How can I make more appealing thumbnails?
- Thread starter Eclxhpse
- Start date
babyteeth4
Taking over the world... ...one kid at a time!
Get good at using Photoshop or some type of graphic art editing software. I use Paint.net and it works well for us.
Feature a simple graphic against a high-contrast background.
Close-ups of faces get the click.
Make it as interesting as possible.
Ask yourself, if I could tell the story of the video in one image, what would it be?
Feature a simple graphic against a high-contrast background.
Close-ups of faces get the click.
Make it as interesting as possible.
Ask yourself, if I could tell the story of the video in one image, what would it be?
JoshstarTV
YTtalks Prankster
babyteeth hit the nail right on the head! I will generally always click on a well done custom thumbnail over just a random frame grab from the clip
CoolMoo5
I Love YTtalk
Some tips for thumbnails:
1. It needs to be a closeup. Back in the day you could make a thumbnail with tons going on and make it all intricate. While that still works, mobile viewing is getting more and more popular and with smaller screens, closeups are important.
2. It needs to relevant. Your thumbnail should be relevant to the video. Although just randomly putting a picture of a celebrity could get more views, it will thumbs down. Plus YouTube can take your channel down for misleading thumbnails. Make sure your thumbnail relates to the video somehow.
3. Pay attention to dead zones. Places like the lower right corner where the time code is displayed and the edges which get cut off on most devices are not a good place of images or text. Try to avoid placing things in those areas.
If you are looking for a good thumbnail program that is free and easy to use, I recommend picmonkey.com it only takes like ten minutes to figure out and you can make some cool stuff. There are definitely more professional software out there, but they cost money and are harder to use. If you have time and money I recommend Photoshop it is what most big YouTubers use. However, you won't be able to learn Photoshop in ten minutes.
And the dimensions of a thumbnail should be 1280X720 for best results. Keep that in mind.
1. It needs to be a closeup. Back in the day you could make a thumbnail with tons going on and make it all intricate. While that still works, mobile viewing is getting more and more popular and with smaller screens, closeups are important.
2. It needs to relevant. Your thumbnail should be relevant to the video. Although just randomly putting a picture of a celebrity could get more views, it will thumbs down. Plus YouTube can take your channel down for misleading thumbnails. Make sure your thumbnail relates to the video somehow.
3. Pay attention to dead zones. Places like the lower right corner where the time code is displayed and the edges which get cut off on most devices are not a good place of images or text. Try to avoid placing things in those areas.
If you are looking for a good thumbnail program that is free and easy to use, I recommend picmonkey.com it only takes like ten minutes to figure out and you can make some cool stuff. There are definitely more professional software out there, but they cost money and are harder to use. If you have time and money I recommend Photoshop it is what most big YouTubers use. However, you won't be able to learn Photoshop in ten minutes.
And the dimensions of a thumbnail should be 1280X720 for best results. Keep that in mind.
The Average Hero
Liking YTtalk
boobs
BhavJainMusic
Member
What photo editor do you use? As said above, the recommended is Photoshop, use it to your advantage. You can make beautiful thumbnails and graphics there, there are also many tutorials on youtube.
CaptainRomulus
YTtalk Mad
Photoshop. Make a background with a vignette stuck on top it. Having cut out images with thick outlines around them stand out too.
