How Slang Selfie Works

What Slang Selfie does

Slang Selfie turns a photo of you into a cartoon and adds an Aussie slang word in a speech bubble, so you can send a mate a picture instead of a plain text.

You need a phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date browser (Safari or Chrome) and a photo. It is free, and the cartoon is made on your own device.

Quick start in five steps

1. Open Slang Selfie. It starts with a sample picture so you can see how it works.
2. Tap Choose photo and pick a selfie, or take a new one with your camera.
3. Tap a slang word such as "Fair dinkum", or type your own word in the box.
4. Pick a cartoon style, then drag the speech bubble to where you want it.
5. Tap Share picture or Save picture, then attach the picture to a text message.

Choosing a good photo

Even, front-on light and a plain background give the best cartoon.

• Face a window or lamp, so the light falls on your face and not behind you.
• Stand in front of a plain wall. Busy backgrounds add messy outlines.
• Hold the phone at eye level, about an arm's length away.
• The picture is cropped to a square, so keep your face near the middle.
• Leave Fix dull or uneven lighting ticked. It evens out the brightness before the cartoon is made. Untick it if a photo already looks perfect and the cartoon comes out too bright or too flat.

Picking a slang word

• Scroll the word wheel to pick a word. The one in the gold band in the middle is the one on your picture. You can also tap a word, or use the up and down arrow keys.
• To use your own word, type it in the Or type your own box. It can be up to 24 characters, and it replaces the word on the wheel. Scroll the wheel again to go back to a wheel word.
• An exclamation mark is added for you if your word does not already end in one.
• Tick Show what the word means to add a small line under the word, such as "genuine, true" under "Fair dinkum". This is not shown for words you type yourself.

Choosing a cartoon style

There are three styles. Comic suits most photos, and you can switch between them at any time without losing your word or bubble position.

Style	What it looks like	Best for
Comic	Natural colours with smooth ink outlines	Most photos
Pop	Bold, bright colours in flat blocks	A fun, punchy look in good light
Sketch	A black-and-white drawing	Plain backgrounds and a drawn look

Smoothing out patches

Photos taken in harsh light can turn into blotchy cartoons, with white shiny patches on the forehead, nose and cheeks, or dark patches on the skin. The Smoothness setting fixes this.

• Low: keeps the most detail. Best for soft, even light.
• Medium: the default. Merges small patches and softens shiny spots.
• High: the smoothest look, with big clean shapes and the fewest patches. Try this first if your cartoon looks blotchy.

Switching Smoothness takes a second to redraw the picture. Your word and bubble position stay as they are. In Pop style, a few bright patches can remain on High, so try Medium or Comic if you want a cleaner result.

Moving and sizing the speech bubble

Drag the bubble with your finger to put it anywhere on the picture.

• Dragging: touch the yellow bubble and slide it. The tail swings round to point toward the middle of the picture, where your face usually is.
• Corner buttons: Top left, Top right, Bottom left and Bottom right snap the bubble into a corner. Use them to reset after dragging.
• Size: choose Small, Medium or Large. Small keeps your face clear, and Large suits a short word you want to stand out.
• On a computer: click the bubble and drag with the mouse, or select it and use the arrow keys. Hold Shift for bigger steps.
• Site name tag: tick or untick Add fairdinkumslang.au. The tag sits in the corner opposite the bubble.

Sending the picture to a mate

• Share picture: opens your phone's share sheet. Choose Messages, WhatsApp or another app. This button only appears on devices that support sharing.
• Save picture: downloads the picture as slang-selfie.png to your Downloads or Files app.
• Copy picture: copies the picture so you can paste it into a message. Some browsers do not allow this, and the page will tell you if so.
• Press and hold: on an iPhone you can also press and hold the picture, away from the bubble, and choose Save to Photos.

The finished picture is a square, 800 by 800 pixels, which is plenty for text messages.

Privacy

Your photo never leaves your device. The cartoon is made inside your browser, so the photo is not uploaded or stored anywhere, and refreshing or closing the page clears it.

The page loads its fonts from Google Fonts, as many websites do. Your photo is not part of that. Once you share or save the picture, where it goes is up to you.

Fixing common problems

Most problems come from the photo, and a brighter, plainer photo fixes them.

Problem	What to try
My face looks flat or blotchy	Tick Fix dull or uneven lighting, use a brighter front-on photo, or switch to Comic.
There are white or dark patches on my face	Set Smoothness to High. A softer, front-on photo without a bright light shining on your face helps too.
There are messy lines in my hair or the background	Stand in front of a plain wall. Comic smooths the lines best.
The bubble covers my face	Tap a corner button, drag the bubble away, or choose Small.
My word looks small	Long words shrink to fit the bubble. Choose Large, or use a shorter word.
There is no Share picture button	Your browser does not support sharing. Use Save picture or Copy picture instead.
The page scrolls when I try to drag the bubble	Start your touch in the middle of the yellow bubble, not on its edge or tail.
My photo will not load	Try a JPG or PNG photo, and make sure the file is not very large.
The picture will not save	Press and hold the picture, away from the bubble, or try a different browser.