How Japanese and Korean girls edit their photos: add dot-face emoticons for full-on Y2K vibes without losing the cuteness

If you’ve been keeping an eye on Japanese and Korean girls’ Instagram posts and Stories, you’ve probably noticed that they’re decorating their photos with minimalist dot patterns or special emoticons. Compared with traditional emojis made up of more elaborate lines, these “dot-face emoticons,” formed from simple dots and lines, have a retro pixelated feel. They bring plenty of Y2K nostalgia while retaining the light, cute feel of Japanese-style decoration, making them perfect for breaking up an otherwise plain image. POPBEE has put together a simple Y2K emoticon tutorial. Here’s how to edit photos in this style!

• Related reading: No need to pay or download an app: This IG trend is huge right now! A step-by-step guide to using the AI “character creation” filter

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ˗ˏˋ𝕜𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕒ˎˊ˗ (@kinkinkin00)

How do you add these emoticon graphics?

1. First, download the Canva mobile app (or use the desktop version), then sign up for a free account and log in.
2. Tap the + button at the bottom to upload a photo. Once you’ve chosen one, tap “Apply to new design.”
3. Next, visit the Emoji Combo website, copy a cute emoticon graphic, and paste it into Canva.
4. Adjust the graphic’s position.
5. For other effects, tap “Effects” along the bottom and apply different text styles!
6. Once you’ve arranged everything, download it and you’re done!

Adding emoticon graphics gives photos a retro Y2K feel! These emoticon graphics are actually ASCII art, part of the internet culture popular in the 1990s that used computer characters to create different images and later developed into an art style of its own. If you want to follow the Y2K trend, you can do it with Canva’s free version too. Give it a try!

 

在 Instagram 查看這則貼文

 

s♡ngmee（@eembrun）分享的貼文

Y2K dot-face emoticons: Copy-and-paste examples

We’ve also compiled the most popular “dot-face emoticons” and “classic Y2K symbols” for you. Just press and hold to copy them, then paste them into your photo-editing app!

1. Classic popular dot styles

• ˙ᵕ˙

• ˙𐃷˙

• ˙Ⱉ˙

• ˙८˙

2. Smiles and everyday moods

• ˙▿˙

• ˙ϖ˙

• ˙₃˙

• ˙ε˙

• ˙ᗜ˙

3. Decorative accents and interactive combinations (super cute in the corners of photos)

• 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

• ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

• ˙ᵕ˙ ✦ ‧₊˚

• 𓂂𓄼 ˙ᵕ˙ 𓄹𓂂

On an iPhone, you can also add these frequently used dot-face emoticons under “Settings” > “General” > “Keyboard” > “Text Replacement.” For example, set the phrase as ˙ᵕ˙ and the shortcut as dd. Whenever you type dd in the future, the cute dot-face emoticon will appear automatically, saving you the step of copying it!

Join POPBEE Circle and subscribe to the POPBEE newsletter for the latest updates, plus early access to exclusive perks and discounts! Beyond this article, these recent stories are also worth checking out: