Any Telegram user can release an emoji pack, no special permission is needed. The pack is built through the official bot, and the real work is in the files: emoji are small, so they have to be drawn for the size of a letter in text. Here it is step by step.
Three emoji formats
| Format | Size | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| PNG or WEBP image | exactly 100 × 100 px | static icons and logos |
| WEBM video | exactly 100 × 100 px, up to 3 seconds, no sound | animation made in a video editor |
| TGS animation | 512 × 512 px canvas, up to 3 seconds, 60 frames per second, up to 64 KB | a brand's own pack: sharp and light on any screen |
Animated TGS emoji look the most polished and never blur, so almost every channel and brand pack is made in this format.
Step 1. Sketch and vector
- The set. Start with 15 to 30 emoji: the logo, reactions, section icons, a couple of signature phrases.
- Large shapes. An emoji sits in a line of text at the size of a letter. Small details and thin lines disappear there.
- One style. The same stroke weight, one palette, one light direction. Then the pack looks like a set, not a collection.
- Vector. For TGS everything is drawn in vector: Figma, Illustrator or any editor that exports to After Effects.
Step 2. Animation
The animation is made in After Effects and exported with the Bodymovin plugin for Telegram. The format’s rules are strict:
- up to 3 seconds, 60 frames per second, the animation loops;
- objects stay inside the 512 × 512 canvas;
- no expressions, masks, layer effects, images, text or 3D layers, stars, repeaters or gradient strokes;
- the final file is up to 64 KB.
You can check a finished file in our free tool: it shows the animation and marks what Telegram will not accept.
Step 3. Upload the pack
- Open the @Stickers bot and choose to create a new emoji set.
- Pick the format: images, video or animated.
- Name the pack: everyone who opens the set will see the name.
- Send the files one by one, each with a regular emoji it is linked to in search.
- At the end set a short name: you get a link like
t.me/addemoji/name.
The pack can be extended and changed through the same bot. Pin the link in your channel or put it in the description so people add the set.
What a custom emoji pack includes
When we make a pack, the work covers the concept, vector drawing in the brand colours, TGS animation of every emoji, a check against Telegram’s rules and uploading the pack. We name the price after a short brief. For example, for the Topor channel network we made the ToporMain pack of 48 animated emoji.
Requirements checked against core.telegram.org/stickers on 4 October 2026.