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Resting state - closed mask
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Tapped state- Open Mask
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Open state- view of the image , more text behind the mask
The Inspiration Behind the Lens
Im always inspired by the untold or forgotten stories of Black History. For this lens, I really wanted to use it as a means of educating users on a fun fact from Black history since Black History Month is speedily approaching. The purpose of this experience is to show the predecessor to the beloved character, Black Panther, whom was called Lion Man. This lens puts Black Panther in the forefront of the experience but once a user taps and activates the animation , Black Panther splits apart to reveal the image and background story of Lion Man to symbolize how forgotten but important this character was in the evolution of Black Superheroes in US Comics.
The Lens in Motion
Once the lens is activated, the user will switch to the rear camera and see the mask of the Black Panther, floating above brown grass lands with sparkle particles in the air. Text accompanies the mask that gives the user instruction to tap on the mask and walk around to see the hidden image. Once the mask is tapped, music starts to play to enhance the atmosphere of the experience. The setting that this experience takes place in is reminiscent of the Ancestral Plain, which is referred to in the Black Panther movies. With the brown grassland and night time setting, when activating outside, the user can look up to see pink and purple lights in the sky.
How it Came to Be
I used a combination of different software to prepare the assets and complete the building of this lens. For 3D modeling and animation, I used Blender to customize and animate the Black panther mask with the comic book image of Lion Man. From there, I imported the model into Lens Studio, and used a combination of sound, VFX, Sky Segmentation ,and Scripts to bring the lens to life.
Challenges we Ran Into
My original idea for this hackathon was to create an anamorphic model of lion man and Black Panther to showcase the evolution of the two characters within the comic book world, but I kept running into the challenge of model size, spacing , and layout. I had to pivot my design and came up with what is shown now which only had minor obstacles of working with scripting and touch event interactions
Accomplishments that We're Proud Of
Im super proud of how the lens turned out after pivoting and with my solution for showing that hidden story of Lion Man before there was Black Panther. I have never built a lens that used multiple touch interactions and elements in one project before so Im very proud of myself for working well under the pressure and delivering a great experience.
What we learned
Technically speaking, I learned a lot about the relationships between different interactions and even how certain models react to the program and vice versa. Some key things I noted was to always check file sizes before importing, pay extra attention to how certain interactions need to be set up before it can respond correctly to the action, and of course be organized in your working file.
What's next for Lion Man Legacy
I hope this lens will bring a bit of wonder and awe to anyone that uses it. When some one reads about Lion Man , I hope they take the time out to further learn about his background, and also check out other untold stories of Black History.
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