Y3K AI Filter

It is the successor to Y2K styling: where Y2K borrowed from how the late nineties imagined the year 2000 — frosted plastic, baby blue, low-rise everything — Y3K imagines a much further future. Liquid metal, holographic iridescence, glass hardware, garments that look poured rather than stitched, and a cold violet-and-cyan palette.

Because nothing is being reflected in it. A mirrored surface is defined by the environment it mirrors, so chrome rendered without a scene around it collapses into flat grey. Describe what should appear in the reflection — a violet studio, a bright horizon across the shoulder — and the metal comes alive.

Up to a point, and the point is set by how much chrome you ask for on the skin. Metal on hair and clothing keeps your face intact. Full-body chrome smooths away pores, lines and stubble, and at that stage the result is a striking image that no longer functions as a photograph of you.

Yes, though the default styling leans editorial and feminine because that is where the trend started. Say what you want — a chrome jacket instead of a bodysuit, a metallic crop instead of sleek long hair — and the palette carries over fine.

Ask for it. The default turns hair into liquid metal, which is the signature of the look, but a version that keeps natural hair and puts the chrome into the clothing and accessories is one sentence away and often reads better on a profile picture.

Most futuristic presets add neon and a blue grade on top of an unchanged photo. This changes materials — what the hair and fabric are made of and how light behaves on them — which is why the result holds up at full size instead of only as a thumbnail.

Not for a first result. It runs on the free image editor in the browser with credits to start, so you can put a portrait through and see whether the look suits your photo before anything else.