How a Pro YouTuber Actually Makes Thumbnails

Summary

In this video, David Altiser, a thumbnail design expert, discusses the art of creating compelling YouTube thumbnails. He emphasizes the importance of composition, the first 5-10 seconds of video content matching the thumbnail, and the strategic use of text. David also shares his process of collaborating with AI tools like Chat GPT 4 and Magnific AI for thumbnail design, and encourages creators to study composition from various art forms for unique thumbnail aesthetics.

Takeaways

• 😀 Composition is crucial for thumbnails, as it is for all forms of art. Understanding balance and image weight is essential.
• 🐮 The first 5 to 10 seconds of a video should align with the thumbnail to provide immediate payoff and confirm the viewer's expectations.
• 📚 Studying composition in fine art, cinematography, and photography can enhance thumbnail design skills.
• 🌐 Thumbnails should be designed considering different viewing platforms like mobile, desktop, and TV, as the appearance and viewer's interaction can vary.
• 📈 The thumbnail and video title should work together as a 'combo punch', complementing each other to spark curiosity and provide context.
• 🔍 AI tools like Topaz and Magnific AI can be used to upscale and enhance images in thumbnails, making them sharper and more appealing.
• 🎨 Chat GPT 4 with Dolly can be used for creating mockups and generating ideas for thumbnails, allowing for collaboration with AI.
• 📖 Keeping text on thumbnails minimal is recommended. Aim for simplicity and clarity, using no more than three to four words.
• 👀 The position of text and images in thumbnails should consider the viewer's reading habits (left to right) and the placement of the time code.
• 🚀 Experimenting with different thumbnail styles and strategies can help creators stand out, such as using a simple, focused image without text.

Q & A

What is the significance of the first 5 to 10 seconds in a video in relation to the thumbnail?

The first 5 to 10 seconds of a video are crucial as they should provide an immediate payoff that aligns with the thumbnail. This ensures that when viewers click on the video, they are immediately confirmed of what they are about to watch, which matches the thumbnail's promise.

What is the 'Scrapbook style' mentioned in the script and who pioneered it?

The 'Scrapbook style' is a design language characterized by a yellow Helvetica font style on top of a person giving a crazy reaction, with messy stuff behind it. It looks like a scrapbook with pictures cut out and pasted on a board. Curtis Connor is credited with pioneering this style.

How does David Altiser collaborate with AI in thumbnail design?

David Altiser uses AI tools like chat GPT 4 with Dolly for mockups. He communicates with the AI, providing context and specific requirements for the thumbnail, and the AI generates mockups based on his descriptions. This collaboration helps in creating unique and compelling thumbnails.

What role does AI upscaling play in thumbnail design?

AI upscaling is used to enhance the quality of low-resolution images, often used in reaction content. Tools like Topaz and Magnific AI upscale images to create sharper, cleaner representations, which are essential for creating high-quality thumbnails.

Why is it important for the thumbnail and the video's intro to match?

Matching the thumbnail and the video's intro ensures that viewers get an immediate confirmation of what they are about to watch, which aligns with the thumbnail's promise. This strategy helps in maintaining viewer engagement and trust.

What is the 'Tic Tac Toe grid' and how is it used in thumbnail composition?

The 'Tic Tac Toe grid' is a compositional tool that helps in balancing the elements of an image. It aids in achieving a visually balanced thumbnail by placing the main subject and other elements in a way that they are evenly distributed across the grid.

How does David Altiser approach text in thumbnails?

David Altiser advises keeping text in thumbnails minimal and simple. He suggests using as few words as possible, ideally under four, and avoiding repeating the video title in the thumbnail text. The text should complement the thumbnail and the title, creating a cohesive message.

What is the purpose of the 'Thumbnail Thursday' event on Twitter Spaces?

Thumbnail Thursday is an event where thumbnail artists and creators gather on Twitter Spaces to discuss thumbnails, share their work, and provide tips and tricks. It also includes a roasting session where participants critique and offer suggestions for improvement on thumbnails.

How does David Altiser use AI to create backgrounds for thumbnails?

David Altiser uses AI tools like chat GPT's Dolly to create simple and minimalistic backgrounds for thumbnails. He then inputs these AI-generated images into tools like Magnific AI to make them look photo-realistic and sharp, enhancing the overall quality of the thumbnail.

What advice does David Altiser give for new creators regarding thumbnails?

David Altiser advises new creators to focus on truth-telling in their thumbnails, ensuring that the thumbnail accurately represents the content of the video. He also emphasizes the importance of composition, simplicity, and the strategic use of text to create compelling thumbnails.

Outlines

00:00

📸 The Art of Clickable Thumbnails

This paragraph discusses the importance of thumbnail composition in attracting clicks on YouTube. The speaker emphasizes that the first 5 to 10 seconds of a video should align with the thumbnail to create an immediate payoff. The example of a successful video featuring Max with a cow and a police officer is highlighted, showcasing how the thumbnail's promise is fulfilled in the video content. The speaker also introduces David Altiser, a designer who has worked with various YouTube channels, and delves into his thumbnail design process, including the use of AI tools like upscaling and Dolly for mockups.

05:01

🎨 Elevating Thumbnail Design with AI

David Altiser shares his experience working with Curtis Connor, a comedian commentary channel, and how they developed a design language. He explains the 'Scrapbook style' and the need to simplify and elevate it. The process involves discussing the thumbnail with Curtis, using high-quality video files, and incorporating AI-generated assets. David also discusses the use of AI upscaling tools like Topaz and Magnific AI to enhance image quality in thumbnails, especially for reaction content where the original images might be of low quality.

10:02

🔍 Balancing Truth and Attraction in Thumbnails

The speaker emphasizes the importance of truthfulness in thumbnails, advising creators to ensure that the first few seconds of their video match the thumbnail's promise. This approach helps avoid clickbait accusations and builds trust with viewers. The speaker also discusses the strategy of editing the thumbnail before the video, which can influence the video's intro. Composition is highlighted as crucial, with a recommendation to study art, cinematography, and photography for inspiration. The speaker provides tips on balancing image elements and avoiding text or important elements in the bottom right corner, where the video's time code will appear.

15:04

📚 Learning from Art and Design for Thumbnails

This paragraph focuses on the importance of studying composition from various art forms to create effective thumbnails. The speaker suggests learning from fine art, painting, and filmmaking to develop a taste for what looks good. They also discuss the use of a Tic Tac Toe grid for image balance and the importance of considering the placement of text and other elements in relation to the video's time code. The speaker encourages creators to think about what they want viewers to see first, based on the reading habits of their audience.

20:07

🖌️ Simplifying Text and Design in Thumbnails

The speaker advises keeping thumbnails simple and minimal, using text sparingly and strategically. They recommend using a clean, bold font and limiting text to a few words or even a single word with a question mark to spark curiosity. The speaker also discusses the use of arrows and circles in thumbnails, suggesting that they can be effective but should be used sparingly. The importance of considering the thumbnail, title, and first few seconds of the video as a cohesive unit is emphasized, with the goal of creating a compelling invitation for viewers to click and watch.

25:07

🌐 Launching a Thumbnail Education Channel

In the final paragraph, David Altiser introduces his new channel, 'learn thumbnails,' where he plans to teach and discuss thumbnail design. He invites viewers to join 'Thumbnail Thursday' on Twitter Spaces for a community discussion about thumbnails. David also encourages creators to follow him on Twitter for more insights and tips on thumbnail creation, emphasizing the value of learning from a community of artists and designers.

Keywords

💡Thumbnail

A thumbnail in the context of the video refers to the small preview image that represents a video on platforms like YouTube. It is crucial for attracting viewers as it is often the first visual element that potential viewers see. The video discusses strategies for creating effective thumbnails that can lead to higher click rates, such as ensuring the thumbnail matches the content of the video and using composition techniques to make it visually appealing.

💡Composition

Composition in the video script is discussed as a key element in creating compelling thumbnails. It refers to the arrangement of visual elements within an image to create a balanced and aesthetically pleasing design. The video emphasizes the importance of studying art and photography to understand how to effectively compose thumbnails, suggesting that a well-composed thumbnail can significantly enhance a video's appeal.

💡AI Upscaling

AI Upscaling is mentioned as a tool used in thumbnail design to enhance the quality of images, especially those that are low-resolution. The video script describes using AI technology to upscale images to make them sharper and clearer, which is essential for creating high-quality thumbnails that stand out on platforms like YouTube.

💡Scrapbook Style

The term 'Scrapbook Style' is used in the video to describe a specific design aesthetic often seen in commentary channels on YouTube. It involves a chaotic arrangement of images and text that mimics the look of a physical scrapbook. The video discusses how this style can be simplified and elevated to create more effective thumbnails.

💡Leading Lines

Leading lines in the context of the video refer to a composition technique where lines guide the viewer's eye towards a focal point in the image. The video script uses this concept to describe how thumbnails can be designed to direct the viewer's attention to the most important elements, such as the subject or a key object.

💡Clickbait

Clickbait is a term used in the video to describe thumbnails or titles that are misleading or exaggerated to attract clicks. The video warns against using clickbait, emphasizing the importance of creating thumbnails that accurately represent the video content to build trust with viewers.

💡Autoplay

Autoplay in the video script refers to the feature on YouTube where videos start playing automatically as a user scrolls through their feed. The video discusses how the first few seconds of a video, along with the thumbnail and title, work together to engage viewers and encourage them to continue watching.

💡Text in Thumbnails

The use of text in thumbnails is a significant point in the video. It discusses how text can be used to add context or spark curiosity, but also warns against overusing it. The video suggests keeping text minimal and using it to complement the thumbnail image and title, rather than simply repeating the title.

💡Mockups

Mockups in the video script refer to preliminary designs or prototypes used to visualize how a final product, such as a thumbnail, will look. The video discusses using AI tools to create mockups, which can then be refined and used as a basis for the final thumbnail design.

💡Artistic Integrity

Artistic integrity in the video is used to describe the importance of maintaining a consistent and authentic style in thumbnail design. The video suggests that thumbnails should not only be visually appealing but also reflect the creator's unique voice and aesthetic, which can help in building a loyal audience.

💡Branding

Branding in the video script is discussed in relation to the use of specific fonts or styles in thumbnails to create a recognizable identity for a YouTube channel. The video encourages creators to develop a unique branding style that can help viewers instantly recognize and connect with their content.

Highlights

Composition is key in thumbnail design, similar to its importance in cinematography, photography, and fine art.

Thumbnails should have an immediate payoff in the first 5 to 10 seconds of the video to match the viewer's expectations set by the thumbnail.

David Altiser's transition to thumbnail design and his work with Curtis Connor, developing a design language based on Connor's existing style.

The 'Scrapbook' style of thumbnail design, characterized by a yellow Helvetica font and messy backgrounds, pioneered by Curtis Connor.

The use of AI upscaling tools like Topaz and Magnific AI to enhance the quality of thumbnails, especially for reaction content.

Chat GPT 4 with Dolly as a tool for creating mockups and collaborating with AI to generate thumbnail ideas.

The importance of balancing text and imagery in thumbnails to avoid overwhelming the viewer.

Using the rule of thirds in thumbnail composition to create a balanced and engaging visual.

The strategy of matching the thumbnail with the video's intro to create a cohesive viewer experience.

The challenge of creating thumbnails that stand out without relying on text, encouraging bold and minimalist designs.

The use of AI-generated images in thumbnails, and how they can be made to look photorealistic with tools like Magnific AI.

The potential for AI to replace human collaboration in thumbnail design, though it is more of a tool for sparking ideas rather than a replacement.

The importance of truth in thumbnail design, ensuring that the thumbnail accurately represents the content of the video.

The role of the thumbnail in attracting viewers, especially for new creators who may not have a dedicated audience yet.

The idea of editing the thumbnail before the video to guide the video's direction, emphasizing the importance of thumbnail design in content creation.

The use of simple, minimalistic designs in thumbnails, especially for TV viewership, to maintain clarity and focus.

The impact of thumbnail design on video discoverability, emphasizing the need for thumbnails that catch the viewer's eye and prompt clicks.

Transcripts

what makes a good thumbnail that gets

clicked composition is King baby when

I'm talking to creators we'll talk about

the title we'll talk about the thumbnail

and then I'll say Okay now what's your

first 5 seconds I made a thumbnail with

Max it's an image of him with a cow with

a police officer and then you click the

video and right away you're confirmed

he's literally walking around the

Streets of London with a cow with a beer

in his hand and it is an immediate

payoff and that video I think has like 5

million 6 million or something like that

making sure those first 5 to 10 seconds

have some sort of payoff to the

thumbnail you got to just press record

David altiser is on the think media

channel today and I'm excited because

dude you've worked for a lot of

different YouTube channels now you have

this next transition to thumbnail design

yeah first of all tell us like what kind

of YouTube channels are you working on

and then are you tell us your thumbnail

design process how are these big

YouTubers like you know how do they do

it and you know break down that process

sure yeah so I'm I'm currently working

pretty much full-time with Curtis Connor

folks he's a a comedian commentary

Channel and he and I have really

developed a great kind of design

language based off of what he was

already doing but I've kind of

simplified it down and kind of elevated

it is what I told him I was like I've

been a fan of your work for years and

you know you've he kind of created this

like yellow uh helvetica font style on

top of him like giving a crazy reaction

with a bunch of messy stuff behind it I

call it the Scrapbook uh style uh

because it looks like a scrapbook it

looks like somebody took pictures and

cut them out and then pasted them on a

picture and so he kind of actually

humbly said yeah I think I created this

style but now almost every commentary

channel does that format so I want to

highlight that like he has the ability

to kind of own that style cuz he

literally pioneered it but we needed to

elevate it and that simply meant

simplifying it cleaning it up

and thankfully with Curtis I'm given a

really you know high quality uh video

file of him giving me faces so usually

he'll have the title in mind he'll maybe

even have most of the video shot and

then we'll get on the phone and maybe

discuss you know the thumbnail and he

because he's so intuitive and he's been

a YouTuber for so many years he kind of

just knows what what it should be and so

he'll tell me like hey here's what I'm

thinking and then I'll spitball some

ideas then he'll give me like you know a

10 or 20 second clip of him giving me

like three or four different faces and

you know he has a nice camera and nice

lighting and so I'm able to just pull

that out and stick it on and then almost

everything else though is like generated

either with AI or from the assets that

he's referring to one of the things that

has been really helpful with my career

is AI upscaling so I work with Cody CO

as well and uh Curtis Connor those both

those guys do reaction content and often

the things they're reacting to are Tik

Tok or like really lowquality images and

so in the past their thumbnails would

almost look a little uh kind of low

quality because like they're just

reacting to this really you know blurry

object maybe they even scale up to it or

whatever like scale into it there's some

tools like uh topaz and another tool

that I use called magnific AI which is

extremely expensive I don't necessarily

want to recommend this to everybody but

if it's something that it's $40 a month

it's extremely pricey but okay it is

but because I'm doing this full-time I'm

making you know two to four thumbnails a

day and I use it every day it's become

you know part of my budget part of my

workflow they also have a free trial so

if you want to try it out you could try

it out but what it does is it uses some

of the same technology that you see in

mid Journey but it takes like an image

that you import into it and it creates

AI on top of like from from a pixel for

Pixel basis it replicates what it's

seeing underneath the AI that makes

sense so like when I input it it's going

to Output a really sharp crisp

representation of what I inputed uh

using AI so like if it's somebody that

if if I have a photo of a person that's

not recognizable it's not a famous

person I can just put it in there and

it'll spit out a sharper cleaner image

essentially uh so I use that all all the

time now so that's kind of been my like

little secret sauce uh but with Max give

us all the secret sauce what other what

other AI tools or you know give give us

all of it this is awesome I'm loving it

the thing that I love to use for mockups

uh right now is actually chat GPT 4 with

Dolly so dolly is their like version of

mid Journey which is an AI art uh

creation tool and it's not as advanced

as mid Journey it's not even as advanced

as some of the other tools that are out

there but what is so great about the

chat GPT AI art uh creation is that you

can talk to it like a human and so I

will actually just start talking to it

and I'll just say hello my name is David

altiser I am a YouTuber who makes

content about cameras and I'm doing a

review on a new Sony camera that's brand

new it does this this and this like I

give it all the the context of like what

that video is and then you say I want a

thumbnail where I'm off center and the

camera is focused with leading lines

leading into the camera so that the

viewer can see that camera and uh like

their eyes go to that but I still want

to be in the image you know give me a

mockup and then it just will spit out a

mockup and I'm like okay cool now can we

do it a little darker and blah blah blah

and so then I'll maybe have four or five

mockups of a thumbnail and I could even

input like a photo of my face and be

like okay here's here's my face make

sure that the subject kind of looks like

me and so then it'll kind of create you

know a subject that sort of looks like

that and if you're watching the think

media video right now you can see some

of the examples that I've done this one

specifically is with Hayden hiler Smith

he was doing a video where he was

talking about a film that he made and he

wanted to have kind of like the before

and after he wanted to have leading

lines going into the center of the frame

and we had a bunch of mock-ups and we

landed on this one as our format and I

was able to take that mockup and

basically just plug in the actual assets

into that and I didn't really even use

any of the AI stuff but it was such a

wonderful way to collaborate with AI to

spit out something that we wouldn't have

even thought of just kind of that

collaboration you might hear all the

time with Mr Beast and Ryan Tran and

many others talking about how you need

to have uh YouTuber friends you need to

have people to work with and I I don't

think this rep uh replaces that but if

you are just getting started using this

is a great way to collaborate with

something it is just a robot but but

it's so uh amazing how how how great

this is and and just seeing something at

least for me I'm such a visual learner

when I see something I'm like oh that

makes me think of this can you add this

to it and then it just does it and I

might have again like five or six

mockups that I can then show the client

we then dial it down to like one or two

and then I just use that as a way to

kind of get started so that we kind of

know where we're going with it I think

that's a hard part for a lot of people

is they don't know where to start so the

fact I mean you're giving away the

secrets here which is amazing and I

actually I've experimented a little bit

with chat gbt 4 but like you're

encouraging me to go do that more so

this is this is really really cool are

there any other prompts that you do

because you're really just using this to

get ideas right that's the ultimate goal

is you're trying to you're trying to

spark inspiration on how to actually you

know compose and set up the thumbnail is

that right correct yeah and and every

once in a while I will create

backgrounds uh using AI mid journey is

better but you know what's funny about

mid journey is it's so Advanced uh now

that it looks very photo and it starts

to do what you were talking about

earlier about how like the so many

little details that you have to remove

so like mid Journey looks so photo real

that like I'll receive a background that

that looks like a real photo but like

there's wires in the background there's

like a blue trash can over here and like

I need to clean it all up whereas chat

chbt is not as advanced so some would

argue that it doesn't look as realistic

but it's more simple and minimalistic

because it's not not as advanced so like

I find chat gbt's Dolly image creation

definitely good enough for thumbnails if

anything I kind of like how simple it is

because it usually spits out uh an AI

image that's pretty simple and

minimalistic and then what I'll do is

I'll actually take that Dolly image

which again isn't as advanced as what

mid Journey does but then I'll input it

into magnific which is what I was

talking about earlier and it then takes

that AI generated image and makes it

look photo real so I have this very

simple clean AI image that I then input

into magnific which then converts it to

looking realistic and sharp and then I

pull that into Photoshop and use that as

an asset that's super cool I love that

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description of this video I do want to

talk about what makes a good thumbnail

and and uh you know and even people too

they might hear this and they assume in

order to make good thumbnails they they

need AI tools and they need Photoshop

and you really don't great a great

example is I saw on your just like

personal Channel it has like half a

million views and it's the 4K forget

ssds iPhone 15 Pro records SD cards and

the thumbnail is so simple and there's

just a little bit of text and did you

click the video watch the intro did you

see the intro yeah so that's what I was

gonna mention too is that's a great

example and I'm I'm curious if you if

you did this on purpose and if you see

other because I noticed Ryan will do

this sometimes and other YouTubers but

when you click on that video there's a

direct payoff because it's actually it

looks like a screenshot of the opening

frame so tell me is that a strategy that

you use and and uh 100% okay yes yeah uh

in fact I'd say the the greatest success

in that conversation with my work uh is

with Max I think the title is I broke in

front of the police it's an image of him

with a cow with a police officer and

then you click the video and right away

you're you're confirmed he's literally

walking around the Streets of London

with a cow with a beer in his hand and

it is an immediate payoff and that video

I think has like 5 million 6 million

views or something like that I also

tried it with Curtis Curtis is a

different he has a very dedicated very

strong following loyal fan base so he

could sort of like rant for 2 minutes at

the beginning and people will still

watch it he'll still get 2 million views

even if he took 3 minutes to get to the

point but I I have been encouraging him

to uh have intros that match the

thumbnail or maybe like a teaser at the

beginning and he's been seeing success

with that as well so yes this is 100% a

strategy and one of the things I forgot

to bring up when I'm talking to creators

is we'll talk about the title we'll talk

about the thumbnail and then I'll say

Okay now what's your first 5 seconds and

like literally that is part of the

discussion when we're talking about

thumbnails is like making sure those

first 5 to 10 seconds have some sort of

payoff to the thumbnail because we do

live in a unfortunately in a day and age

on YouTube where people will maybe put

something that would be considered

clickbait on the thumbnail and you click

it and it's completely different you

know it's just it's not what the

thumbnail is they were just trying to

get you to click on it and so I think

simply telling the truth uh goes a long

way with all things you know in life uh

but in particular with videos if you are

really you can kind of enhance the

thumbnail make it cleaner make it pop

make it look better to like get get

somebody's attention but it still needs

to have a baseline truth telling aspect

to it that you are paying off as quickly

as possible especially if you're a a new

Creator I think a lot of bigger creators

that you may watch you could maybe have

an argument with me on it's like well

they don't do it it's like well yeah

they have 6 million subscribers and

they're averaging 1 million views per

video if you remember if any of you were

Casey neistat fans during the Vlog era

did you care what title or thumbnail was

on that video no you just clicked it and

watched it because you became a fan of

Casey iat's daily Vlogs and anytime he

would post you would watch it the

thumbnail and title was almost

irrelevant you know for the most part so

I think those are two different models

and Curtis definitely has that a little

bit too but anyways the intro and the

thumbnail need to kind of match in my

opinion I think that's kind of a secret

uh secret trick that you you can do and

I've done it with my own videos like you

said that was just a video took me 2

hours to make it but I had that

intention of like shooting the thumbnail

and I actually edit the thumbnail before

I edit my video so when I'm doing my own

videos I'll actually get my thumbnail

finished before I even start my thumb my

my actual Video Edit and then that kind

of can almost dictate the video in a way

at least the intro yeah that's really

good what are other tips you have on

what makes a good thumbnail that gets

clicked composition is King baby so

composition is is King for all things

when it comes to cinematography when it

comes to photography when it comes to

Fine Art and the same is true with

thumbnails any form of art composition

is King you may have heard that in other

uh niches can you explain what

composition is yes the the easiest way

to look at it and again I would

recommend everybody go outside of the

YouTube box or the YouTube bubble that

we live in and and study art study Fine

Art study why certain paintings are

actually good study why certain films

and filmmakers are great at storytelling

and I think that's such a great way to

have a rich kind of understanding and

Baseline of like what actually looks

good that's how you develop your taste

and that's how you you were asking

earlier like you don't want to just copy

other YouTubers if you have all these

input sources from other uh genres of

film making photography and Fine Art

those things are going to come into play

when you make your thumbnails so that

your thumbnails actually look completely

unique Technic Tech Al but you're

actually pulling from all these other

sources anyways the way that I get

started and you can download my asset

for free plug plug on learn

Bo in that Tic Tac Toe grid as its own

image in of itself and having an

understanding of of image balance is

really important too so for example if I

had a bunch of the weight of the image

I'm saying that in air quotes but if I

had like the subject on the right hand

side of the image and I had like a car

on the right but then there was just a

big sky on the left and it was just

empty the image would feel lops side it

would feel like all the weight of the

image is on the right and so you can you

want to balance that out almost as if

all the objects in your frame are on a

scale you balance that out by maybe

putting a big piece of text on the left

that that can then be a size that sort

of matches what's on the right hand side

and that starts to balance the frame or

you move your subject into the middle

you move all the objects on the right

and then you have text on the top left

or something like that the asset pack

that I'm giving away for free too also

includes the time code uh in the right

scaling and the rounded edges that

YouTube has as well so if if you haven't

noticed right now YouTube rounds all the

corners of your thumbnail on the home

screen and on the Subscribe feed and

it's different on mobile and it's

different on desktop the roundedness is

actually more round on a mobile device

and it's less round on a desktop the

time code is also larger on a phone and

the time code is smaller on desktop and

what I mean by that is on the bottom

right hand side of the thumbnail you'll

see the length of the video uh that is

always taken into account when I'm

making my thumbnails you never want to

have text or anything important on that

bottom right side so you can basically

put text or things top left top right

bottom left but never touch the bottom

right and I almost treat that time code

as part of my composition so if that big

chunky 10 minute and 16sec time code is

on the bottom right I kind of want to

balance that somehow by putting

something on the left hand side of that

rule of thirds to then balance that time

code because again people are are not

viewing the thumbnail as just an image

especially on a you know 27inch monitor

which is what I have at my desk here

they're viewing it mostly on a phone and

certainly now on TVs as well which has

been really exciting as well because of

the TV model if your creator or if

you're a Creator who has a lot of TV

viewership you could have a little bit

more detail going on in the image and

I've seen that work really well Mark

Rober for example has had some

successful thumbnails I mean he's very

successful in general but he's had some

that were very highly detailed but still

very simple in idea so I think that's

where the confusion can be you you can

have detail like if it's a big explosion

with like fire and stuff but it's still

just an explosion there's not wires

there's not different colors mixing and

matching but there is details within

that so if you're a TV viewer you can do

that and we're able to get away with

that with the editing podcast for

example which has a large TV viewership

audience so anyways composition we could

go on a tangent with that for a long

time I personally really like having the

subject on the left hand side of the

image because of that time code but I

also do a lot where the subject is just

dead center with leading lines going

into the middle but again do some

research outside of YouTube and study

composition some of the best painters

and some of the best artists in the

world have some of the best compositions

that you can learn from and I would

highly encourage you to go outside of

YouTube to learn that to be honest it's

funny because I've heard people say the

opposite of they enjoy putting

or prefer putting the the face on the

right hand side like you SE the Mr Beast

reacts videos because the time code just

kind of covers like maybe like the neck

or the shirt or something yeah that

works too yeah that totally works I've

done that with Curtis just depends but

yeah there's never one answer that fits

right for every single thumbnail right

depending on your audience you know we

read left to right so in America and in

the English-speaking in most countries

read left to right right it just depends

on like what you want them to see first

so in the Beast reacts you can sort of

on your peripheral see that it's Beast

so you know exactly what it is it's the

same face every time too so like there's

nothing there but for Curtis like his

audience is so dedicated to Curtis that

like I kind of want people to just see

Curtis's face first because as soon as

they see it they'll probably just click

on it but but if he's reacting to

something wacky and crazy that is like

going to get a a click then maybe I'll

put that off to the you know so that's

how I'm thinking about it is like what

do you want them to see first because we

read left to right they may actually see

that leftand rule of third first so if

it's the game that you want the focus to

be on then put that on the left if it's

the Creator then put them on the left

you know with Cody Co he's always on the

left for the most part what what do you

think about text on a thumbnail when

should people use text or arrows or

certain circles elements like that and

when should they not text on on a

thumbnail so I think you and I would

would be in agreeance on keeping things

as simple and uh minimal as possible so

uh Jerry Seinfeld has this famous quote

where he says that when he's writing a

joke he takes one word out at a time

until the joke doesn't make any sense

anymore and then he puts that last word

back in so I think that should be the

same philosophy when you're creating a

thumbnail and especially with text how

many words can you remove before it

doesn't make sense anymore so like even

if you you can just have one word that

would be great you know why is a good

one with a question mark or how or uh

you know those are are good because they

can they can play off of whatever title

you have to create some sort of open

loop that makes people want to click so

I would just keep it simple you know

find a font that you really like that is

clean and bold but maybe even something

that that not many creators are using so

that you can start to kind of own that

font in a way you know tryan has kind of

owned that like very simple helvetica

font style and many others are are using

it I would I would have just encouraged

other creators to yeah you can be

inspired by tryan but maybe find a

different font that looks a little

different that way you can start to kind

of use that as part of your branding but

I would keep it to like a minimum of you

know or a maximum of like three to four

words if you can again Curtis has done

more words because sometimes they'll

have like a whole sentence there I don't

know if how effective that is to be

completely honest it's just what Hees I

usually do the whole edit for Curtis and

then he'll actually do the text himself

because we found we were going back and

forth a lot where he'd be like put this

no put this move it over to the left I

was like how about this I'll just give

you the clean image you do the you do

the text so that's our working

relationship so you can get away with

more it just depends on the context but

I say good rule of thumb is keep it like

under four words and as far as arrows

and circles I don't use those as much as

I used to I think that might be again it

depends dep on the niche I think for you

with your basketball stuff like the

arrows and circles make a lot of sense

cuz you could almost not even have any

text it's just pointing to something or

circling something so just depends on

the niche really but I don't use a lot

of arrows in circles one thing too I

think most people get wrong in the

beginning is they just put the title for

text in their thumbnail and what you

need to realize is I like to think of my

title and my thumbnail as like a union

or like a combo punch a com attack and

so usually most people look at the

thumbnail first it catches their eye and

then they read the title which gives

more context to what they're looking at

and so that's how I kind of like to

approach things and I'm curious your

thoughts too because we'll see you know

people in our community a lot of times

are just putting the same exact title in

text and if you actually add something

that is completely different and can

spark curiosity make them look at the

image and then when they read the title

now they have maybe the context of what

they're clicking but how do you is there

any you know tips like that on how you

approach just that combination yeah I

would actually add to that and say that

the first 5 to 10 seconds is also part

of that same Union because if you if

you're successful and having a good

title and thumbnail and they're like

looking at it on their phone for a

second it's going to start autop playing

as well and so you've even noticed if

you look at even the most recent Mr

Beast videos he's removed all of the uh

kind of big bold uh text at the

beginning where it's like captioning

because the autoc captioning kicks in on

the autop play and if you have a bunch

of text going on on the video with the

closed captioning as well it kind of is

disorienting so I've even noticed he'll

actually turn off the captioning when he

does go to the Bold text on the frame

and then it'll kick back in when he

stops using that so you can actually

finagle that and kind of tweak it if you

do have text on like embedded in the

video itself that being said that's you

know that's beast in that style but I

would keep all three of those things in

mind uh as part of your strategy but um

absolutely you don't want to repeat the

uh the title in the thumbnail just like

if if this is the first time you're

hearing that from this point forward

don't ever do that like just just don't

okay so uh and just like use your

imagination on like what I can add to

this whether it's a question that you

can ask that can play off of that title

whether it's um you know how many days

you tried it or like I don't know it's

just when you're coming up with your

titles and thumbnails think about both

of them together and when I'm writing

out my ideas in Apple notes I'll like

I'll type the title out and then in

parenthesis I'll put whatever two or

three word text that I'm going to put

there in like a parenthesis so on the

thumbnail so it's like you really want

to think of both and it's to be honest I

think it takes a lot of courage and a

lot of boldness to not put text and I

would encourage you to maybe even

consider trying that because one of the

things that can really make you stand

out is by simply doing what everybody

else isn't doing and I've seen success

on a couple of thumbnails that I've done

where it was very focused very simple

the one I'm thinking of right now is uh

I did a thumbnail for frame Voyager

where it was uh Killian Murphy and he

was just in the middle uh I had like

some Inception stuff going on behind him

and I had some cool uh like atomic bomb

stuff from Oppenheimer behind him but it

was really focused really simple and you

could have put text there asking a

question but it really would have thrown

off the kind of Artistic integrity of it

and because his channel is a video essay

Channel it works really well for that so

I would encourage you to almost like

don't use text if you don't have to so

good this was a master class on YouTube

thumbnails you gave us a all the secrets

thanks for coming on David where can

people find you and learn more about

thumbnails and hang out with you yeah

well I started a new channel called

learn thumbnails where I'm going to be

going over all of these things and more

uh some of the work that I've done and

and I'm I'm starting that up uh I feel

encouraged by uh the support of Nolan

and many others so I'm building a whole

business around thumbnails and it's all

based around learn

artists join us every Thursday we have a

thing called thumbnail Thursday on

Twitter spaces and you can jump in and

uh be a part of that conversation we've

got some amazing thumbnail artists who

work for arak trean many others who are

on the speaker panel and we'll we'll

talk each week about thumbnails about

the work that we're doing and then we

open it up to roasting at the end where

you we roast your thumbnails and give

tips and tricks so follow me on Twitter

at DVD altiser