How to Upload Emotes on Twitch: A Definitive Guide

So, you’re ready to spice up your Twitch chat with custom emotes? Excellent choice! Emotes are the lifeblood of Twitch culture, adding flavor, humor, and a personal touch to your community. But how exactly do you get those glorious little images onto your channel? The process is straightforward, but there are a few key requirements and considerations. The short answer is that you need to be either a Twitch Affiliate or a Partner to upload custom emotes, and you will access the emote upload section through the Creator Dashboard of your Twitch account.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Emote Uploading

Here’s a breakdown of how to upload emotes on Twitch:

1. Meet the Requirements: This is crucial. You must be a Twitch Affiliate or Partner to upload emotes. If you’re not yet affiliated, focus on building your community and meeting the affiliate criteria (50 followers, average of 3 viewers, streaming for 8 hours on 7 different days, all within the past 30 days).

2. Prepare Your Emote Files: This is where your artistic skills (or outsourcing budget) come in. Twitch requires emotes in three sizes, and they must be square .PNG files:

   • 112x112px
   • 56x56px
   • 28x28px

   Alternatively, you can use the auto-resize option, but I highly recommend providing the three sizes yourself for optimal clarity across different devices and resolutions. This gives you more control over how your emotes look.

3. Log into Your Twitch Account: Obvious, but worth mentioning. Make sure you’re logged in as the account you intend to upload emotes for.

4. Navigate to the Creator Dashboard: Click on your profile picture in the top right corner of the Twitch website. A dropdown menu will appear. Select “Creator Dashboard.”

5. Access the Emote Management Section: In the Creator Dashboard, on the left side, expand the “Affiliate” or “Partner” section (depending on your status). Then, click on “Emotes.”

6. Upload Your Emotes: Here’s where the magic happens. You’ll see a section for uploading emotes. You’ll have the option to either upload each of the three sizes individually or use the auto-resize function. If uploading individually, drag and drop each file into its corresponding size slot, or click the slot to browse your computer for the file. If using auto-resize, upload only the 112x112px image, and Twitch will automatically generate the smaller sizes. Again, I advise against auto-resize for the best visual quality.

7. Name Your Emotes: This is important for discoverability and usability! Each emote requires a unique name. Emote names must be 3-25 characters long and can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) and underscores (). Choose names that are relevant to the emotion or action the emote represents (e.g., “ChannelNamehype,” “ChannelNamelurk,” “ChannelNamerage”).

8. Submit and Save: Once you’ve uploaded all the files and named your emotes, click the “Save Changes” button. Your emotes are now submitted for approval.

9. Approval Process: Twitch reviews all emotes to ensure they comply with their Community Guidelines and Emote Guidelines. The approval process can take some time, usually between 24-48 hours, but it can occasionally be longer.

10. Emotes Go Live!: Once approved, your emotes will be available for your subscribers to use in chat! Congrats!

Tips for Creating Effective Emotes

• Simplicity is Key: Emotes are small. Avoid overly complex designs that become blurry or illegible at small sizes.
• Represent Your Brand: Use your channel’s color scheme, mascot, or inside jokes to create emotes that are uniquely yours.
• Consider Common Emotions: Emotes that express common emotions like joy, sadness, hype, and anger are always popular.
• Test Your Emotes: Before uploading, test your emotes in a Twitch chat simulator to see how they look at different sizes.
• Get Feedback: Ask your community for feedback on your emote designs before finalizing them.
• Stay Within Guidelines: Twitch has very specific rules about what emotes are allowed. Avoid anything that is sexually suggestive, promotes violence, or violates copyright.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens if my emote is rejected?

If your emote is rejected, you will receive a notification from Twitch explaining the reason for the rejection. Review the Twitch Community Guidelines and Emote Guidelines to understand why your emote was rejected and then make the necessary adjustments and resubmit it.

2. Can I upload animated emotes?

Yes, animated emotes are available to Twitch Partners and Affiliates. Animated emotes must also adhere to Twitch’s guidelines and have specific file requirements (usually GIF format).

3. How many emotes can I upload?

The number of emotes you can upload depends on your Twitch Affiliate or Partner tier. As you gain more subscribers, you unlock more emote slots. Partnered streamers generally have more emote slots than Affiliates.

4. What are Sub Badges and how are they different from emotes?

Sub Badges are icons displayed next to a subscriber’s name in chat, indicating how long they have been subscribed to the channel. They are different from emotes, which are used to express emotions or reactions. Sub Badges incentivize subscriptions by recognizing loyal viewers.

5. Can I sell my emotes to other streamers?

Yes, you can. Many freelance artists create emotes for streamers. Ensure you have the proper licensing agreements in place before selling or using emotes created by someone else. Copyright infringement is a serious issue on Twitch.

6. What is the best software to create emotes?

Popular software options for creating emotes include:

• Adobe Photoshop: Industry-standard for image editing.
• Clip Studio Paint: Popular among artists for its illustration tools.
• GIMP: A free and open-source alternative to Photoshop.
• Procreate (iPad): A powerful digital painting app for iPad.
• Aseprite: A great pixel art editor.

7. How do I delete or replace an emote?

To delete or replace an emote, go to the Emotes section in your Creator Dashboard, find the emote you want to remove or replace, and click the “Delete” button. To replace, simply upload a new emote to that slot. Keep in mind that deleting an emote will remove it from your subscribers’ available emotes.

8. Can I use emotes from other platforms on Twitch?

Generally, no. Emotes are designed and formatted specifically for Twitch’s platform. Using emotes from other platforms may violate their terms of service or result in poor visual quality.

9. What happens if my channel gets suspended? Will my emotes be affected?

Yes, if your channel is suspended, your emotes will be temporarily unavailable. Once your suspension is lifted, your emotes should become available again. However, if your channel is permanently banned, your emotes will be removed permanently.

10. Are there specific size limits for the emote files besides the pixel dimensions?

Yes, although not always explicitly stated, try to keep your emote file sizes as small as possible (ideally under 25KB each). Larger files can cause loading issues in chat, especially for viewers with slower internet connections.

11. How can I promote my emotes to my community?

Actively use your emotes in your own chat! Encourage your viewers to use them as well. Create hype by showing new emotes before their release. You can also create polls or contests asking your community for ideas for new emotes.

12. What are Twitch Global Emotes and how are they different from my own emotes?

Twitch Global Emotes are emotes available to all Twitch users, such as Kappa, PogChamp, and LUL. These are provided by Twitch itself. Your custom emotes are specific to your channel and only available to your subscribers (or viewers, for Cheer emotes). You can think of your custom emotes as a value-added benefit for subscribing to your channel.