What is the Rotoscope filter on TikTok? How to take part in the viral trend explained

TikTok has a new trending filter, and it's going viral everywhere. Rotoscope is an animation style that has been converted into a filter, and creators can't seem to get enough of it.

The short video platform is not unacquainted with crazy-fun filters. In fact, many filters have become trends in the past, helping creators go viral on the app. Rotoscope is getting a similar treatment from TikTok's algorithm. Creators using the effect are getting more views than their normal numbers, attracting numerous new followers. This is resulting in more users applying the filter to their videos, popularizing the effect even further.

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Rotoscope converts normal videos into bright animation

According to Wikipedia:

"Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action."

This means that animators can draw multiple frames from a video to create a stop motion animation that mimics the character movements from the said video.

These kinds of videos are very popular on TikTok, usually mixing viral dance videos with anime characters. The animations are created manually, using different drawing apps and software.

The filter takes inspiration from these videos and applies them to a recorded video. The person in the video turns into a colorful flashing silhouette with just a nod of the head. While the filter does not come with a designated sound, users are pairing it with a remix of the popular song Gypsy In My Mind by Crystal Waters.

The hashtag #rotoscope has over 486 million views and hundreds of videos attached to it, but many popular videos on the said hashtag have nothing to do with the filter. As we already mentioned earlier, this type of animation has been popular on the app for years.

The Rotoscope filter trend is gaining popularity on Instagram as well, which is a common phenomenon with many other viral trends.

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Steps to use the filter

The filter is fairly easy to use, but it might be unavailable in many countries. People who can use the filter right now will have to wait a few more days before it becomes available in their region.

Here are the steps to use the filter:

1) Open TikTok and tap on the "Discover" tab.

2) Go to the search bar, type "Rotoscope," and press enter.

3) Select the filter and press the button next to it.

4) Face the camera, nod to activate the filter, select the preferred face design and record the video.

5) Once recorded, add to the drafts to post the video later, or continue to post with a song.

Users can also save the video and upload it to other social media platforms. The filter can be removed by going back to the editing window and deleting the part with the filter, however, removing the filter from a saved or posted video is not possible.