How to apply webcam effects to other applications?

Solution 1:

There is a program called "WebcamStudio" which should do exactly what you are asking.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/webcamstudio/

Solution 2:

The project is continuing on google code here:

http://code.google.com/p/webcamstudio/

There you can also find a ppa for daily builds, so you do not need to compile it yourself:

https://launchpad.net/~webcamstudio/+archive/webcamstudio-dailybuilds