One of the best features that add a little bit of flair to Twitch is the use of emotes. Having a good set of emotes can make your streams more fun and create a sense of community, so it’s definitely something you should work into your streams. Here are some ideas for emotes and how to make them.
Show your emotions
Facial expressions are the bread and butter of Twitch emotes, so a variety of facial emotes that capture different emotions are a must-have for any streamer.
Emote ideas based on expressions or reactions:
- Happy 😄
- Sad 😭
- Angry 😡
- Surprised 🤯
- Shock 😮
- Excited 🤩
- Confused 🤔
- Facepalm 🤦
- Clap 👏
- Hype 💥
- GG (Good Game) 🎮
Tell ‘em who you are
Establishing a recognizable brand can be helpful in your quest to stand out. You can think about these kinds of emotes in advance by brainstorming about the type of streamer you want to be, which games you stream or how you want to be perceived, but you can also create new ones based on inside jokes that occur organically during your streams. You can easily create custom animated emotes from your Twitch clips with the EmoteMaker by StreamLadder.
Emote ideas to establish your personal brand:
- Your own face in a variety of expressions 😬
- Inside jokes or catchphrases 🥸
- A mascot, like a cute animal, gaming character or fantasy creature 🐉
- Food-related: pizza, coffee, beer, donut, burger, candy or vegetables 🥕
- Gaming Icons: controller, keyboard, mouse, headphones 🎧
- Your pet
Only on Twitch
Those who spend enough time on Twitch, or the internet in general, will know what this means. Make your own versions of classic internet memes and you too, can be a legend.
Twitch-Specific Emotes
- PogChamp
- Kappa
- LUL (Laughing emote)
- BibleThump (Crying emote)
- TryHard
Subscriber and tiered emotes
Subscriber emotes are a special perk reserved for viewers who choose to support the streamer through subscriptions. Technically, you can use any of the ideas mentioned so far, but make sure these emotes are of high quality and applicable for many different situations, so that people really want to have them and use them.
Ideas for premium emotes:
- Expressive emotes
- A unique character or item
- An inside joke
Celebrate the season
To change things up, you can celebrate holidays or special events with custom emotes. Maybe you can even go beyond the ‘standard’ holidays and create your own special day. Be creative!
Seasonal Emotes:
- Christmas tree, snow man, etc. (for Christmas) 🎄
- Pumpkin (for Halloween) 🎃
- Fireworks (for New Year's) 🎆
- Heart (for Valentine's Day) ❤️
- Pancakes (Pancake Day) 🥞
How to make custom emotes for Twitch
If you’re not a graphic designer or illustrator, the thought of creating your own emotes might scare you a little. Like, what size are Twitch emotes? And how do you upload your emotes to Twitch? Luckily, we’ve made it super easy for you and created our own EmoteMaker.
Just upload your clip to the EmoteMaker and select which bit (60 frames or less) you want to use and how you want to crop it. Hit export. Now you can download or copy your emote for Twitch, BTTV or 7TV.
Check out our full visual guide for the complete tutorial on how to make your own custom animated emotes for Twitch and how to upload them.
Remember, the best emotes are those that resonate with your community and reflect your stream's unique personality and content. Have fun with it, and your audience will have fun, too.
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