I make funny animal TikTok filters that have been used over 1 billion times – I haven't made a cent but it's been great for my brand

• I'm a 30-year-old graphic designer and AR artist making filters for TikTok.
• My effects have over one billion views, but I don't get any compensation.
• Effect House is an AR tool used by TikTokers who want to create filters for the video-sharing app.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 30-year-old Ilias Pistopoulos, a graphic designer in Greece who creates viral filters for various social media platforms. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm a graphic designer with a degree in engineering, and for the past four years I've been creating augmented reality effects — also known as filters — for Facebook, Instagram, and most recently TikTok.