Emojis have become an integral part of digital communication, allowing us to express a wide range of emotions and concepts in a fun, visual way. One of the best things about emojis is the ability to customize them, including changing their color to match your style. Keep reading to learn how to change the color of your emojis on iPhone, Android, Windows, and more.
Why Would You Want Colored Emojis?
Here are some of the top reasons for changing your emoji colors:
- To coordinate with your app’s color scheme or branding
- To distinguish your emojis from others in group chats
- To highlight certain emojis and make them stand out
- To add visual flair and personalization to your messages
- To experiment and have fun expressing yourself
Custom colored emojis allow you to put your own spin on this popular communication method. While the default yellow emoji style has its charm, customized colors can take your emoji game to the next level.
Changing Emoji Colors on iPhone
Apple provides a few different ways to customize your emoji colors on iPhone.
Memojis
Memojis are personalized emojis that you can create to look just like you. You can design your Memojis with various skin tones, hairstyles, accessories, and yes—different color options.
To make a Memoji with custom color:
- Open the Messages app and tap the Memoji sticker icon (looks like a monkey face).
- Tap the New Memoji button (+) and design your memoji.
- On the Color tab, select a color for your skin, hair, and more.
- Tap Done to save your colorful creation.
You can use your Memoji stickers alone or alongside regular emojis. They’ll automatically appear in their designated color whenever you select them.
Unicode Emojis
Unicode is the standard system that provides emoji designs across platforms. Certain Unicode emojis already come in preset color variants.
For example, you can tap and hold on the heart emoji to view different color choices like yellow, red, orange, green, blue, purple, and more. This works for various emojis including hearts, squares, circles, and smiley faces.
Third-Party Keyboards
If the color options in Memojis and Unicode aren’t enough, you can download third-party emoji keyboards from the App Store. Many provide advanced color customization features.
Some top colored emoji keyboards for iOS include:
- Kika Emoji Keyboard
- Color Keyboard Themes
- RainbowKey – Emoji Keyboard
- Emoji> Keyboard Cute Emoticons
To use a third-party keyboard:
- Download the app and enable full access when prompted.
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and tap Add New Keyboard.
- Select the app’s keyboard from the list.
- Open a conversation and tap the globe icon to switch keyboards whenever you want to use custom emojis.
Changing Emoji Colors on Android
Gboard
Google’s Gboard is the default keyboard on many Android phones. It provides customizable emoji options through its Emoji Kitchen and special mashup stickers.
To use Emoji Kitchen:
- Open Gboard and tap the emoji icon.
- Tap on two emojis that you want to mash together.
- A popup will appear with colorized sticker versions of that mashup.
- Tap the sticker to insert it into your conversation.
Keep playing around to discover unique colored combos. You can make a green heart eyes emoji, a purple robot, a blue rainy cloud, and much more.
Third-Party Keyboards
Like on iPhone, downloading emoji keyboard apps from the Google Play Store allows for more advanced emoji coloring on Android.
Some top options include:
- Bitmoji
- Facemoji Emoji Keyboard
- Emojidom Emoticons
- Multicolor Emoji Keyboard
To set up third-party keyboards:
- Install the app from the Play Store.
- Open Settings > System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard.
- Tap Manage keyboards and enable the emoji keyboard app.
- Open a conversation and select the keyboard to access its special emoji.
Changing Colors on Windows
Windows has a few built-in methods to customize emoji colors.
Windows 10 Emoji Panel
The Windows 10 Emoji Panel allows choosing different skin tone colors for people emojis. To use it:
- Open the emoji panel with Windows key + ;
- Select a people emoji that shows skin tone options.
- Choose light, medium-light, medium, medium-dark or dark.
Windows Store Emoji Apps
You can download emoji apps from the Microsoft Store for more color options, like:
- Color Emojis
- Emojis Arts
- Stickers Emojis Emoticons
These function similarly to third-party keyboard apps on mobile. Enable the app as an input method to access its emoji.
Changing Emoji Colors on Desktops and Laptops
Aside from mobile devices, you may want to customize emoji colors on your desktop or laptop for use in messaging apps and social media.
Mac
On Mac, you can change emoji colors in apps like Messages with emoji keyboard extensions. Some options:
- Rocket Emojis
- JoyPixels
- SweetEmoji
To install, download the app, open System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources > Add input source, and select the emoji app extension.
Windows PC
For Windows PCs, these apps provide colored emojis:
- JoyPixels
- Gomojis
- SweetEmoji
You’ll need to install the app and/or system-level keyboard to access the emojis.
Linux
On Linux, options include:
- EmojiOne Color
- Twitter Color Emoji
Follow install instructions to integrate the emoji font files into your Linux distro.
Chrome and Browser Extensions
Chrome and other browsers support colored emojis through extensions like:
- Emoji Keyboard
- JoyPixels
- Chromoji – Color Emojis
Add these to your browser as you would any other extension to access the emojis while surfing the web.
Online Tools for Customizing Emojis
If you don’t want to install any apps, here are some online tools for creating colored emojis:
- Emoji Mix – Mix and match emoji elements plus colors
- ColorMojis – Paint buckets to customize emoji colors
- Emoji Combos – Merge two emojis into custom stickers
You can save your designs and use them across various platforms. The only limitation is you may need to manually copy and paste the emojis instead of accessing them through a keyboard.
How Platforms Display Emoji Colors
When using colored emojis, be aware that recipients may see them differently depending on their platform:
| Platform | Colored Emoji Display |
|---|---|
| iPhone | Renders colors from emoji keyboard apps and color Unicode variants |
| Android | Renders colors from emoji keyboard apps and color Unicode variants |
| Windows | Renders colors from Microsoft Store emoji apps and color Unicode variants |
| macOS | Renders colors from emoji keyboard extensions and color Unicode variants |
| Linux | May only render color Unicode variants depending on font support |
| Older OS Versions | Typically only render Unicode color variants |
So if you send a colored emoji from an app keyboard, it may appear as the default yellow or black and white to recipients on platforms that don’t support that app. Sending Unicode color variants provides wider compatibility.
Are Colored Emojis Necessary?
While colored emojis allow for personal expression, some argue they are unnecessary visual clutter. The default black and white or yellow emojis were created to provide consistent, widely recognizable designs across platforms. Some view colors as disruptive to this uniformity.
Others contend that the explosion in emoji use warrants options for customization. They believe colors make emojis more inclusive by better representing human diversity. It comes down to personal preference – not everyone has to use colored emojis if they don’t want to.
Conclusion
Emojis are meant to be fun, so customize to your heart’s content! Try out different colors and find options that work for you across your devices. Just keep cross-platform rendering in mind. With the right apps and extensions, you can make your emoji game a lot more colorful and creative.