Want to create your own LINE stickers but can't draw illustrations, or looking to sell them as a side business but worried about quality? Hiring a professional creator is a compelling option. This article comprehensively covers everything from LINE sticker creation cost estimates and the specific ordering process, to the differences between using templates for DIY creation, and often-overlooked copyright considerations.
To create and sell LINE stickers, you need to register on LINE Creators Market. Anyone with a LINE account can register regardless of whether they are an individual or a business, and once approved, stickers can be sold on the Sticker Shop. Selling prices can be set between 120 yen and 610 yen, with creators receiving 35% of sales revenue.
There are broadly two approaches to creation: making them yourself or hiring a professional. DIY keeps costs down but may leave concerns about design quality and review compliance. On the other hand, hiring a professional delivers high-quality stickers and may include support for review preparation and submission.
You can register sets of 8, 16, 24, 32, or 40 stickers, with a maximum image size of 370px wide by 320px tall. Transparent backgrounds are required, and approximately 10px of margin must be maintained around the edges. Failing to follow these specifications precisely will result in rejection during review, so checking the production guidelines is essential.
LINE sticker creation costs vary significantly depending on the provider and scope of work. Here we organize the typical pricing by provider type.
Agencies specializing in LINE sticker production typically charge around 30,000 to 150,000 yen per set (8 to 40 stickers). If character design needs to be created from scratch, an additional 30,000 to 50,000 yen may be added for character design fees. Many agencies offer free support for review submission and rejection handling, providing peace of mind for first-timers.
Budget services offer photo-based sticker sets of 8 starting from around 2,980 yen. However, these budget options may have limitations on design flexibility and originality, so choosing based on your goals is important.
When commissioning an individual illustrator directly, the typical rate is 2,000 to 5,000 yen per sticker. Well-known creators with strong portfolios may charge 5,000 to 10,000 yen or more per piece. A 40-sticker set would cost roughly 80,000 to 200,000 yen for illustration alone, with an additional 50,000 yen or so if character design and concept development are included.
Working directly with a freelancer makes it easier to communicate and fine-tune nuances. However, support for review submission may need to be arranged separately.
Platforms like Lancers, CrowdWorks, and Coconala allow you to commission LINE sticker creation at relatively affordable prices. Sets of 8 start from around 5,000 yen, and sets of 40 from around 20,000 to 50,000 yen. However, skill levels vary among creators, so it's important to carefully review past work and ratings before placing an order.
When hiring a professional for LINE sticker production, the process generally follows these steps. Understanding each stage in advance will help ensure smooth delivery and launch.
Start by contacting the production company or creator, sharing your sticker concept, desired quantity, character direction, and text content. If using an existing character, provide the source files; if requesting a new character, share reference images or rough sketches. This is also when you confirm the estimate and timeline.
Based on the consultation, the creator produces character designs and rough sticker drafts. You review poses, expressions, and text placement to finalize the direction. Providing thorough feedback at this stage helps prevent gaps between expectations and the final product.
After rough approval, full production of all sticker images begins. Once coloring and finishing are complete, samples are shared for review and revision requests. Most agencies include 1-2 free revisions, with additional revisions incurring extra charges. The typical production timeline is about 2-3 weeks.
The completed sticker images (sticker images, main image, and tab image) are registered on LINE Creators Market and submitted for review. Review can be completed in as little as a few hours, though it typically takes about 2 days to 2 weeks. If rejected, corrections must be made and resubmitted. Many production services handle the entire review submission and rejection response process.
Once approved, your stickers go on sale in the Sticker Shop. From initial order to sales launch, the process typically takes about one month. If you only want to use the stickers among friends and family, you can use the Private Setting to keep them hidden from search results and rankings.
While you can create LINE stickers yourself, hiring a professional offers significant advantages. Here are five key benefits.
First, design quality improves dramatically. Professional illustrators have a rich repertoire of character expressions and poses, and they understand which compositions and color schemes look best in LINE chat screens. Attractive stickers directly impact purchase rates and downloads, making the investment worthwhile if you're focused on sales.
Second, the review approval rate is higher. Experienced creators and agencies are well-versed in LINE's review guidelines and design with compliance in mind from the start. Considering the time saved from avoiding rejection and resubmission, this can be a significant time saver.
Third, it significantly reduces time and effort. Creating 40 stickers from scratch takes considerable time. When juggling a main job or other side businesses, outsourcing production lets you focus on marketing and sales strategy instead.
Fourth, professionals can handle advanced formats like animated stickers and popup stickers. These formats have high technical barriers that make DIY difficult, but professionals can handle them smoothly.
Fifth, it opens up secondary use of the characters. When you commission professional work, you may be able to use the completed characters for blogs, social media, merchandise, and other purposes. By establishing rights agreements upfront, you can expand your business beyond stickers alone.
If you want to keep costs down while creating stickers yourself, templates are a valuable option. Design tools like Canva, Adobe Illustrator, and CLIP STUDIO PAINT offer LINE sticker templates that help even beginners create properly sized images efficiently.
Canva in particular offers a wealth of free LINE sticker templates that can be edited with drag-and-drop using illustration assets and fonts. Its AI image generation feature can also help with original character concept development. However, using templates or illustration assets as standalone stickers is not permitted under LINE's terms of service, so you must always add your own creative touches to make the design original.
For Photoshop or Illustrator users, template files based on 370px × 320px artboards help streamline margin management and size adjustments. Many free templates are available online, so look for ones that match your production environment.
Templates are a convenient tool, but they are merely a foundation for your design. If you aim to create stickers that sell, character originality and practical text content are what matter most. Understand the characteristics of both DIY with templates and professional commissioning, then choose the method that best suits your goals.
Preventing copyright issues is critically important in LINE sticker creation. Beyond mere review rejection, legal problems can arise, so make sure to confirm the following points.
LINE's review guidelines explicitly prohibit stickers that infringe on third-party trademarks, copyrights, or design rights. Fan art of anime or manga characters, images copied from the internet, and unauthorized use of celebrity likenesses will all be rejected. The safest approach is to use illustrations you've drawn yourself or original photographs.
Even assets labeled as copyright-free may have conditions regarding commercial use or credit attribution. Since selling LINE stickers qualifies as commercial use, review the terms of service before using any assets. Additionally, LINE's terms prohibit using templates or assets as standalone stickers, so you must always add original elements.
When creating stickers from photos, obtaining permission from the people photographed is essential. Even family or friends' photos can constitute a portrait rights violation if published without consent. Signs, logos, and branded products captured in photos are also subject to copyright and trademark protections, so remove any unnecessary elements through editing.
When you hire a professional, copyright ownership of the finished illustrations depends on the contract terms. Always confirm before production begins whether the agreement includes copyright transfer or only a license, and whether secondary use such as merchandise or social media is permitted. Note that registering stickers on LINE Creators Market does not transfer copyright to LINE — you grant LINE a usage license while retaining copyright.
Even when using trending phrases or catchphrases as sticker text, verify whether the words are trademarked. Unauthorized use of trademarked terms constitutes trademark infringement, which can lead not only to review rejection but also legal liability. Use the Japan Patent Office's trademark search service to check any phrases you plan to use.
LINE sticker creation costs range from a few thousand yen with budget services to around 100,000 yen for full agency commissions. Using templates for DIY keeps costs minimal, but if you want to maximize sales, leveraging professional expertise is the faster path. When ordering, check not only design quality but also review support availability, revision limits, and copyright ownership.
If you're pursuing LINE sticker sales as a side business, consider investing in professional creation for your first set to build a track record with high-quality stickers. Use the cost estimates, ordering process, and copyright tips covered in this article to find the sticker creation approach that works best for you.
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