Tired of the usual smilies, emoji and stickers? Here are some nice, funny and above all original ideas to amaze your friends on social networks and in chat
Hands up who doesn't use, every now and then, an emoticon to express their mood and state of mind in a conversation or a post. There are many solutions, some of them free, to enrich your collection of emoticons, but your facial expression is worth more than a thousand smilies, emoji and stickers.
Not everyone is willing to "put their face on it", but for those who feel up to it, there is no shortage of tools to create personalized images. It can be emoji in your own image that will be able to really convey what you feel in a given moment, or animated GIFs that are now supported by major social networks and chat programs. The best you can come up with, however, are mini videos that leave nothing to the imagination. One thing is certain: no one will be able to beat you in originality. And all with minimal effort and at zero cost.
MSQRD
Many people use Snapchat filters to change their faces, or those of friends (or enemies). MSQRD lets you do the same thing. This free app brings back an old concept - the Masquerade - that is the art of disguise, translating it into a modern and, above all, digital key. And it does it great. A very simple tool to use, as well as free. It is sufficient, in fact, to place your face in the appropriate box of the camera and choose one of the many masks that MSQRD offers you: from classic animals, to bizarre disguises, to more traditional masks, to VIP characters or those coming from movies or comics. The program detects the reference points of your face to make the mask a second skin. At this point you have two options: take a photo or shoot a short movie (complete with sound). So much fun. Absolutely worth trying.
Emojiface
You don't need to register and that's already a great start. Emojiface also couldn't be easier to use. All you have to do is take a selfie and follow the instructions that the app will show you. When you feel that your selfie is what you had in mind, Emojiface will guide you through the final touches to get a "cartoon" of yourself. Then it gets to work to create a suite with 100 emoji per single photo. You can even create some for your pet if you want. Emojiface's only flaw, if you can call it that, is that it is an application with "In-App" purchases to unlock additional collections of emoji, but even with the free version you'll still get more than satisfactory results. The self-made emoji are compatible with many applications including WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger and more.
And Then I Was Like
The animated GIFs now automatically trigger on Twitter, Facebook, Slack and several other instant messaging or social networking applications. Instead of scouring the web to find the GIF you have in mind, why not make it yourself? It's easier than you imagine if you use a tool like "And Then I Was Like" that guides you step by step. The first move is to allow the service access to your webcam, press the record button and you'll have three seconds to record your selfie. The application will automatically transform it into the GIF format quickly, and also lets you change its speed and looping, that is, how many times you want it to be shown in sequence. The service doesn't let you post it directly to Twitter or Facebook, but you'll have to download it first and then upload it online. All at no cost.
Memoji from Facetune
Emoji are now part of our way of communicating: they are present in virtually all the most popular instant messaging clients, and not only. If you too are a bit tired of using and seeing the same old faces, Memoji is the tool for you: it will turn you into an animated emoji. What could be more original and unique? The free version of Memoji only lets you create 5 custom emoji, but that's a start. If you like it, with a small investment, you can purchase new ones. Memoji uses artificial intelligence and image processing technology to recreate a feeling or a specific emotion that you want to convey: kisses, tears of fun or sadness, nervousness with "fumes" coming out of the nostrils, and various other moods. All of this transforms the facial expression accordingly. The user can then save the selfie as a simple picture, animated GIF or short video.
imoji
Instead of pasting those giant yellow faces into chat rooms to express what you feel, why not use your real face to convey the right expression? imoji allows you - quickly and easily - to turn a selfie into a sticker. Take a photo with imoji by placing your face inside a special oval. Use, if necessary, the eraser to erase what surrounds you. Once you have finished this "cleaning" operation, save the sticker in your collection. Now you can share it as an image on Facebook Messenger, Twitter, WhatsApp or in other applications. It is, after all, a normal image, but removing the background and adding a white outline will make it look like a sticker or emoji. Imoji is available as a stand-alone app for Android, but has been included as a feature in GIPHY Stickers for iOS.