Make iMessage stickers of yourself on iPhone
Since iOS 17, iPhone has its own sticker drawer and you can add any image to it. Make cartoon stickers of yourself in StickerStudio, save them to Photos, and they become stickers you can send in Messages.
The photo
One sticker made from it
Step by step
- 1
Make the stickers in Safari
Open StickerStudio in Safari on your iPhone, upload a photo of yourself and choose your expressions.
- 2
Save them to Photos
In My Stickers, download each sticker. Safari saves downloads to the Files app, so open the file there and use Share, then Save Image, to put it in Photos.
- 3
Add it as a sticker
In Messages, tap the + button, choose Stickers, then tap the + tile to add a new sticker and pick the image. Or open the image in Photos, touch and hold yourself in the picture, and choose Add Sticker.
- 4
Send it
Your sticker now sits in the sticker drawer. Tap it to send, or drag it onto a message bubble to stick it there.
Why the transparent PNG matters
iPhone lifts the subject out of whatever image you give it. StickerStudio stickers already have a transparent background and a white border, so there is nothing for iOS to cut away and the outline stays clean.
iOS can also add effects when you create the sticker, such as Outline, Comic, Puffy or Shiny.
Tips for a better result
- If the lift selects only part of the sticker, add it from the Messages sticker drawer instead of from Photos.
- Make a Photos album for your stickers so they are easy to find when you add more later.
- Stickers you add are available in apps that support the iOS sticker keyboard, not only Messages.
What StickerStudio won't do
- This needs iOS 17 or later for the built-in sticker drawer.
- StickerStudio does not install an iMessage sticker app. You add the images yourself, which takes a few taps each.
- Stickers are still images. iOS can animate Live Photos, but StickerStudio does not produce those.
Other ways to do it
Memoji, built into iPhone, gives you a free cartoon avatar with many expressions, but it is assembled from presets rather than drawn from your photo. You can also turn any photo into a sticker for free with Add Sticker in the Photos app. StickerStudio adds what those do not: an illustrated likeness drawn from your photo, in poses and captions you did not have to act out.
How StickerStudio makes the sticker
- 1
Upload one photo
A clear photo of one person, face visible. JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 10 MB. It is kept in your private library so you can make more stickers from it later.
- 2
Pick expressions
Choose from 60+ captioned expressions such as LOL, WTF, Monday, Heart Eyes and Send Help, up to 10 at a time.
- 3
The AI draws each sticker
An image model redraws the person as a cartoon in that pose, adds the caption and a white die-cut border, and removes the background. It runs in the background, so you can leave the page.
- 4
Download the PNG
Finished stickers appear in My Stickers as transparent PNGs with no watermark. Download them as often as you like.
Questions
Do I need an app?
No. StickerStudio runs in Safari, and the sticker drawer is built into iOS 17 and later.
Will my stickers show up on my iPad?
Stickers you add on iPhone can sync to other devices signed in to the same Apple Account, as long as they run a version of iOS or iPadOS with stickers.
Can Android friends see them?
They will receive the sticker as an image, so it still shows up, though not as an attached sticker.
Try it with your photo
Sign up, upload a photo and pick an expression. Your first sticker is free.
Last reviewed 2026-11-03. Questions or corrections: contact@stickerstudio.art.