Fixing Blurry Emojis: A Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Checklist
Why your custom emote looks blurry and how to fix it. Diagnose pixelation, muddy edges, compression artifacts, and bad exports.
You uploaded your custom emoji and it looks like garbage. Blurry, muddy edges, unreadable text, or weird artifacts. Here's how to diagnose why your emoji looks bad and actually fix it.
Problem 1: The source image is too small
Symptoms: Everything looks pixelated and blocky. Details are blurry no matter what you do. The emoji looks worse than your original image.
Why it happens: You started with a tiny image (like 64x64 or smaller) and tried to make it bigger. Upscaling doesn't add detail, it just makes the blur bigger.
How to fix it:
- Start with the highest resolution version of your image you can find. Minimum 256x256, ideally 512x512 or larger.
- If you only have a small image, you're better off redrawing it or finding a better source. AI upscalers can help but won't fix everything.
- Never upscale a GIF that's already been compressed. Find the original PNG or source file.
Problem 2: Too many compressions
Symptoms: Artifacts around edges, weird blocky patterns, colors look washed out or noisy, "crunchy" look.
Why it happens: Every time you save as JPEG or export as a compressed format, quality degrades. If you saved it as JPEG, uploaded to Discord, downloaded it, edited it, and exported again, you've compressed it multiple times and each step destroys more data.
How to fix it:
- Always work from the original uncompressed source file (PNG, SVG, or your editor's native format).
- Only compress/export once at the very end when you're uploading to Discord/Slack.
- Never download an emoji from a platform, edit it, and re-upload. You're compressing the already-compressed image.
- Save your work-in-progress as PNG, only export to GIF/WebP when you're done.
Problem 3: GIF color limits making gradients ugly
Symptoms: Banding in gradients (you see distinct color steps instead of smooth transitions), colors look "off," weird dithering patterns.
Why it happens: GIFs can only use 256 colors maximum. If your emoji has gradients or lots of subtle color variations, GIF will approximate them badly.
How to fix it:
- Export as WebP instead of GIF. Discord and Slack both support WebP, and it handles gradients way better.
- If you must use GIF, simplify your color palette. Use fewer colors and avoid gradients.
- Replace gradients with flat colors or 2-tone shading (light side, dark side, no gradient between).
Problem 4: Lines and text are too thin
Symptoms: Text or thin lines disappear or become unreadable when the emoji is shown at small size. Looks fine at full size but terrible in chat.
Why it happens: When your emoji gets scaled down to 28px or 32px for display in chat, thin lines (1-2 pixels) get lost or become faint.
How to fix it:
- Make all lines and strokes at least 3-4 pixels thick.
- If you have text, make it HUGE and use a thick, bold font. Or remove text entirely.
- Test your emoji at the actual display size (24-32px) before exporting. If details disappear, make them thicker.
- Add a contrasting outline (2-3px black or white outline) around the entire emoji to make it pop.
Problem 5: No outline, so it disappears on certain backgrounds
Symptoms: Emoji looks great on dark mode, invisible on light mode (or vice versa). Edges blend into the background.
Why it happens: Your emoji colors are similar to the background color and there's no outline to separate them.
How to fix it:
- Add a 2-3 pixel outline around the entire emoji. Black outline if your emoji is light-colored, white outline if it's dark.
- Test on both light and dark backgrounds before finalizing.
- Some tools call this a "stroke" or "border" effect. Make sure it's enabled.
Problem 6: Animation is too fast and causes blur
Symptoms: Motion blur, ghosting between frames, emoji looks smeared when animating. Individual frames look fine but the animation is a mess.
Why it happens: Frame delay is too short (animation too fast) or there aren't enough in-between frames for smooth motion.
How to fix it:
- Slow down your animation. Aim for 1-2 second loops minimum.
- Increase frame delay (time each frame displays). Try 0.1 seconds per frame as a starting point.
- Add more in-between frames to smooth the motion. If something moves 10 pixels between frames, add a frame where it moves 5 pixels.
- Avoid rapid movements or shaking. Slow, gentle motion looks better and doesn't blur.
Problem 7: Wrong export size
Symptoms: Emoji gets stretched, squished, or looks blurry after upload even though your source was crisp.
Why it happens: Platforms resize your emoji to their standard sizes. If you upload a weird size, it gets scaled and loses quality.
How to fix it:
- Export at the platform's recommended size: Discord (128x128), Slack (128x128), Twitch (112x112, 56x56, 28x28).
- Always use square aspect ratio (1:1). No wide or tall emojis.
- If you must export at a different size, make sure it's a power of 2 (64, 128, 256, 512) for best results.
Problem 8: Platform compression destroyed your emoji
Symptoms: Your emoji looked perfect before upload, but after uploading to Discord/Slack it looks terrible. Worse quality than you exported.
Why it happens: Platforms automatically compress uploaded images to save storage space. If your file was too large or complex, they crushed it harder.
How to fix it:
- Reduce your file size before uploading. Discord limit is 256KB for free users, 512KB for Nitro. Slack is 128KB.
- Reduce frame count (fewer frames = smaller file).
- Simplify colors (fewer unique colors = smaller file).
- Use WebP instead of GIF for better compression.
- If your file is within size limits and still looks bad, the platform is compressing aggressively. Simplify the design.
Quick diagnostic checklist
- Is your source image at least 256x256? If no → find a bigger source.
- Are you working from the original file or a compressed version? If compressed → start over from the original.
- Does your emoji have gradients or lots of colors, and you're using GIF? If yes → switch to WebP or simplify colors.
- Are your lines/text at least 3-4 pixels thick? If no → make them thicker.
- Does your emoji have a 2-3px outline? If no → add one.
- Is your animation speed 1-2 seconds per loop minimum? If no → slow it down.
- Is your export size 128x128 square? If no → resize to 128x128.
- Is your file size under 256KB (Discord) or 128KB (Slack)? If no → reduce frame count or simplify.
Most common fix: Start with a high-res source (512x512 minimum), add a 2-3px outline, make all lines thick (3-4px), export as WebP at 128x128, and test at actual size before uploading. That solves 90% of blurry emoji problems. Create a crisp emoji →