Twitch Emote Commission Brief Template: What to Send Your Artist
Brief a Twitch emote artist with clear reactions, references, sizes, deadlines, revisions, attribution, delivery files, and agreed usage rights.
Short answer
A useful Twitch emote commission brief names the deliverables, static or animated formats, required sizes, expressions, references, deadline, feedback owner, revision rounds, attribution, and payment milestones. It also asks both sides to agree in writing about commercial use, derivative edits, animation, exclusivity, source files, and portfolio display. Those answers define the project; they are not automatic legal guarantees.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-02
Send the brief before the artist quotes. It lets them price the actual scope and surfaces assumptions about animation, Twitch-ready exports, source files, edits, and launch timing.
This is a production checklist, not legal advice or a substitute for a contract. Record answers in a document both sides keep, and seek qualified advice when ownership, licensing, merchandise, or a high-value campaign matters.
Copy-and-paste commission brief template
Answer every row before requesting a quote. If something is undecided, name who decides it and when. Replace vague phrases such as “standard Twitch files” with exact deliverables.
| Brief section | Write this down |
|---|---|
| Project goal | Platform, audience, pack purpose, and the chat moments it should cover |
| Deliverables | Counts for concepts, finals, static files, animations, previews, and source files |
| Technical files | Formats, dimensions, transparency, naming, limits, and who verifies them |
| Expressions | For each: trigger, emotion, pose, prop, recognition anchor, and avoid list |
| References | Which image controls character, palette, or line weight, plus permission and copy boundaries |
| Schedule | Dates for thumbnails, feedback, color, animation, exports, and launch buffer |
| Review process | Feedback owner, included rounds, response window, corrections, and added-work pricing |
| Rights and credit | Agreed uses, commercial use, edits, animation, exclusivity, attribution, and portfolio display |
| Budget and payment | Total, deposit, milestones, cancellation terms, and fees for added work |
One-sentence project summary
I need [number] [static or animated] emotes for [audience], covering [moments], delivered as [files] by [date], with [revision rounds] and agreed [uses, edits, credit, and source files].
Define deliverables and Twitch-ready files precisely
Separate approved designs from technical exports. Twitch currently documents transparent square PNGs: either one auto-resize master within its limits or manual 28, 56, and 112 pixel files. Animated GIFs have separate size, frame, and flashing limits. Attach the official page and recheck near delivery.
- Final designs and sketch concepts per design.
- Static masters, animated variants, first frames, and manual sizes.
- Source-file format, fonts, licenses, and editable-file fees.
- Who validates current rules and performs the upload.
Brief each expression as a chat moment
Names such as “Hype” are ambiguous. Give each emote a trigger, intensity, pose, prop, and tiny-size priority. Label references by role: character authority, palette, or mood only. Confirm permission for third-party material; another channel’s emote is not a style template.
| Field | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Chat trigger | What happened immediately before use? |
| Core emotion | Which emotion and intensity? |
| Pose and crop | Face, upper body, gesture, or prop? |
| Recognition anchor | Which feature makes the character yours? |
| Avoid list | What must not appear? |
| Success test | What should read at 28px in two seconds? |
Set deadlines, feedback, and revisions before sketching
Work backward from launch through thumbnail, feedback, color, animation, export, and upload buffer. Name the timezone, response window, and effect of late feedback. Define one revision round as one consolidated response; price new concepts, costumes, animation, and deliverables separately from corrections.
| Milestone | Approval question |
|---|---|
| Thumbnails | Approve pose, crop, and meaning |
| Clean sketch | Approve features, props, and line weight |
| Color | Approve palette on dark and light chat |
| Animation | Approve timing, loop, and first frame |
| Final files | Verify checklist, transparency, and sources |
Ask rights and attribution questions in writing
Payment alone does not answer copyright or license scope. The U.S. Copyright Office says visual art is generally initially owned by its creator, subject to exceptions, and copyright transfers have writing requirements. Facts and countries differ.
Ask for the uses the project needs, record answers and limits, and keep the document. Seek qualified advice for ownership transfers, work-made-for-hire claims, broad exclusivity, major merchandise, or cross-border terms.
- Which Twitch, social, overlay, website, advertising, and merchandise uses are included?
- May the client crop, recolor, add text, create derivatives, or hire another editor?
- May anyone animate the art, and can that animator receive layered files?
- Is use exclusive or nonexclusive, on which platforms, for what duration?
- Which source files, fonts, and brushes are delivered, and under what limits?
- Where is artist attribution required, optional, or impractical?
- May the artist stream the process or show work in a portfolio, and what happens to unused concepts?
Scope note, not legal advice
These are deal questions, not guarantees. Do not assume work-made-for-hire, copyright transfer, derivative, or animation rights without appropriate written terms.
Accept the project against a final receipt
Match the delivery folder to the brief, open every file, inspect 28-pixel previews and transparent corners, and save the agreed rights answers. Keep payment, delivery acceptance, and Twitch approval as separate receipts.
Commission workflow from brief to accepted files
Step 1
Write the scope
List concepts, files, schedule, budget, and one decision-maker before requesting a quote.
Step 2
Resolve the rights questions
Record use, edits, animation, exclusivity, attribution, and portfolio answers in writing.
Step 3
Approve silhouettes first
Approve meaning, pose, and 28-pixel crop before clean lines or animation.
Step 4
Review color on two themes
Approve character details and palette on dark and light chat.
Step 5
Verify the delivery folder
Compare files with the brief; inspect transparency and actual-size previews.
Step 6
Archive the written receipt
Keep the brief, approvals, invoice, files, and usage answers together.
Make your first version free
Prototype one brief concept free
Make a free first version, test its meaning at 28 pixels, and send that evidence with your written commission brief before paying for the full pack.
Prototype one brief concept freeRelated MakeEmoji guides and tools
Sources checked
- Twitch: Emote Formatting & Instant Emote Upload Requirements
- Twitch Safety Center: Community Guidelines
- U.S. Copyright Office: What Visual and Graphic Artists Should Know
- U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Ownership and Transfer
- U.S. Copyright Office: Works Made for Hire (Circular 30)
Frequently asked questions
What files should I ask a Twitch emote artist to deliver?
List static or animated masters, Twitch-ready exports, filenames, transparency, and previews. Ask separately whether sources, fonts, brushes, social crops, or animation projects cost extra.
How many revision rounds should an emote commission include?
There is no universal number. Set rounds at named stages, define one round as one consolidated response, and state how corrections and new scope differ.
Do I own a commissioned Twitch emote after I pay?
Do not assume payment answers ownership. Record granted rights, retained rights, and any intended transfer in writing; seek legal advice for important ownership questions.
Can I animate or recolor art I commissioned?
Only if agreed. Ask about animation by you or another artist, recolors, crops, seasonal derivatives, and layered-file access before commissioning.
Does a good commission brief guarantee Twitch approval?
No. Check current Emote and Community Guidelines, keep an upload buffer, and agree who handles corrections after rejection.
