How to Make Smilies

Smilies, or "emoticons," are a fun way to express basic feelings online. They usually work best as part of a lighthearted chat, but emoticons can also help convey conversational subtleties that tend to get lost when talking over the Internet. Here's a guide to making emoticons and understanding their implications.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Decide what emotion you want to convey. It sounds simplistic, but using an emoticon reinforces the tone of your conversation, so make sure you choose the right one. Smilies are especially good for adding a friendly touch to words that might seem a little cold. They're also useful to signify playfulness when joking or flirting, since the recipient can't pick up on the tone of your voice or the expression on your face. Pick a combination of eyes, nose, and mouth that you like best and it will become your signature emoticon.

2. 
   Eye types

   Start by making the emoticon's eyes. The colon (:) is the traditional symbol of eyes used in a smiley, but the equal sign (=) is also commonly used. A semicolon (;) denotes a wink.

3. 
   Noses

   Choose a nose. This step is optional--the nose is often excluded, since it is not essential to convey an emotion. The hyphen (-) is the original emoticon nose. A capital or lower case letter O will give your smiley a round nose, while the carrot key (^) will make it pointy.

4. 
   Mouths

   Select a mouth that corresponds with the emotion. An emoticon's mouth is its most expressive part. Parentheses are the most common way to express basic happiness or sadness. Square brackets are a similar alternative. A capital letter D expresses joyfulness or excitement, while a slash (/) conveys uncertainty. Capital O means shock, and Capital P denotes silliness or irony. A star (*) signifies a kiss.

5. 
   Extras

   Add extras if you would like to make an even more expressive emoticon. Adding a zero above the eyes of a smiley will create an angel, while an ampersand (&) as a mouth makes your emoticon look confused. Experiment with different letters, numbers and symbols to express different emotions. There is no right way to make an emoticon, so be creative!