If you can draw, you can design engaging emojis and vector-based icons. While illustration rules are sometimes better broken, there are proven methods for producing effective emojis.

I enjoy receiving emoji and sticker requests. At Home Brew Agency, I created artwork for major entertainment properties, including Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, The Curse of La Llorona, Blockers, Mama Mia!, The Croods: A New Age, The Animaniacs, The Suicide Squad, SCOOB!, The Conners, 2019 CMA Awards, Trolls World Tour, and Abominable, to name a few. Let’s talk about what it takes to build a solid design that is ready to go live.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Anyone may submit a proposal for a new emoji to the Unicode Consortium. However, only a small percentage of these submissions will be encoded.

Don’t allow yourself to be discouraged. Believing in your potential is essential. Equally important is the ability to weather rejection. That is an inevitable part of following any creative career path.

Fortunately, there isn’t only one platform by which emojis enter the world. Great clients may call upon you to illustrate emojis for exciting properties. The marketing departments of major films and TV shows love to feature their characters as custom Twitter emojis, Facebook stickers, GIPHY stickers, and Apple Store sticker packs.

Don’t have a client base yet? Then this is the perfect time to build a portfolio. Or, upload your set to a creative market site to offer your indie designs and build up your fan base. Just keep going.

RESPECT THE SPECS

Many clients and platforms will have strict specs for you to follow. The client may provide a document detailing the nuts and bolts of what they’ll need. Dimensions, file format, vector vs. bitmap, style, etc. If they don’t present a set of specs, ask for one.

It doesn’t hurt to do a little research first. Then you’ll be able to ask informed questions such as “Would you like this to be delivered as a 1x1 transparent PNG at 72dpi?” or “Will the platform require that we deliver the original vector file?” Twitter will require you to submit vector files with a 1x1 aspect ratio. GIPHY stickers, however, have slightly different requirements. Ignore this at your peril. If you don’t design the file correctly, you will likely have to rebuild it. Don’t waste your time (and the client’s time). Do it right from the start. You’ll probably need that time to handle the client’s design revisions.

TELL A STORY

Emojis are a bit like contemporary hieroglyphics. This medium is all about communication. What is your emoji’s intended message? Make sure your design’s message is abundantly clear. Of course, we all know certain emojis have double meanings (a particular fruit comes to mind). But even in that case, make sure the drawing of your eggplant reads as an eggplant, not as a random oblong object. It is helpful to check out Emojipedia. Not only will you be able to study the wide variety of styles created to differentiate between brands, but the meaning of each emoji is listed. https://emojipedia.org/

THINK CLEAN

If you approach emojis like a logo designer tackles a new icon, you’re on the right track. Designing impactful, legible illustrations that register well at small sizes is your primary goal.

Twitter emojis always work best when they are simple. For most characters, stick with a headshot. Clients will want a distinctive representation of their character. The tendency is to yearn for detail. But remember, this isn’t a portrait painting. Do your best to use as little information as possible while still achieving a good likeness. Once you add shoulders and limbs, you’re in sticker territory.

As you can see, stickers provide more real estate for detail and depicting action. When you submit a figurative drawing that is complex, the face will probably become too small to read within a line of text. If a hand or other extra detail is required to convey a specific emotion or action, enlarge the head (think cartoon proportions) to accommodate it. Too many details will become a muddy mess once the emoji is live. Bold and concise is best.

SKETCH IT FIRST

As with all illustration projects, a few minutes of thumbnail sketches in the beginning will save you hours in the end. Work out the kinks and identify the design challenges now, before you spend time building out a polished finish.

Show your favorite concepts to the client. They’ll have ideas from there. Entering the second round of sketching is still faster than repeatedly editing a finished illustration. Thumbnails don’t need to be perfect. This is the stage where you and the client can experiment with concepts.

If this is a personal project, ask some friends what they think of your thumbnails. There are also online design hubs like Dribbble, where you may get feedback from other artists and professionals. You will become a stronger artist and more resilient in the face of critique.

TIME YOURSELF

Have I ever gone straight to a finish (without a sketch)? In a few cases, when a client’s request was unambiguous and the turnaround was ultra-tight, yes. Entertainment advertising deadlines are no joke. I fondly call these assignments emoji emergencies.

However, rushing will often lead to mistakes. Mistakes cost money. I wouldn’t recommend skipping the sketch phase or blasting through a finish if you can help it. Don’t be afraid to communicate this to the client, either. You’re the artist. You know your capabilities.

Time yourself on a trial run if you aren’t sure. Does it take you less than an hour to build a representation of a flower or a symbol, but triple that amount of time to draw a face? How long does it take you to create a collage of three celebrity likenesses? Be open about your production timeline with the client. Why not share a sample chart of your work and how long each piece took you to create? This way, everyone involved can plan adequately.

VECTOR IS YOUR FRIEND

If you aren’t already in love with the magical world of infinite scalability, get comfortable using a vector-based illustration program now. Specific platforms (such as Twitter) will require it. When you scale a vector image file, there will be no loss of quality. Due to the need for responsive artwork capable of adapting to varying screen sizes, vector files are necessary for modern design.

I recommend that you build vector art from scratch. Should you choose to skip ahead by using image trace, be prepared to do clean-up work. Diligently remove any excess information you don’t genuinely need. The fewer points you use, the smoother your curves will be. As for texture, you can produce a lot of incredible imagery and depth within a program such as Adobe Illustrator. A quick online search will fill in your knowledge gaps. Just remember to be economical with your choices early on so that future edits will be a breeze.

TEST & SHARE

Now that your polished emoji is ready for its debut — test it. Consider mocking up your emoji in a line of text for your chosen platform to avoid any mishaps. That way, both you and the client will know how well it will work in reality. Share a sharp, full-size preview of your working file with your audience as well. Though it will appear significantly smaller when live, we are here to make beautiful representations of characters and emotions.

CELEBRATE

Emoji development is a rewarding challenge. Enjoy the sense of accomplishment and share your work with the world. I look forward to seeing your creations go live!

https://www.tumblr.com/lizziempress

Species Account

Gracing woods, fields, meadows, and gardens spanning from Europe to temperate Asia and Japan, peacock butterflies feed on thistle and ragwort nectar from spring to autumn. Before hibernation, they may consume rotten fruit to store body fat. During the dark winter months, while hiding in hollow trees, dead wood, sheds, and attics, this butterfly emits a hissing signal to deter predators, including mice. Their visual anti-predator defense mechanisms include prominent black, blue, and yellow eyespots on the dorsal side of their wings, and dark brown (or black) dead-leaf-like camouflage patterns on the ventral side. Avian predators are often intimidated by the peacock butterfly’s eyespots, which mimic the eyes of its natural enemies. The adult peacock butterfly has a wingspan of 2.25 to 2.5 inches and lives for about one year.

Illustration

I created this artwork as my 2025 holiday greeting card and as part of a moth-and-butterfly-themed series titled Lizzie’s Lepidopterarium. Lepidoptera (scaley wings) are morphologically distinguished from other orders by the presence of scales. A Lepidopterarium (conservatory, or butterfly house) is a terrarium designed to provide a tropical atmosphere and a haven for multiple species, intended for display and education. Metamorphosis is a key feature of the Lepidoptera four-stage life cycle (egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis or cocoon), and adult (imago), and will be explored both symbolically and literally in this project.

While I leaned heavily into watercolor papers and textures for this piece, both the original sketch and the full-color finish were created digitally in Photoshop. I have since produced additional butterfly sketches with graphite and Copic markers on sketch paper. Nothing beats the real thing.

Though this advice should not have been surprising, it was. When you are dedicated, it can be discomforting to step away. Even years ago, when this conversation took place at CTNX, deep down, I knew that my artwork was better when I also lived life. I was better. You have to be in the world to stay inspired, to have stories to tell. Overworking only offers the illusion of productivity while simply fueling the burnout machine. Nurturing yourself and breathing fresh air are key ingredients for reveling in your time on Earth and for creating something beautiful to give back. You’ll accomplish more with less when refreshed, and you’ll enjoy the process.

Paleo art has been a passion of mine since childhood. I have vivid memories of becoming absorbed in lush prehistoric landscape paintings. As an adult, I have reacquired vintage books featuring extinct wildlife and cross-sections of Carboniferous swamps and lagoons. Lately, I have been deep-diving into life sciences, creature anatomy, and paleo-reconstruction.

Today’s study, Stegouros elengassen!

Stegouros was named in 2021 from an exceptionally complete skeleton discovered in what is now Chile. Living about 74–72 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous, Stegouros is one of the most important dinosaur finds from southern Gondwana. A relatively small dinosaur at 2 meters (6.5 feet) long, its tail ended in a unique, flattened weapon made of fused bony plates. I chose to study this little guy after being inspired by Dougal Dixon’s charming emerald green illustration. I’ll report back soon with additional facts, surface-texture drawings, and an environmental study as I continue my exploration of this distinctive creature.

What do you come back to time and time again?

Please note, it has come to my attention that Stegouros and the Kalligrammatid lacewing would not have coexisted. I have removed the lacewing from the original study and am looking for a replacement insect. Environment to follow!

Lizzie M Press LLC is my independent art studio and brand. I am a visual development artist, illustrator, and creature designer based in Burbank, California. I create character art and 2D assets for entertainment ad agencies, AAA games, and animation studios, illustrating beloved characters for Marvel, Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Universal, and Warner Bros. Games. Through my online stores, I offer functional and wearable artwork, including enamel pins, journals, and stickers. I am known for my love of paleo-art (drawing prehistoric creatures) and pop-culture illustrations.

But what does the name mean?

Lizzie: That’s me, and much like Mother Goose rhyme, I actually go by Elizabeth or Liz.

Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess,
They all went together to seek a bird’s nest,
They found a bird’s nest with five eggs in,
They all took one, and left four in.

M: The initial of my last name (Masters).

Press: A reference to my background in traditional art, expanding into digital illustration. You will also find physical items, such as framed prints, available in both the Lizzie M Press Etsy shop and on lizziempress.com.

Originally, Lizzie M Press was depicted as an empress as a play on words. Symbolically, the concept of an empress is often associated with abundance, creativity, and mastery. As the brand evolved, the icon transformed into a cherished void kitty, Celestial Cat. My lifelong curiosity about the natural world and love for animals are much better represented by the new character logo.

Both a studio and a signature, Lizzie M Press is the connection between artistic exploration and my professional career in illustration, design, and visual storytelling.