During the earliest days of social media, emojis were regarded as a silly online fad. They are also known as emotes and emoticons. However, in recent times, things have changed, and everyone now uses emojis for different reasons. From school children to business people, it’s now a common way to express different emotions with cartoon faces.
Whether you like it or not, emojis are here to stay, and as such, it’s only natural that you learn how to make emojis yourself. You might be wondering why these items have become so popular. The main reason for their popularity is their practical nature. In most cases, it’s not always easy to express emotions using text, but with emojis, it’s so much easier.
When properly designed, it makes it so much easier for people to recognize the emotions behind them, which makes them so much better than some common abbreviations that are used. An example of such an abbreviation is the popular LOL. The downside to these abbreviations is that not everyone will be able to easily decipher them. However, that’s not the case with emojis, as you can quickly tell the emotions behind them immediately you see them.
The interesting thing to note is that it’s easy to make emojis, and in this article, you’ll find out how you can make emojis using vector images.
A key thing to note is that today, there are so many emojis that you can choose from. Also, people now associate certain emojis with some of their close friendships. All of this helps in creating better opportunities for content creators. As a content creator, your community will also be able to connect with your content easily.
As stated earlier, it’s easy to make emojis and does not involve any complicated process. In fact, the main reason why it may seem challenging for most people to make emojis is because of the simplicity that is involved. Basically, emojis should be simple, memorable, unique, and expressive. In addition, they should have a tiny size.
This makes it a daunting task, even for professional designers, to make emojis. Because of this, we have taken the time to provide a detailed guide to help you easily make emojis using vector images.
Requirements for Emoji Design
The first thing you should note is that you can use almost any image to make emojis. In fact, many times, people use poor-quality images, which adds to the fun. However, for you to get good results, you should understand the constraints involved.
With that said, let us go through some of the requirements of emoji design. Always have these requirements in mind whenever you decide to make emojis.
Required Software
The first thing you’ll need is software, and here are some of the options you might want to consider:
Emoji Maker Apps
For many years now, one of the easiest ways that people make emojis is with the aid of an emoji template app, of which you have different options to try. Some of the options that you might want to consider include Moji Maker for iOS or Bitmoji for Android. You can easily make emojis using these maker apps. The only thing you need to do is to mix and match some of the already made features, which include clothing, eyes, hair, and more.
Graphic Design Software
Another way to create emojis like a professional is with the aid of graphic design software. There is so much software that you can use for this purpose, and some of the most popular options include the use of Photoshop if the emoji is photo-based. On the other hand, if you want to make emojis that are cartoon-style, you’ll need an illustrator, and one of the options to try is the illustAC editing tool.
File Format
After designing the emoji, the next thing you might want to consider is the file format to use. It’s generally recommended to use PNG format, especially when applying transparent backgrounds. If you’re designing for a client, you might want to consider source files like AI or PSD. However, this would depend on the program that you use in creating the files.
Size and Dimensions
Another key requirement that you should have in mind is the size of the emoji you make. Again, it’s recommended to keep it within 128 x 128 px. However, this can vary depending on the platform on which it is to be used.
In many cases, you’ll see that emojis appear to be only 32 x 32 px, but it’s advisable to keep the size larger as this guarantees higher pixel density. It will also help to keep the image sharp. Basically, you only need to ensure that the aspect ratio is 1:1.
Make Emojis from Existing Images
Another option to explore is to make emojis from a preexisting image. To do this, you’ll first need to select the image you want to use. The image you choose completely depends on the purpose the emoji is to serve. If it’s simply for fun, you might want to choose a virtual image, and it can also be one of the images from your camera roll
Another option that you might want to consider is to use vector images, and for this, you’ll need a source for the vector images to make emojis. Again, we recommend you check illustAC for all the vector images to make images. On this platform, you’ll find many options to use, and it only depends on the type of emoji that you want to design.
If the image you’re making is for a brand or an enterprise, there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind. You need to be sure that the image you use is licensed for the purpose you use it for. The best thing for brands to do is to play safe with image licensing.
After selecting the image, you want to use, the only thing left for you is to create the emoji. You may or may not need to make further changes to the selected image. Rather than using full images to make emojis, it’s generally advisable to only isolate the subject in the image. It can be a hand gesture or a face. In addition, you’ll also need to remove the background from the image. You might want to consider one of the software above for this step.
Make Emojis from Scratch
In addition to making emojis from an existing image, another option that you might want to explore is to make emojis from scratch. However, to do this, you need to understand design principles and also have knowledge of the software you use. After that, the next thing is to brainstorm a character for the emoji design.
The aim is to be able to visualize the type of expression that you want to design. It can be an animal, a cartoon object, a real person, or an anthropomorphic plant. It all depends on the type of design you want to create.
After you’ve decided the type of character you want to design, the next thing is to start with a sketch of the character. Again, it’s advisable to sketch expressions and gestures that are easily understandable. You can draw different options so that you can select the best from these options. Basically, if you have more sketches, it’d be a lot easier to render them on the design software you use.
The interesting thing you should note is that you can make emojis in almost any software. This gives you different options to try, and the key thing is to ensure that you fully understand the software that you use. After you have traced out the shape of the emoji, the only thing left is for you to fill it with colours. For this, we recommend using shadows and gradients to give it more depth.
For people who are not design-savvy, the option to explore is to hire a freelance emoji designer to have the job done for you quickly. After they design the emoji for you, they will give you the image file that you can then upload to different platforms.
Tips on Good Emoji Design
Now that you know how to make emojis from vector images or from scratch let us look at a few tips that will make the whole process seamless for you. Consider these tips whenever you make emojis:
1. Simplify the Expression
Emojis are mostly small-sized and can perfectly fit a text box. The aim is to effectively convey emotions. This implies that the expression should be the main motive of the design, and as such, all the design elements should work for that purpose or should not distract from that purpose. In some cases, you’ll find that the focus of some emojis is on the face, while others are on the other body parts.
The key thing to note is that you can also create emojis with a focus on physical gestures. Also, you might be tempted to create larger emojis, and even though this may seem more convenient, you need to ensure that you keep the expression very clear.
2. Create a Consistent Theme
One common thing about emojis is that they are usually in multiples. Rather than designing one emoji at a time, you might need to plan ahead and create different styles that you’ll place together. This can be your own emoji universe.
3. Keep the Emojis Versatile
Remember that the goal of creating emojis is for people to express themselves. Therefore, you’ll need to ensure that the emojis appeal to a different audience. Also, you need to note that emojis are general and impersonal, which makes it possible for them not to connect with the audience.
For this, you might need to utilize customization tools to make versatile emojis that people can personalize. Therefore, it’s best to create emojis with varying hair, clothing, gender, tones, and skin.
4. Keep it Referential to your Content
Even though people design emojis to express different emotions, they can also be for branding purposes. This implies that you can use your emoji to reference characters or phrases that are peculiar to a community. When you make emojis this way, it will help you create a deeper connection with your friends or audience.
5. Remember Cultural Differences
One of the most important things to remember is the differences that cut across different cultures. People across the world generally pay attention to this fact, especially when they read emotions. Therefore, when you make emojis, it’s important to keep these cultural peculiarities in mind so that they will positively affect your design.
Conclusion
Regardless of the silly faces they possess, you need to note that making emojis is not always fun. There are so many things that you’ll need to put into consideration when you create emojis. Whether you are creating from scratch or you are creating it from a vector image, you need to know the key things to ensure. Fortunately, we have provided everything you should know in this article.
When you follow all the tips we have provided above, you can rest assured that it’d be much easier for your audience to connect with the emojis you design. For emphasis, if you are creating the emojis from a vector image, you will need a source where you can get different vectors to use. While there are so many options that you can use for all the vector images you need, we recommend illustAC.
On illustAC, you’ll find different types of vectors that can fit different purposes. All these vectors are grouped into different categories, and you can search the by inputting a keyword into each category. Also, the vector images are available for you to download and use in making your emojis.