Why a GIF is only the starting artwork
A messaging sticker has a format, canvas, timing and import workflow. A GIF that looks fine in chat is not automatically a valid sticker asset. Cropping and resizing can prepare the composition, but a file extension change does not convert its contents. Start with the destination’s actual sticker type rather than choosing a compressor preset named after another platform.
Official requirements checked November 9, 2026: the table below summarizes specific sticker workflows, not normal GIF attachments. Follow current platform validation if it changes. Use your actual file for any property not documented, and inspect the final encoded sticker rather than assuming the intermediate GIF proves compliance.
| Sticker workflow | Required format and canvas | Other documented requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram video stickers | WebM with VP9; one side exactly 512 px, other side no more than 512 px | No audio; at most 30 fps, 3 seconds and 256 KB |
| WhatsApp animated stickers | Animated WebP, exactly 512×512 px, transparent background | At most 500 KB and 10 seconds; each frame at least 8 ms |
| Discord custom animated stickers | APNG, exactly 320×320 px | At most 512 KB and up to 60 fps |
Telegram’s animated-vector sticker type is a different workflow from its video stickers. Discord custom emoji are also different from stickers. Do not transfer a requirement from one row or upload surface to another.
Step by step: prepare the composition, then encode
- Choose the final platform before editing. Write down the format, canvas, bytes and duration from its official source. Check that you have permission and access to the relevant sticker import surface.
- Preserve the original AI GIF. Watch the full loop and choose a reaction that remains understandable at small display size. Keep required attribution and AI-origin disclosures; cropping is not permission to bypass them.
- Crop the artwork with Crop GIF. For a square sticker, keep the whole gesture inside a square selection. The same rectangle applies to every frame, so check the subject’s movement before exporting.
- Set dimensions in GIF Resizer. A square source can be resized to the exact WhatsApp or Discord canvas. Telegram video stickers can be rectangular within its rule. Resizing does not add a transparent canvas or remove an opaque background; prepare those elsewhere when needed.
- Encode with another tool. GifWrench outputs GIF and does not create WebM/VP9, animated WebP or APNG stickers today. Its WebP converter is coming soon. Select the required final format in an external editor and adjust duration or sampling there.
- Validate the finished asset. Check its actual dimensions, bytes, duration, transparency and animation. The byte size of a source GIF cannot establish the size of the later WebP, APNG or WebM output. Preview in the platform’s designated sticker workflow before publishing.
How to keep small stickers readable
A clear silhouette usually survives reduction better than tiny text or a detailed background. Check the opening frame as carefully as the animation. WhatsApp’s official sample guidance notes that the animation ends on the first frame after looping, so make that frame communicate the intended reaction.
If the final file exceeds its budget, return to the source and remove visual clutter or choose a shorter meaningful segment in another editor. Compress GIF can make an intermediate GIF easier to handle, but it does not enforce the later format’s rules. Avoid piling loss onto an already degraded intermediate when you still have the clean original.
Common pitfalls
Renaming GIF to WebP or APNG. A new suffix is not new encoding. Use a converter that supports animation, then inspect the entire result rather than a still preview.
Checking a Discord sticker in the chat attachment picker. Discord’s creator FAQ says to preview APNG through the sticker-upload interface. An ordinary attachment preview is not the same acceptance test.
Assuming a square crop creates transparency. Cropping changes the boundary. It does not erase an opaque background or generate missing alpha transparency. Use an appropriate external artwork editor for that step.
Related tools and next steps
Use Crop GIF and GIF Resizer to prepare artwork locally without uploading it. Read Discord GIF size limits for attachments versus emoji, and AI GIF to WebP for compatibility and the current converter boundary. Keep the original and treat final platform import as a separate validation step.