Is there a way to enter Emoji just by typing? I just found out that I can type (y) and get the upward likey thumb (in iMessages).
Now is there a way to type any emoticon? It might also be just by typing it's unicode.
As you already found out that is possible but sometime hard to remember.

For many letters when you place in brackets will give you different emoticons.

Simple one and often used are easy to remember (y) ect..

I find it easier to do with pop up for emoticons located on the right side of your input window.


I actually prefer to make customized emojis for one I use more frequently.


For that I just type the word (of your choosing) in brackets and it gets replaced with emoji.

That is how it is done and now you just type for example (looking) and get