The WhatsApp avatar feature allows users to create a personalized cartoon avatar that resembles them. Once created, the avatar becomes the user’s profile picture in WhatsApp chats. With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp avatars have become extremely popular as a way to express uniqueness and have fun with virtual identities. But creating an avatar that closely resembles you can be tricky. In this article, we’ll provide tips and tricks to help you make your WhatsApp avatar look like you.
Understanding WhatsApp Avatar Creation
WhatsApp rolled out avatars in early 2022. To create your avatar, open WhatsApp and go to Settings > Avatar. You’ll be presented with a blank avatar and options to customize it. WhatsApp provides several preset faces, hair styles, outfits, and accessories. You can combine and customize these to create a unique look. The goal is to mix and match elements to end up with an avatar that represents your real appearance and style.
Choosing the Right Base Face
The starting point is choosing a base face shape that matches yours. WhatsApp provides over 200 combinations of eye shapes, eyebrow shapes, nose shapes, face shapes, and skin tones. Spend time going through all of the options to find the elements that most closely match your natural features. Don’t just choose the first face that seems okay – the base face will impact the entire look, so it’s worth the effort to find one that really matches.
Consider Your Face Shape
Focus on picking a face shape that aligns with your real face shape:
| Face Shape | Description |
| Oval | Forehead is wider than the jawline, with a rounded chin |
| Long | Oval but longer, with a longer chin and forehead |
| Round | Circular shape with full cheeks and no angles in the jawline or chin |
| Square | Sharp, angular jawline with a broad forehead and wide cheekbones |
| Heart | Wide forehead tapering to a pointed chin |
| Diamond | Wide cheekbones tapering to a narrow chin |
Choosing the face that aligns with your natural shape will help the rest of the features fit together properly.
Match Your Facial Features
Beyond the overall face shape, pay attention to matching key features:
| Facial Feature | What to Look For |
| Eyes | Eye size, shape and spacing |
| Eyebrows | Brow thickness, arch and angle |
| Nose | Nose length, width and shape |
| Lips | Fullness and shape of lips |
| Ears | Ear size and shape (if ears show) |
| Facial Hair | Beard or mustache style (if applicable) |
Taking the time to find elements that match all your distinct features will help the avatar resemble the real you.
Choosing Accurate Hair
Hair is central to appearance, so picking the right virtual hair is key. WhatsApp provides short, medium and long hairstyle options in natural colors and vibrant dyed colors. Consider elements like:
- Your hair length and shape
- Your natural hair color and texture
- Any dyed colors or highlights
- How you typically style your hair
You’ll need to find a WhatsApp hair option that aligns with these factors. Blonde, brunette, black, curly, straight, undercut, bun, ponytail – go through all the styles to find your perfect match. You can also consider adding hair accessories like bands and clips. Get this as close as possible to your real look.
Tips for Tricky Hair Situations
- Short hair: Choose the style that best matches your cut and styling
- Long hair: Opt for a long ponytail or braid rather than loose hair
- Dyed colors: Pick the color closest to your real shade
- Curls: Choose tight spirals if you have very curly hair
- Bald/shaved: Go for a bald or closely buzzed style
Putting in the effort here pays off in creating an authentic look from top to bottom.
Choosing the Right Outfit
WhatsApp provides over 40 outfit choices ranging from casual t-shirts and hoodies to traditional robes and dresses. Consider your own fashion sense and aim for an outfit that you would genuinely wear in real life. Elements to keep in mind include:
- Your preferred clothing colors and patterns
- Favorite clothing styles and fits
- Any signature pieces you wear often
- Cultural clothes that represent your background
While the avatar outfit options are limited, focus on pieces in colors and styles you like to wear. Mix and match tops, bottoms and accessories to create a representative look. Use hats, glasses, jewelry and more to showcase your personal flair.
Tips for Capturing Your Style
- Prefer neutrals? Choose pieces in blacks, whites and grays
- Like brighter colors? Opt for a vibrant top or bottom
- Have cultural attire? Pick a robe, sari or other cultural representation
- Have a signature accessory? Add glasses, a hat or headphones
- Want polished style? Choose business casual pieces
Your goal is an outfit that makes people think “that’s so her/him” when they see your avatar.
Accessories and Details
Finally, accessorize and polish your avatar with small details to complete the look. WhatsApp provides eyewear, piercings, jewelry and other stylish touches. You can also express yourself through backdrop colors and the emoji status icon. Consider:
- Jewelry you wear regularly like earrings or necklaces
- Tattoos or other body markings
- Facial piercings or distinct freckles/moles
- Makeup colors and lipstick tones
- Backdrop color that suits your personality
- Emoji status matching your mood
Have fun with this finishing process of picking how you want to represent your personality. Change it regularly or opt for a consistent look – the choice is yours!
Reviewing and Adjusting
Once you’ve gone through the full process, thoroughly review your WhatsApp avatar. Analyze every component and assess how closely it matches your real appearance and style. Ask yourself:
- Does the face shape and features resemble me?
- Does the hair accurately represent my style?
- Would I wear this outfit in real life?
- Do the accessories reflect my personality?
- Does the overall look say “that’s me” at a glance?
Be your own toughest critic! If any element feels off, go back and adjust it until you get it right. Creating replicas of ourselves as avatars is tricky. Don’t settle until your creation makes you say “yup, that’s me!” when you look at it.
Troubleshooting Tips
Here are some troubleshooting tips if you’re struggling to make a recognizable avatar:
- Use a recent high-quality selfie as a reference for facial features and styling.
- Ask a friend which WhatsApp elements best match your real look.
- Regularly change a few elements at a time to home in on the right combination.
- Use selfie stickers as overlays to evaluate avatar accuracy.
- Focus on the key features that make you recognizable in real life.
With patience and attention to detail, you can achieve an Instagram-perfect avatar twin. But don’t stress about perfection – the avatar feature is for fun and self-expression!
Example WhatsApp Avatars
Here are a few example WhatsApp avatars representing different styles:
| Casual Alice | Formal Bob | Edgy Eve |
- Casual Alice has a ponytail, t-shirt, jeans and sneakers to match her laidback style.
- Formal Bob has short neatly combed hair, collared shirt and dress pants for his professional look.
- Edgy Eve rocks a shaved pixie cut, leather jacket, sunglasses and facial piercings for her rebellious look.
Fun With Avatars
Beyond creating a realistic likeness, the WhatsApp avatar feature lets you bring out your fun and creative side. Some ways to take your avatar to the next level:
- Decorate with fun accessories like oversized sunglasses, cowboy hats and bow ties.
- Use jewelry, tattoos and piercings you wish you had in real life!
- Express an alternate identity with a totally different hairstyle and outfit.
- Swap genders or ages – be a mini-me or older version of yourself.
- Recreate fictional characters or celebrities you admire.
The possibilities are endless when you think outside the box. Let your imagination run wild!
Conclusion
Creating a WhatsApp avatar to match your real appearance takes time and attention to subtle details. Focus on accurately choosing the right face shape, hairstyle, outfit pieces and accessories. Review your avatar from all angles to ensure it mirrors the real you or your desired style. Have fun customizing additional touches that showcase your personality. With these tips, you’ll have a WhatsApp avatar doppelganger in no time. So grab a selfie for reference and get creating!