In this tutorial, you'll learn how to make emotes for Twitch in Adobe Illustrator, perfect for sharing your LGBTQIA+ pride in your channel! We'll explore some common pride flags and how to manipulate them into cute and simple emotes that stand out during your Twitch stream!

Before we start creating some pride flags, let's have a word about pride flags in general. The LGBTQIA+ community has a plethora of flags and designs to show and share their pride in components of their identity. Many are familiar with the rainbow flag, which was designed in 1978. Since the late 70s, many more designs have been created, redesigned, and redefined over the years to express various points of sexual and gender identity.

There are so many identities to share, and it's impossible to show all of them in the context of one tutorial, so today we're going to focus on a couple of flags (lesbian pride and transgender pride) within this quick tutorial, with some notes on a few other communities' pride flags. Share your LGBTQIA+ pride in the comments below with the tools and tips you've learned from this tutorial featuring some fantastic Twitch emote ideas!

Want to skip the tutorial and generate your own custom pride emotes for Twitch? Check out Placeit for tons of templates to create your own Twitch emote designs!

What You'll Learn in This Tutorial

How to create pride flags in Adobe Illustrator

How to manipulate rectangles into rainbows

How to use the Pathfinder panel in Adobe Illustrator

How to make a quick and simple Clipping Mask in Adobe Illustrator

1. How to Create Pride Flags in Adobe Illustrator

1.

Step 1

Let's begin with the lesbian pride flag for our Twitch pride emotes! Create a New Document in Adobe Illustrator. We'll be resizing our final product as needed, so start with something around 800 px x 800 px or whatever workspace feels comfortable to you. Also make sure your document's Color Mode is set to RGB since we're creating content for a digital space rather than a print space.

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), draw a long, thin rectangle and fill it with a dark orange (#C33D1E).

Step 2

Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) this rectangle six times for a total of seven stripes. Select all seven rectangles, and choose Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Distribute Center in the Align panel. This will give you seven equal stripes.

Step 3

Let's give these stripes some color! Starting with the second stripe, the colors are as follows:

#DF7C3D

#F19E63

#FFFFFF

#C269A2

#A85C8E

#951F60

Step 4

Let's make the transgender pride flag! Once again, draw a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (M). Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) this rectangle four times, Align center and distribute evenly.

Step 5

The transgender flag colors are as follows:

#8FD6EA

#F3B3C9

#FFFFFF

#F3B3C9

#8FD6EA

Group (Control-G) the rectangles of each respective flag, and you've got yourself the start of some custom twitch emotes! Also note that this is the basis of simple striped pride flags. Not all pride flags are striped, but many are, with each stripe corresponding to an aspect of each community's identity. Check out some additional pride flags below.

Above we have the 2017 redesign of the gay pride flag, the 2018 redesign of the lesbian pride flag, the transgender pride flag, the bisexual pride flag, the asexual pride flag, and the non-binary pride flag. Note the differences in stripe count and, in the case of the bisexual flag, the difference in stripe ratios.

If you'd like to use any of these other flags for your Twitch emote, check out their color breakdowns:

Gay Pride

#5B3B1B

#000000

#C22C27

#E2A037

#E4E553

#5BB947

#051F92

#692B82

Bisexual Pride

#C42B70

#925394

#1137A3

Asexual Pride

#000000

#A5A5A5

#FFFFFF

#75197D

Non-Binary Pride

#FDF35E

#FFFFFF

#915FC9

#000000

2. How to Make a Gay Heart Pride Emoji for Twitch

2.

Step 1

Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to make a simple circle. Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) the circle and make the two circles overlap slightly. Unite the two shapes in the Pathfinder panel. Use the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) to delete the three lower center anchor points of your shape.

Step 2

Use the Add Anchor Point Tool (+) to add one anchor point in the bottom center of the heart shape's path. With the Direct Selection Tool (A), pull this anchor point down to make your heart shape. Use the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) to convert this anchor point into a sharp point. Drag the Live Corner to round out the bottom of the heart. You may also want to adjust the handles of the heart's side anchors for a fuller heart shape. This is entirely up to you! You're the Twitch emote maker and entirely in control of the look of your custom Twitch emotes!

Step 3

Place your finished heart shape over your lesbian pride flag. Select both objects (make sure your pride flag is Grouped (Control-G) together) and Make a Clipping Mask (Control-7). You may need to adjust the size of your stripes so they fit within the heart evenly. Play with this a bit, and don't be afraid to redo it if it's not just right the first time.

Step 4

Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) the clipped heart shape. Set the fill color to null and the Stroke to white (#FFFFFF) with a thick outline (mine is about 10 pixels) Aligned to the Outside in the Stroke panel. Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) this shape and set both the fill and stroke color to light blue (#B8E0F7). Place the white outline shape directly behind your pride heart and the light blue shape behind that one, offset a bit to make a simple drop shadow.

Step 5

Let's add some simple sparkles to your custom Twitch emote! Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw two small circles on your gay pride Twitch emote. I chose a light yellow (#FFF9C0), but you might want some other pastel color to add some sparkle and shine.

Select both circles and apply a 60% Pucker by going to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat. Make sure to Expand your shapes under Object, and Rotate them a bit so the sparkles aren't so static.

Step 6

Now that you've made your pride emoji for Twitch, you may want to check out the How to Make Twitch Emotes tutorial for specifics on emote sizes, file types, and instructions on how to upload them to your Twitch channel.

Or you can continue with this tutorial and learn how to make some cute rainbow Twitch emotes!

3. How to Make a Rainbow Pride Emoji for Twitch

3.

Step 1

OK, now it's time to make a very cute rainbow version to go with your expanding set of custom pride emoji for Twitch.

Take the transgender pride flag we made earlier and go to Effect > Warp > Arc to apply a Horizontal Bend of 100%.

Step 2

You may want to adjust the length of your warp object for a chubbier, more compact rainbow emote. When you're satisfied with the shape of your rainbow, go to Object > Expand Appearance to complete your rainbow.

Step 3

Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the outer and inner bottom corners of your rainbow. Pull the Live Corners inward to round out the rainbow's corners to your liking. I opted for a 0.24 inch radius, but yours may be different if you're working with a different size object or if you just want more or less rounded corners.

Step 4

To complete your transgender flag rainbow for your Twitch emoji set, Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) your rainbow object, Unite it in the Pathfinder panel, and place the object behind your rainbow. Set the stroke and fill color to white (#FFFFFF) just like the lesbian pride flag heart we made earlier!

Step 5

Repeat the previous step with a light blue (#B8E0F7) fill and stroke, and just like the heart emote, place it behind the rainbow emote, offsetting it to the bottom right to create a simple drop shadow. Finish your custom pride Twitch emote with sparkles, as we did in Section 2 of this tutorial!

Great Job, You're Done!

Now that you know how to make your own gay pride emotes for Twitch, why not share them with us on Twitter! Don't forget to check out our How to make emotes for Twitch tutorial for full details on Twitch emote sizes, file types, how and where to upload, and more tips on making Twitch emotes.

Create Custom Pride Emotes With Placeit

At the start of this tutorial I mentioned you can skip the whole thing and just use Placeit to make your own custom Twitch pride emotes. Whether you're expressing pride for your gender identity or sexuality, you can easily use Placeit to make a whole set of emotes without leaving your browser!

Check this list below for some fantastic pride emote generators or some Twitch emote ideas!

1. Anime Style Twitch Logo Creator With a Nonbinary Character

The first emote maker on our list features a bunch of fun options for a non-binary character (note the pride colors in the hair). Customize the phrase for your emotes to fit with your channel's vibe!

2. Twitch Emote Logo Creator Featuring a Character Crying

Get emotional with your pride emotes! This queen has a lot to feel, and the best way to share those feelings is with a custom emote so that you can coordinate the colors with your Twitch channel's theme!

3. Twitch Emote Logo Maker With Non-Binary Characters

Custom emotes make it so easy to share your pronouns or remind viewers or fellow chatters of your pronouns in your channel. You can even make a whole set for subscribers to share their pronouns too!

4. Twitch Emote Logo Creator Featuring a Drag Queen With Swag

This fun Twitch emote creator lets you play with gender presentation thanks to a drag queen character's endearing swag and style. Create a whole rainbow of characters to add to your exclusive channel emote collection!

5. Illustrated Twitch Emote Logo Generator Featuring a Character With Heart Eyes

You can also use more generic Twitch emotes and manipulate the colors to match the pride flag of your choice! Get creative when sharing your pride with custom Twitch emotes!

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