How to make effects on TikTok using the Effects tray: Spice up your videos

TikTok is, and has been for a few years now, THE social media app to be on. Whether you want to check out the freshest memes, get a quick rundown on the new trends, or simply hang out and watch your favorite creators do their thing – TikTok is the platform to choose.

One of the most important aspects of TikTok, which is often responsible for creating new trends and memes, is the Effects feature. Even better, you do not need to use TikTok’s effects – you can even create them on your own.

Even though you’ve been able to create your own effects for some time now, you were limited to doing that on your desktop. Now, thanks to the new mobile effects editor, you can start doing that on the go. You’ll never have to wait to get home, turn your desktop on, hop on the newest trend, or even create one.

What effects are on TikTok, and how do I use them?

First, let’s quickly get through what effects on TikTok actually has. These are essentially overlays that you can add to your videos. They can be interactive or not, and they can change the way your video looks, add various visuals to it, or even be an interactive game that you can play while recording yourself.

These effects quickly became insanely popular and allowed creators on TikTok to make new, innovative content utilizing these tools. What’s more, a year ago, TikTok introduced Effect House – a way to create your own effects that is available on the desktop, allowing everyone to make their own effect tailored especially to their needs and ideas.

Using TikTok effects is extremely easy. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:

1. Open your TikTok app.
2. At the main screen, tap the middle + button in the bottom menu to add a new TikTok.
3. Choose either a 15s, 60s or 10-minute video option.
4. You’ll see the Effects icon on the left of the record button. Tap on it.
5. Here, you can browse through all the available effects. If you want to use one of the more popular ones, you’ll simply find it in the handy tabs – at first, you should definitely check out the Trending section. However, if you’re looking for something specific, a search function is available.
6. When you decide which effect to use, simply record your video with the effect running. Once done, you’ll be able to edit it and post it as normal.

How to create effects in TikTok’s mobile effects editor

TikTok’s mobile editor is yet another step that the platform makes in order to make the whole experience of using it even more customizable and user-friendly. Thanks to solutions such as these, your content can be even more tailored to what you want to express, making it more personal and engaging.

Effects are nothing new, and adding a bit of flair to your videos has been around for quite a long time, but creating your own effects is not as commonplace. TikTok has been dabbling in such a solution for some time now, ever since it introduced the desktop version of Effect House.

Now, however, creating effects is finally available on the platform where most people use TikTok – mobile. This makes it much more accessible to all those interested in creating their own content on this social media, and just makes it so much more convenient to create your effects in the same place where you’ll soon be using them.

What’s more, creating effects is not only – finally – really convenient but also really easy to access from your phone. Here’s how to find the new effect creator on Android and iOS:

1. Open your TikTok app.
2. Tap the middle + button in the bottom panel to start creating a new TikTok.
3. In the creation menu, choose either 15s, 60s or 10-minute video setting.
4. Tap on the Effects icon.
5. Once here, go to the Create tab.
6. Here, you have to tap on Add New Effect, which should be the first from the left.
7. Start adding objects and creating your own effect!

However, before checking out the new feature, be sure to update your TikTok app to the newest version. As the feature has just dropped, your app needs to be updated to the latest build in order to support creating your effects.

What kinds of effects can you create on TikTok?

The new Effects creation menu is compelling and lets you make professional-level effects easily and in a matter of minutes. Plus, you don’t need any kind of additional software and equipment – you do it straight in the app.

The effect creator on mobile devices allows you to combine thousands of objects with numerous actions and triggers. It also offers various templates for you to try out and packages it into easy-to-use software.

So, the built-in editor allows you to make all kinds of TikTok effects you know and love. You can easily make all kinds of transformation effects, where you can decide not only what the Object transforms into but also when it transforms, what the background is, and all the other bits and pieces. You can also add stickers to your videos, create animations or add filters. If all of that is a bit too overwhelming, you can also simply use one of the templates as a basis for your own creation and start editing it and changing it bit by bit.

How to use templates in TikTok’s mobile effects editor?

Creating your own effects is a lot of fun, but – especially at the beginning – you can feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of possibilities that TikTok’s new editor offers. That’s where templates come into play. You can use one of the presents prepared by TikTok in order to bounce off of the idea, add some of your own flair to it, and make something great while still using the little bit of help that the ready-made preset offers. Thanks to the template, you don’t have to start from scratch – you can just edit some of the options and make something much faster and easier.

If you want to create your own effect using one of the templates as a basis, here’s how you can do that:

1. Open your TikTok app.
2. Tap the middle + button in the bottom panel that lets you create a new TikTok.
3. In the creation menu, choose either a 15s, 60s or 10-minute video option.
4. Tap on the Effects icon.
5. Go to the Create tab.
6. In the Create tab, tap on Add New Effect.
7. In the following menu, choose Template. You’ll see available templates that you can edit and their difficulty level.
8. Once you’ve chosen, you can edit this template, add more objects, and make it just how you want it.

How to set triggers in TikTok effects?

One of the best features of TikTok Effects is the ability to set custom triggers. These triggers are often set gestures or sounds that make an effect on certain things. These are useful when, for example, you want to create an effect that changes your face into something else. You can set a trigger to be a smile, so every time you smile with that effect turned on, your face changes and changes back into your face when you smile again.

What’s even better, these triggers are extremely easy to set and use. Here’s what to do to create your custom triggers:

1. When editing your Effect once you have some layers, click on the Interactions Menu (tapping the finger icon) in the menu on the right
2. Here, you can add specific commands that are responsible for triggering the actions in your effect.
3. Every interaction needs a Trigger, an Object of the action and the Action itself.
4. First, choose a Trigger – what has to happen for the action to take place. Here, you can choose either some general triggers, such as the start of the effect or a tap on the screen, or some more specific – a facial expression, a sound, etc.
5. Then, you have to choose the Object of the action – what the action happens to. The options here will depend on the layers you have in your effect, but in the simplest effects, you’ll usually see two most common objects – the background of the video and the face/body of the user.
6. Finally, it’s time to choose the Action itself. You can choose some simple actions, such as appearing or disappearing, or look for more complicated presets and animations.
7. Once you’re done with setting all three of these conditions, your Interaction will be ready. You can now see it in action in the editing live view.

How to use your custom effects on TikTok?

Once you’re done creating your effects, you’ll surely want to use them and share them with the world. Fortunately, finding them is extremely easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Start creating a new TikTok by clicking the + button in the bottom panel
2. Choose one of the video formats – 15s, 60s or 10min
3. You’ll see the Effects icon to the left of the record button. Tap it
4. In the Effects menu, go to the Create tab
5. Once here, scroll down until you see Your effects section
6. Here, you can see all the effects that you’ve created. Choose the one that you want to use in your next TikTok and get a recording!