Trouble with making great thumbnails

[ItsBecky]

I am slowly learning and my thumbnails are a tad better then they used to be, but they still look so amateurish tbh my whole channel does, but I am awful at editing and designing anything!
Whats the best programs to use? I have photoshop and illustrator but I just can't make a proffessional thumbnail like some people can, due to my lack of drawing skills and creativitiy, I see some really amazing thumbnails out there, but I just can't seem to manage it
Help!

 

[Jawad Soomro]

I use PowerPoint, ms paint and Photoshop to make professional thumbnails! You can use online editor Pixlr, it might help

 

[RYANOWALLS]

I use Photoshop and I'd recommend sticking with that! Some tips I'd give to help you out are:

• Keep them simple - if they're too busy they can appear messy and difficult to look at
• Be consistent with font use - using the same (or similar) fonts on all thumbnails helps to give your channel an identity & style. I'd say the same with colours, etc. too!
• Use a large, bold font - the thumbnail gives the viewer a very quick idea of what the video involves, so you want to get the message across quickly and easily! Don't make it hard to read
• Use fewer words as possible - you don't have much space in a thumbnail so its best to use just a few keywords with a matching relevant image/still
• Use layers when editing - this way you can easily edit and adjust any section of the thumbnail when you want, without having to mess with a flattened image

Also, here is some information taken from the YouTube Help site...

We recommend that your custom thumbnails:

• Have a resolution of 1280x720 (with a minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Are uploaded in image formats such as .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG.
• Remain under the 2 MB limit.
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it's the most used in YouTube players and previews.

I hope this helps, Becky!

 

[echoraven]

I use Photoshop and I'd recommend sticking with that! Some tips I'd give to help you out are:

• Keep them simple - if they're too busy they can appear messy and difficult to look at
• Be consistent with font use - using the same (or similar) fonts on all thumbnails helps to give your channel an identity & style. I'd say the same with colours, etc. too!
• Use a large, bold font - the thumbnail gives the viewer a very quick idea of what the video involves, so you want to get the message across quickly and easily! Don't make it hard to read
• Use fewer words as possible - you don't have much space in a thumbnail so its best to use just a few keywords with a matching relevant image/still
• Use layers when editing - this way you can easily edit and adjust any section of the thumbnail when you want, without having to mess with a flattened image

Also, here is some information taken from the YouTube Help site...

We recommend that your custom thumbnails:

• Have a resolution of 1280x720 (with a minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Are uploaded in image formats such as .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG.
• Remain under the 2 MB limit.
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it's the most used in YouTube players and previews.

I hope this helps, Becky!

Nailed it.

 

[ItsBecky]

I use Photoshop and I'd recommend sticking with that! Some tips I'd give to help you out are:

• Keep them simple - if they're too busy they can appear messy and difficult to look at
• Be consistent with font use - using the same (or similar) fonts on all thumbnails helps to give your channel an identity & style. I'd say the same with colours, etc. too!
• Use a large, bold font - the thumbnail gives the viewer a very quick idea of what the video involves, so you want to get the message across quickly and easily! Don't make it hard to read
• Use fewer words as possible - you don't have much space in a thumbnail so its best to use just a few keywords with a matching relevant image/still
• Use layers when editing - this way you can easily edit and adjust any section of the thumbnail when you want, without having to mess with a flattened image

Also, here is some information taken from the YouTube Help site...

We recommend that your custom thumbnails:

• Have a resolution of 1280x720 (with a minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Are uploaded in image formats such as .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG.
• Remain under the 2 MB limit.
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it's the most used in YouTube players and previews.

I hope this helps, Becky!

thankyou so much for this I shall try my best!

 

[GamingwithVon]

Hey Becky,
you dont need to know how to draw, lots of people cant. some people think in 3D better than they can in 2D, or in photos better than they can draw. a common phrase in the art community is 'a painter knows how to draw, but a drawer doesnt know how to paint'. what might work best for you is 'photo manipulation' and there is a ton of tutorials out there (even youtube and deviantart) that can help you with this. the best thing about doing this is that it helps you learn Photoshop better; what the tools do, what the effects do, where to find this and that and helps you to work in layers.

Adobe Illustration is more of a drawing program to make illustrations. it is vector base and can be kinda complicated to understand. im not saying 'dont use this', just giving you a heads up of what the program is. if you still like to use this, there are also plenty of tutorials online for this as well.

hope my reply helps as well