One suggestion I have is to minimize detail. Take a look at any emoji on different operating systems. The third one is the most detailed, and that just adds eyebrows and a little tension symbol. Emojis need to be legible at very small sizes, and adding detail will obscure them. This is also why most emojis are "flat" and cartoony. I think your Toresk emoji follows these guidelines best, as you can see all the same detail up close or far away. Your Brudvir emoji is very difficult to make out the detail from any distance.
Also, something that I think the winner did well was to base them off of existing emojis. If you think of what the emojis would be used for, it helps to attach an emotion or general "vibe" to them. Just having a plain tribal emoji is good if you want to show your support for said tribe, but I think the winning emojis are more versatile. Annoyed by what some Neran lover is saying? The Dras emoji is there to express that! Not sure how to feel about a new update? You can use the Hrothi emoji!
That said, I do think making symbols in the shapes of the tribal letters was creative! Just maybe not as functional as an actual emoji.