An example of how to transform your Android device camera preview using OpenGL shaders

Two years ago, I took part as an android developer in some cryptocurrency startup. We created a social network based on blockchain technology (its code name was Commun — maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you didn’t). Things were good, and we managed to complete our product, but due to COVID-19 we lost our investors and had to close the project.

While looking for a new job, I had a lot of free time, that’s why I decided to solve some challenging engineering problem. As a result, a few days ago, I completed the application that I want to bring to your attention. I’ve called it “Wizard Camera”.

Wizard Camera is a simple photo camera application that lets you add some funny effects to your shots. It uses CameraX API and OpenGL ES shaders to do it! A vital feature of the application is the ability to see the effects while previewing — what you see on a phone screen that you’ll get on a shot!.

Here are sample shots:

If it’s interesting for you, the source code can be found here.