How to Make Twitch Emotes & Upload Them to Your Channel (2025)

Introduction

Twitch emotes aren’t just little images—they’re the heartbeat of Twitch culture. They’re how communities express hype, jokes, reactions, and even inside memes. If you’re a streamer, custom emotes can instantly make your channel feel more personal and engaging. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to create, design, and upload Twitch emotes in 2025—step by step.

Why Twitch Emotes Matter in 2025

Community building through emotes

Emotes act like a shared language in your chat. The right ones make viewers feel like part of an inside joke.

Branding and identity

A memorable emote can become your channel’s signature, like a logo that spreads across Twitch chats.

Engagement and retention

Custom emotes give subscribers more reasons to stick around—and they encourage new viewers to sub.

Requirements for Uploading Twitch Emotes

Affiliate or Partner status

To unlock emote slots, you need to be a Twitch Affiliate or Partner. Without it, you’ll need third-party tools like BTTV or FFZ.

Emote slots in 2025

• Affiliates start with several Tier 1 slots.

• More slots unlock as your channel grows.

• Animated emote slots are also available.

Types of Twitch Emotes

Static emotes

Classic PNG emotes, clean and readable at small sizes.

Animated emotes

Short looping GIFs that add motion, fun, and personality.

Follower emotes

Free for followers to use in your channel only.

Subscriber emotes

Unlocked by subscribing to your channel, usable site-wide.

How to Design Twitch Emotes

Choosing the right concept

Think about inside jokes, your branding, or exaggerated reactions your viewers will love.

Readability at small sizes

Always design with the smallest display size (28px) in mind. Test-shrink your designs before uploading.

Best design practices

• Use bold outlines.

• Stick to 3–5 core colors.

• Keep shapes chunky and expressive.

Technical Specifications for Emotes (2025)

File format & size

• Static: PNG with transparency.

• Animated: GIF or APNG.

• Max file size: 1MB.

Dimensions

Upload one 112×112px image, Twitch auto-resizes to 56px and 28px.

Background

Use transparency instead of solid backgrounds for versatility.

Tools for Creating Twitch Emotes

Free tools

• GIMP (for image editing).

• Photopea (browser-based Photoshop alternative).

Paid tools

• Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator.

• Procreate (for iPad drawing).

• After Effects (for animations).

Online emote makers

Sites like OWN3D or Fiverr allow you to buy pre-made or custom emotes quickly.

Step-by-Step: How to Make a Twitch Emote

Step 1: Brainstorm the idea

Pick expressions, memes, or characters that represent your channel.

Step 2: Sketch or draft

Even a rough sketch can help refine the concept before going digital.

Step 3: Digitize the artwork

Use drawing software to create clean, colorful emotes.

Step 4: Export correctly

Save as PNG with transparency, or GIF for animations.

How to Upload Twitch Emotes to Your Channel

Step 1: Go to the Creator Dashboard

• Click your profile picture → Creator Dashboard.

Step 2: Access Emote settings

• Navigate to Viewer Rewards → Emotes.

Step 3: Upload your emote

• Choose the slot (Subscriber, Follower, or Animated).

• Upload the PNG/GIF.

Step 4: Name the emote

Keep names short and memorable (e.g., prefixHype, prefixGG).

Step 5: Submit for approval

Some emotes are auto-approved; others may take review time.

Emote Naming Strategy

Prefix rules

Twitch assigns your channel prefix (usually your username). All emote codes start with this prefix.

Examples of good names

• prefixLove

• prefixLurk

• prefixHype

What to avoid

Long, confusing, or offensive names that are hard to type or remember.

Follower Emotes vs Subscriber Emotes

Follower emotes

Encourage new followers by giving them free, exclusive emotes for your chat.

Subscriber emotes

The real perk of subscribing—usable across all Twitch chats.

Animated Emotes in 2025

How to make them pop

Keep animations simple: blinking eyes, waving hands, bouncing heads.

Looping tips

Always ensure smooth loops—choppy movement makes emotes look low-quality.

Third-Party Emotes (BTTV, FFZ, 7TV)

For streamers

Enable them in your account, then add custom or shared emotes.

For viewers

Install the extension in your browser or Twitch app alternative to see them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Emotes

Too much detail

Fine details disappear at small sizes.

Low contrast

Hard-to-read colors ruin the impact of your emote.

Oversized files

Always compress before uploading.

Troubleshooting Emote Upload Issues

Emote stuck in review

Wait—some emotes take longer if flagged for moderation.

Rejected emote

Check Twitch’s guidelines—avoid offensive or copyrighted content.

Emote not showing

Refresh or relog into Twitch; sometimes caches need clearing.

Pro Tips for Creating Killer Emotes

Ask your community

Poll your chat or Discord to see what designs they want.

Seasonal emotes

Add holiday or event-based emotes for fun variety.

Cross-platform use

Upload your Twitch emotes to Discord for extended visibility.

Conclusion

Twitch emotes are more than just fun little images—they’re the soul of your community’s culture. In 2025, designing them is easier than ever with free tools, paid software, or even hiring artists. Once made, uploading them is straightforward through your Creator Dashboard. Start simple, focus on readability, and expand with animated or seasonal designs as your community grows.

5 Unique FAQs

1) Can I make Twitch emotes without being an Affiliate?

Yes, but you can only use them through third-party extensions like BTTV or FFZ until you unlock Affiliate.

2) What’s the difference between follower and subscriber emotes?

Follower emotes are free but restricted to your chat. Subscriber emotes are global across Twitch.

3) Can I commission someone to make my emotes?

Absolutely. Many artists on Fiverr, Twitter, or Discord specialize in Twitch emotes.

4) How many emote slots do Affiliates get in 2025?

Affiliates start with several Tier 1 slots and unlock more as their sub count and achievements grow.

5) Do I need animated emotes to succeed?

Not at all—static emotes still dominate. Animated ones just add extra flair.