyboard your animation:

A storyboard is a series of drawings that outline the key moments and actions in your animation. Creating a storyboard can help you visualize the flow of your animation and make it easier to plan out the timing and pacing.

Add in-between frames to your animation:

In-between frames, or “tweening,” is the process of creating intermediate frames between two keyframes to create a smooth, seamless transition. This step involves adding in-between frames to your animation to create a more fluid motion.

Clean up and color your animation:

Once you have all of your keyframes and in-between frames in place, it’s time to tidy up your drawings and add color. This step involves refining the lines and adding color to your animation to give it a polished, finished look.
Enhance your animation by modifying existing frames:

In this step, you can add extra details or effects to your animation by modifying or adding to the existing frames. This can include adding sound effects, special effects, or additional elements to the scene to bring your animation to life.

Create roadmap of augmented features:

In this step, we will be planning out the augmented features we want to add to our sticker. This could include things like animation, sound effects, 3D models, and particle effects. It’s important to create a roadmap of these features so that we have a clear idea of what we want to include and how we want to incorporate them into the augmented reality experience.

Digitize our physical sticker:

In this step, we will be taking our physical sticker and digitizing it so that we can use it in the Unity game engine. This may involve taking a photo of the sticker and importing it into the engine, or scanning it and converting it to a digital file.

Create an augmented reality project with an image target in the Unity Game Engine:

In this step, we will be using the Unity game engine to create an augmented reality project that uses an image target to trigger the augmented features we have planned. This will involve setting up the image target, creating the necessary game objects and scripts, and configuring the project settings.

Augment the Sticker with an animated PNG sequence:

In this step, we will be using the animated PNG sequence we created in part 1 of the course to augment our sticker with motion. This could involve attaching the sequence to a game object in the Unity project and configuring it to play when the image target is detected.

Enhance the augmentation with digital assets like animation, sound, 3D models, and particle effects:

In this final step, we will be enhancing the augmentation by adding additional digital assets like animation, sound, 3D models, and particle effects. This could involve creating and importing new assets into the project, and configuring them to interact with the image target and other game objects.

In conclusion, this course teaches intermediate creators how to create an animated and augmented sticker using the Unity game engine and physical art techniques. Through a combination of sketching, inking, coloring, cutting, and augmenting with the Unity game engine, you will have the skills to create and share a dynamic and immersive sticker. By the end of this course, you will have a deeper understanding of how to combine physical and digital art practices and bring your art to life with augmented reality. You will also have the skills to continue exploring the world of augmented stickers on your own.

Augmented Sticker Quiz

Welcome to the quiz on augmented reality stickers! In this quiz, you will be tested on your knowledge of augmented reality stickers, including their purpose, how they can be created and shared, and the steps involved in the process. By the end of the quiz, you should have a good understanding of what augmented reality stickers are and how they can be used to bring a new level of depth and interactivity to everyday objects and environments. Let’s get started!