What you can actually make and where it will work

You can create custom emoji in a few different ways, depending on what you want to do with it. The simplest route is making a small image file and uploading it to a platform that lets you use it — Slack workspaces, Discord servers, and some messaging apps all let you add custom emoji that only people in that space can see. If you want something more permanent or shareable across the internet, you can design an emoji and submit it to Unicode, the international standards body that decides which emoji become official, though that process takes years and has strict requirements.

For most people, the practical choice is creating emoji for a specific app or community you use regularly. This article covers both routes: making a custom emoji for your own workspace, and understanding what it takes to get an official emoji recognized globally.

Key Takeaways

  • Slack and Discord let you upload custom emoji as image files (PNG or GIF) that only members of your workspace or server can use.
  • Custom emoji files should be small — under 128 KB for Slack, under 256 KB for Discord — and work best at 128×128 pixels or larger.
  • You can create emoji using free tools like Photoshop, GIMP, Canva, or even simple drawing apps, as long as you save the result as an image file.
  • Official Unicode emoji go through a formal proposal process that takes 18 months to two years and requires demonstrating real-world usage and cultural significance.

Making custom emoji for Slack

Slack lets workspace admins and members (depending on your workspace settings) upload custom emoji that appear in the emoji picker alongside the standard ones. To add one, you need an image file — PNG, GIF, or JPG all work. The image should be at least 128×128 pixels, though Slack recommends 256×256 or larger for clarity. The file size must stay under 128 KB.

To upload: go to your workspace name in the top left, select "Customize Slack," then find "Emoji" in the sidebar. Click "Add Custom Emoji" and choose your image file. Give it a name (no spaces — use hyphens or underscores instead), and Slack will show you a preview. Once you confirm, the emoji appears in your workspace's emoji picker and anyone can use it in messages. You can upload as many as your workspace plan allows — free workspaces get a limit, while paid plans allow more.

If you want to upload multiple emoji at once, Slack also has a bulk upload feature in the same Customize Slack menu. You'll need to prepare a CSV file listing the emoji names and their corresponding image files, which is faster if you're adding dozens at once.

Making custom emoji for Discord

Discord servers work similarly. Server admins can upload custom emoji that members see in that server's emoji picker. The image file can be PNG, GIF, or JPG, and must be under 256 KB. Discord recommends 128×128 pixels as a minimum, though larger is clearer.

To add one: open your server settings, go to "Emoji," and click "Upload Emoji." Select your image file, name it (again, no spaces), and confirm. The emoji is now available to everyone in that server. Discord servers have limits based on the server's boost level — a standard server gets a certain number of custom emoji slots, and each server boost adds more slots. You can see your current limit in the Emoji settings.

Unlike Slack, Discord also lets you use custom emoji from other servers if you have the emoji name and ID, though this only works if you're a member of both servers. This is useful if you want to borrow emoji from a public server without uploading your own copy.

Tools for designing your emoji

You don't need expensive software to create emoji. Free options include GIMP (a full image editor available for Windows, Mac, and Linux), Canva (web-based, with emoji templates), Photopea (a browser version of Photoshop), and even simple drawing apps like Krita or Pixlr. If you already have Photoshop or another paid tool, those work fine too.

Start with a square canvas — 256×256 pixels is a good size to work at, since you can always scale it down later. Design your emoji, then export it as PNG (which preserves transparency, useful for emoji) or GIF if you want animation. Keep the file size in mind: Slack's 128 KB limit means you may need to compress your image or reduce the number of colors if you're working with complex designs.

If you don't want to design from scratch, Canva has pre-made emoji templates you can customize with text, colors, and shapes. You can also find free emoji design templates online, download them, and edit them in any image editor.

Getting an emoji into the official Unicode standard

The Unicode Consortium is the organization that decides which emoji become official and appear on all devices and platforms. If you want to propose a new emoji, you submit a formal proposal that goes through a review process. This is a long road — the timeline is typically 18 months to two years from proposal to approval, and many proposals are rejected.

Your proposal needs to demonstrate that the emoji fills a real gap, has cultural significance, and will be used widely. You'll need to show examples of how people currently express this concept (using text, multiple emoji, or workarounds), explain why an official emoji would be better, and provide evidence that it matters to a real community. The Consortium reviews proposals in quarterly meetings, and each one gets feedback before moving forward or being rejected.

The process is free to submit, but it requires detailed documentation and patience. Most successful proposals come from organizations or groups with a clear stake in the emoji — a sports league proposing a new sport emoji, a cultural organization proposing something significant to their community, or a company with a widely-used product. Individual proposals are less common but not impossible.

You can read past proposals and the Consortium's guidelines on the Unicode website. If you're serious about this route, start by reviewing approved emoji and rejected proposals to understand what the Consortium looks for.

Turning a photo or drawing into emoji format

If you have a photo or hand-drawn image you want to turn into emoji, the process is the same: open it in an image editor, crop it to a square, resize it to at least 128×128 pixels, and export it as PNG or GIF. For photos, you may want to reduce the file size by lowering the quality or using an online image compressor before uploading.

Hand-drawn emoji work especially well if you scan or photograph your drawing, then clean it up in an editor. You can adjust contrast, remove the background, or add colors. If your drawing is on paper, a phone camera works fine — just make sure the lighting is even and the image is in focus before you crop and resize it.

One thing to keep in mind: emoji are small, so details get lost. A design that looks good at full size might become unclear at 128×128 pixels. Test your emoji at actual size before uploading — most image editors let you zoom to 100% to see exactly how it will look.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use someone else's artwork to make a custom emoji?

Only if you have permission from the artist or copyright holder. Using copyrighted images without permission is copyright infringement, even for private workspace emoji. If you want to use fan art or someone else's design, ask them first. Many artists are happy to let you use their work in a private Slack or Discord server if you credit them.

What happens if I upload an emoji and then delete it?

In Slack and Discord, deleting a custom emoji removes it from the emoji picker, but any messages that used it will show a broken emoji icon (usually a question mark or blank square). The message itself stays, but the emoji won't render. There's no way to recover a deleted emoji, so if you think you might want it later, keep a copy of the image file.

Can I make animated emoji?

Yes, both Slack and Discord support animated emoji if you upload a GIF file instead of a static image. The same file size limits apply — 128 KB for Slack, 256 KB for Discord. Keep animations short and simple, since they'll loop continuously. Tools like GIMP or online GIF creators can help you turn a series of images into an animated GIF.

Do custom emoji work on mobile apps?

Yes. Custom emoji you upload to Slack or Discord appear in the emoji picker on mobile apps the same way they do on desktop. The image quality might look slightly different on smaller screens, which is another reason to design at a larger size and test how it looks when scaled down.

How long does it take to get an official Unicode emoji approved?

The Unicode Consortium reviews proposals quarterly, and the full process from submission to approval typically takes 18 months to two years. Many proposals are rejected or sent back for revision before approval. If your proposal is rejected, you can revise it and resubmit in a future cycle, but there's no may provide it will be accepted the second time.