Snap added new features to Lens Studio, its easy-to-use desktop app that lets users create augmented reality lenses. To make it more appealing to creators, from novices to professional 3D modelers, Snap introduced the Landmarker template, which supports 14 new real-world locations; six new facial templates; and an interactive how-to for newbies. Available for free download, Lens Studio runs on Windows 10 and macOS 10.11 or later. Over half a million Lenses have been developed since Lens Studio debuted in late 2017.

VentureBeat reports that the “Landmarker templates … provide creators with examples of how real-world locations can be augmented with digital content such as persistent decorations and special effects; the assets can be customized for current locations or adapted for use at other places.”

Landmarkers now available for “regular Snapchat users” include the Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic; the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt; Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France; Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and Munich’s Neues Rathaus in Germany; Agra’s Taj Mahal and Mumbai’s Gateway of India in India; the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; Chichen Itza’s El Castillo in Mexico; Mada’in Saleh’s Qasr Al-Farid in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul’s Galata Tower in Turkey; the National History Museum and Tower Bridge in London, U.K., and the Statue of Liberty in the U.S.

The six new facial Lens templates are Face In Video, which adds a live face onto a video; Portrait Particles, which produces customized particle effects behind a live head; Countdown, which creates a timer to celebrate a given date with 3D hats and glasses; a Skeletal frame tracker that adds 2D images to heads, necks, shoulders, elbows, and hands; Hair Color, that automatically recolors the user’s hair; and an AR Make-Up feature that adds lipstick, blush, eyeshadow and other effects.

VB suggests that “beyond making fun AR effects for users to play with, it’s been clear for some time that Snap is actively working to deepen its footprint in the AR creative and marketing spaces.” The company has already had some success with its musician-focused AR lenses, and Snap’s “interactive step-by-step tour of the app that can be used on first load,” helps beginners to get started.