Here’s how to make your version of the cute avatar that’s all over Twitter

You’ll wish you actually looked that cute


If lockdown has got you fed up of all the worst Instagram challenges, and the renaissance painting filter just made you look like a troll, then maybe the new Twitter trend of making your own cute af cartoon character based on a Japanese avatar will finally be the social media bandwagon that’s right for you.

You’ve probably seen your pals and mutuals posting their own versions of these adorable cartoons all over your Twitter timeline and wondered how they did it; is it a filter based on your profile pic? Do you have to customise it yourself? Do you have to pay to do it? We’re going to tell you exactly where and how to make one.

Where do you make this cute Twitter cartoon avatar?

The cartoons you’ve seen clogging up your timelines are based on a Japanese avatar generator called Picrew, a platform that allows users to design their own character builders, kinda like those weird game websites you played as a kid.

picrew cute cartoon japanese character avatar generator

The avatar generator that’s doing the rounds at the moment was designed by an artist who goes by ELI on Twitter. They’ve made it so you can totally customise the eyes, hair, skin tone and clothes of your character, as well as add different backgrounds and hand gestures to show your personality even more.

How do you make your cute Twitter cartoon avatar?

Head to the Picrew website with ELI’s particular generator design. The writing will appear in Japanese, but you don’t need to be able to read that to choose your character’s features (although you can translate the page if you need to).

First, choose your face, ear and eye shape and change your skin tone and eye colour to suit you, which you do using the little paintbrush icon above the categories of features. Then, choose your mouth and eyebrow shapes, as well as any personalised facial features like freckles and make up.

picrew cute cartoon japanese character avatar generator

Next is hair, and what makes this generator quite cool is that you can layer different lengths of hair styles on top of each other – you could have a top knot over long curls with a ponytail and sideburns if you really wanted to.

picrew cute cartoon japanese character avatar generator

You can also layer your clothes up to three times, so you can really get your own style across here, then choose accessories to compliment your look. Then, the cutest part is the hand gestures you can choose from; if you’re constantly pouting and doing a peace sign then so can cartoon you.

picrew cute cartoon japanese character avatar generator

Finish it with a (yet again, layered) background that suits your vibe, and you’re good to go.

You’ve made your own cartoon version of yourself and you’re feeling cute, what now?

So you’ve finally got your own cute character that you’ve put way more effort into than your dissertation today. What do you do with it? You can make it your profile pic, send it to all your mates so you can have a cute cartoon version of your squad, and post your version to a Twitter thread of people showing off their cute avatars.

Be sure to tag the artist, ELI, wherever you post it, and happy cartoon generating!

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