I am not Bitmoji

Ahh bitmoji! Almost everyone in the social media stratosphere knows what a bitmoji is, but I am not a bitmoji. 

For those who may not know, Bitmoji’s are cartoon avatars designed so that you can turn yourself into an emoji. Released in 2014, Bitmoji uses artificial intelligence to style your character into all sorts of emoji’s, most frequently seen these days on Snapchat.

Through the years I have been compared to Bitmoji multiple times, particularly in relation to my prices and I just shrugged it off. Previous mentors told me “oh its a fad, it’ll disappear” and “don’t risk upsetting your audience by talking about your feelings around it” but artificial intelligence has been back in the media again recently in a more controversial way, so its clearly not going away anytime soon. 

I built my business creating “cartoon avatars” but I am not Bitmoji. I am a real person, with real bills and expenses.

Each and every character I have a created in my business over the last 7 and half years has been a labour of love. I have spent thousands of hours discussing details, colours and accessories with my customers before I even begin drawing. 

I don’t rely on an algorithm to flip the position of a character, or change hair colours. Every single detail change is a practiced sketch line by my own hand.

Did you know there are restrictions on how you can use your Bitmoji? After seeing small businesses adapting their Bitmoji’s to use within their business, I did a little reading into their terms and conditions.

Bitmoji’s cannot be used for any business purposes. Bitmoji characters are intended for personal use only. This means if you use your bitmoji for anything within your business, you are potentially opening up yourself for legal action.

This includes using it on your social media, business cards or any merchandise you wear or sell.

I am not Bitmoji, if I create a mini me character for you or your business, I want you to show that bad boy off!! I do not restrict how you can use your character. Want to show it off on a hoody? Amazing! Sell T-shirts with it on? Fantastic! I honestly love seeing what people do with their mini mes.

All I ask is you remember that I am not Bitmoji when I send you my price list. I don’t just click a couple of buttons to create your character. I am a real person who spends hours creating something special just for you.