Systems and methods for distributing customized avatars responsive to events

Abstract

Systems and methods for customizing avatars responsive to an event are provided. One or more topical categories are selected from a plurality of categories by a user of an application. Within the application, the user is associated with an avatar representing the user. A selection of an electronic communication, received within the application, is made by the user. The communication, describing the event, is classified into a category in the one or more categories. A sticker comprising an altered version of the avatar is formed responsive to the communication selection. The altered avatar comprises one or more visible layers present in the avatar, prior to alteration, and one or more visible layers not present in the avatar, prior to alteration. The sticker is fused with the communication. The sticker is provided to one or more other users using the application.

1 . A method of customizing a first avatar responsive to an event, the method comprising:
 in accordance with an application on a first electronic device associated with a first user, wherein the application includes a first avatar representing the first user, the first electronic device comprising one or more processors, memory, and a display:   receiving a selection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories;   associating the one or more topical categories with the first avatar;   receiving a selection of a first electronic communication within the application, wherein the selection is made by the first user and wherein the first electronic communication is received by the first user in the application, the first electronic communication being classified into a topical category in the one or more topical categories and describing the event;   forming a sticker comprising the first avatar reacting to the first electronic communication, wherein the first avatar is rendered dynamic in the sticker; and   providing the sticker to one or more other users using the application.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising customizing the first avatar prior to selection of the first electronic communication, wherein the customizing comprises:
 concurrently displaying the first avatar and a first composer graphic on the display, wherein each different portion of the first composer graphic provides a different value for a first trait associated with the first composer graphic, and wherein the first avatar includes a face comprising a pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, and wherein the customizing further comprises executing a first procedure comprising:
 (i) displaying on the first avatar the first trait, set at a value associated with a respective portion of the first composer graphic selected by the first user without user intervention responsive to the user selection of the respective portion of the first composer graphic, 
 (ii) repeating the displaying (i) for each portion of the first composer graphic contacted by the first user until a first break in user contact with the first composer graphic is detected, wherein the repeating occurs at least one time, and 
 (iii) associating the value of the first trait with the first avatar that is associated with the portion of the first composer graphic that was last contacted by the first user when the first break was detected, wherein the associating displays on the first avatar the first trait set at the value of the first trait associated with the portion of the first composer graphic that was last contacted by the first user when the first break was detected. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first trait is one of hair style, ear size, skin color, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupil size, eye size, rotation of the eyes, height of the eyes on the face, distance between the eyes, ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color, amount of face wrinkles, an amount of cheek indents/dimples, an amount of face pimples, stomach thickness, overall body height, arm length, leg length, foot size, facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrow color, eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, an eyelash length, a nose style, a nose size, a height of the nose on the face, a mouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, a teeth style, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lip color, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence or presence of an eyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt style, a vest style, a jacket style, a dress style, a skirt style, a pant style, an eye glass style, a hat style, an earphone style, a necklace style, a pair of earrings style, a watch style, a bracelet style, a scarf style, or a mask style. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising customizing the first avatar prior to selection of the first electronic communication, wherein the customizing comprises:
 receiving a specification of the gender of the first avatar from the first user; and   including a gender layer on the first avatar, from the set of male gender and female gender, responsive to the specification of gender from the first user.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the first electronic communication is selected from among a plurality of electronic communications by the first user, and   each electronic communication in the plurality of electronic communications is associated with a category in the one or more topical categories.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each respective communication in the plurality of electronic communications includes a different corresponding instance of the first avatar customized for the respective communication by addition of one or more layers not present in the first avatar. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the forming the sticker comprises concurrently displaying the first avatar and an emotion slide bar on the display,   first user selection of each different portion of the emotion slide bar displays a different emotion on the first avatar from a discrete set of emotions, and   responsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, the different emotion displayed on the first avatar is changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of the emotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a body, and each respective emotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies at least a first characteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatar and a second characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of the first avatar. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 providing, at a time after the selection of the first electronic communication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the first affordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, wherein each second avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of the first user within the application or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure; and   responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, compiling the one or more second avatars into the sticker.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 providing, at a time after the selection of the first electronic communication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the first affordance by the first user displays a first tool for annotating the sticker with a first user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 providing, at a time after the selection of the first electronic communication, a first affordance and a second affordance, wherein   selection of the first affordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, wherein each second avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of the first user within the application or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure, and responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, compiling the one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars into the sticker; and   selection of the second affordance by the first user displays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a first user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 providing, at a time after the selection of the first electronic communication, a first affordance, wherein   selection of the first affordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, wherein each second avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of the first user within the application or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure and responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, compiling the one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars into the sticker; and   the forming further comprises concurrently displaying the first avatar, the one or more selected second avatars, and an emotion slide bar on the display, wherein   first user selection of each different portion of the emotion slide bar provides a different emotion on the first avatar and each second avatar in the one or more second avatars in the sticker from a discrete set of emotions, and   responsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, the emotion displayed on the first avatar and the one or more selected second avatars in the sticker is changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of the emotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first electronic communication is a news article received from a remote publication source. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows, and   the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair of eyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows of the first avatar through a repeating pattern of expressions of the first avatar over time.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by any combination of:
 varying an amount of facial bone deformation in the first avatar over time,   varying a pupil size in the first avatar over time,   varying eyelid position in the first avatar over time,   varying an eye size in the first avatar over time,   varying pupil position in the first avatar over time,   varying mouth position in the first avatar over time,   varying nose position in the first avatar over time,   varying ear position in the first avatar over time,   varying a mouth size in the first avatar over time,   varying a face perspective in the first avatar over time,   varying a position of the first avatar in the sticker over time,   varying a scale of the first avatar in the sticker over time, or moving a body part of the first avatar in the sticker over time.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein
 the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by at least moving one or more body parts of the first avatar in the sticker over time, and   the one or more body parts is selected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, the legs, the hands, the neck, or the head of the first avatar.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 providing, at a time after the selection of the first electronic communication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the first affordance by the first user displays a first tool for modifying the sticker, wherein the modifying the sticker comprises:   adding a quote bubble, provided by the first user, to the sticker using the first affordance,   associating a sound construct, selected by the first user, to the sticker using the first affordance,   adding the avatar of one or more friends of the first user, and designated by the first user through the first affordance, to the sticker,   changing the expression on each avatar in the sticker using the first affordance,   adding, removing or animating a prop or background scene to the sticker using the affordance,   changing an article of clothing worn by an avatar in the sticker using the affordance, repositioning or rescaling a layer that includes props/backgrounds/clothing using the affordance,   changing the bone position of an avatar in the sticker using the first affordance,   changing a headline of the sticker using the first affordance, or   adding or changing an animation of an avatar in the sticker using the first affordance.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
 adding a quote bubble, provided by an entity other than the application or the first user, to the sticker,   associating a sound construct, provided by an entity other than the application or the first user, to the sticker, or   adding or removing a prop or background scene, provided by an entity other than the application or the first user.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users without the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users with the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         21 . A computer system for customizing a first avatar responsive to an event in an application having a first avatar representing a first user, the computer system comprising at least one processor, a display, and memory storing at least one program for execution by the at least one processor, the at least one program comprising instructions for:
 receiving a selection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories;   associating the one or more topical categories with the first avatar;   receiving a selection of a first electronic communication within the application, wherein the selection is made by the first user, and wherein the first electronic communication is received by the first user in the application, is associated with a topical category in the one or more topical categories, and describes the event;   forming a sticker comprising the first avatar reacting to the first electronic communication, wherein the first avatar is rendered dynamic in the sticker; and   providing the sticker to one or more other users.   
     
     
         22 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users without the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         23 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users with the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         24 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing an application having a first avatar representing a first user, the application comprising instructions for:
 receiving a selection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories;   associating the one or more topical categories with the first avatar;   receiving a selection of a first electronic communication within the application made by the first user, wherein the first electronic communication is received by the first user in the application, the first electronic communication is classified into a topical category in the one or more topical categories, and describes the event;   forming a sticker comprising the first avatar reacting to the first electronic communication, wherein the first avatar is rendered dynamic in the sticker; and   providing the sticker to one or more other users, wherein each respective other user in the one or more other users is associated with a corresponding instance of the application on a corresponding electronic device associated with the respective user.   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users without the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users with the first electronic communication. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first avatar comprises a plurality of layers and wherein the first avatar in the sticker is altered to include one or more additional visible layers. 
     
     
         28 . The computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the first avatar comprises a plurality of layers and wherein the first avatar in the sticker is altered to include one or more additional visible layers. 
     
     
         29 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the first avatar comprises a plurality of layers and wherein the first avatar in the sticker is altered to include one or more additional visible layers. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sticker includes a background scene, wherein the background scene is responsive to the event.