How to Make Custom Emoji on Telegram

A portrait becoming a set of custom Telegram emoji

Custom Telegram emoji are compact images that appear inside text, reactions and supported profile features. You can turn a photo, drawing, logo or short video into a consistent emoji pack with StickerPen.

Custom emoji versus stickers

A sticker is normally sent as a separate, larger message. Custom emoji sit inline with text and use a much smaller 100×100 pixel canvas, so every shape and expression has to remain clear at tiny size.

If you want a large reaction anyone can send, start with a regular sticker pack. If you need compact icons for messages, statuses or channel formatting, publish a custom emoji pack.

What can become a custom emoji?

  • A face, pet or recognizable personal reaction.
  • A channel logo or recurring content label.
  • A simple symbol, word or call-to-action.
  • A short, readable motion from a video or GIF.

Use bold shapes and strong contrast. Long sentences, subtle facial details and busy backgrounds do not survive at emoji size.

How to make custom emoji with StickerPen

  1. Create a project. Open the StickerPen editor and start a new pack.
  2. Add the source. Upload an image or video, or generate artwork with AI.
  3. Clean the design. Remove the background, crop and center the subject.
  4. Fill the pack. Repeat the visual treatment for your key reactions or labels.
  5. Publish as custom emoji. Open the resulting Telegram link and add the pack.

Plan a coherent starter pack

Five to ten useful icons are better than dozens of inconsistent ones. For a personal pack, cover joy, surprise, agreement, frustration and thanks. For a channel, focus on navigation, warnings, links, new posts and recurring categories.

Make your first custom emoji

Upload a photo or illustration and turn it into a Telegram-ready pack.

Open StickerPen