Let's all change the way we make Thumbnails.

The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/neatont...
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Here's the honest truth: making Thumbnails for KZbin videos is really, REALLY hard.
If you're like me, you're tired of "making the faces" and watching endless tutorials on making thumbnails "clickable", only to put in all that effort to find your viewership might not even be increasing.
So today, I'm going to share with you how I changed my entire philosophy on thumbnails, and how making thumbnails became one of my favorite parts of being a KZbinr. I'll even break down my most successful thumbnail to demystify what it takes to make them effective.
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Share your thumbnail designs in our Discord: / discord
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[@SonicTheBlueBlur15]

The fact that the thumbnail for this video about thumbnails has a thumbnail inside of a thumbnail is very thumbnaily

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

Thumnale

[@plasmatix9416]

The thumbnail i made was a random screenshot, and I will do that until I know more, which is why I am here.

[@preifever]

Ironically, if its a good screenshot, it tends to work really well nowadays

[@GroovingGamer]

I bounce back and forth between screenshots and MSpaint- it depends if I think they screenshot will look fun

[@plasmatix9416]

@@GroovingGamer unironically, i am gonna use a close up screenshot with the caption "forbidden handshake time". Also in that time period, I found out Davinci Resolve can render PNGs on every frame.

[@tylerbowling]

You're also applying graphics 101 here with the use of primary colors being present and well balanced.

[@Fatih_M177]

I always liked when thumbnails felt more like a brief glimpse of what a video might be or look like. Let's say you're making an animation, you would probably draw some artwork that sort of represents what it's about, like a TitleCard in a sense ( I do that myself) Or you're making a gaming video, and you just use the characters model or sprites. those thumbnails just feel more authentic and real, like there's actual passion put into the video instead of it just feeling like they're hungry for views (tho i guess that could just be me being sort of biased cause i grew up with videos that have that style of thumbnails, so maybe I'm wrong XD)

[@Hobster64]

Somehow this is the best advice on thumbnails I've ever seen, Your channel is truly special man

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

Glad you think so!

[@FeeBee3001]

I need to remember to come back to this video when I am home to and look at the sprite website you mentioned. Great video, thank you.

[@FeeBee3001]

And its now added to my favourites. Will be a really good resource. A lot of the older games I played are saved there. I have been learning how to make sprite art for a project.

[@wayoftherose]

If I had to add some insight into this, please make your thumbnails tailored towards the type of content you're making. Some styles of content need certain thumbnails to work really well. Look at what other people are doing and try to do that with your own style to it if you have no idea where to begin, and grow into your own art style over time. In short, don't reinvent the wheel when the wheel works fine.

[@DaRalf23]

Hey Neat, long time lurker, first time poster; I really appreciate the content you provide and enjoy this perspective on the thumbnail design and your passion.

[@Maximum4power]

I swear that one day I'll start youtube

[@ComputerWizard]

Start today!

[@Maximum4power]

@@ComputerWizard I'm a teen, unfortunately

[@the_random12345]

@@Maximum4powerwhats holding you back tho? your parents?

[@Maximum4power]

@@the_random12345 yeah. But i make community posts

[@the_random12345]

@@Maximum4power cool cool good luck then stranger

[@Ryomen_Raga]

I draw my thumbnails I know there's people out there who will appreciate my dank

[@greenzanman]

thank you, goood perspective on how makingnyour own homey thumbnail can still be attention getting whilst not being fully slave to the unfulfilling chains of the youtube engagement hivemind your thumbnail was awesome it conveyed the idea to viewer of "you achieving great on youtube" through something unique to your video, and something that you believe in. i think it offers a unique take for viewers to click on as it seems like something the creator genuinely cares about and also made me think "woah this guy is doing his thing, he has the option of going for those 📈 or reaction faces but is making the message in his own way"

[@davidjay24]

I know a video is good when go to hit the like button multiple times throughout it. Making a video that I've been working on for months and still haven't made the thumbnail. I'm gonna make it today! Good vid.

[@Fi_Sci_]

Like video editing thumbnails can be difficult, but with persistence and helpful guides like you the process gets easier with time. Most fun thumbnails I’ve made have been for Sonic frontiers, lot of great shots to work with.

[@josephdurham4611]

Dude , I watched the Sonic Video a few months ago! lol Awesome! Full circle

[@GioMaXV]

My thumbnails are usually just a render from the animation with its title

[@kwsegura]

Create what you feel like. Learn by doing it. Thank you for the value and knowledge Neat, as always!

[@PatienceMakesPerfect]

Always remember the unseen impact your words have on others, many appreciate you deeply and are not able to comment/ express that directly I wish you the best man 👍🏾✨

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

🥹

[@zackattack3569]

I honestly love making thumbnails! It's super fun!

[@PizzaDad]

Was just wondering when you'd upload again and give us more A+ creator tools.

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

thank you :D

[@His_Coconut_Gun]

Save me mr rocks, how do I convey my scroobly cat cartoon through one image

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

If you ever watched Ed, Edd, n Eddy, do you remember the title cards that would come up for each episode after the intro animation? That's what comes to mind for me

[@His_Coconut_Gun]

@NeatOnTheRocks oh wow thanks that actually really helps-

[@twoozstudios1]

I just make something funny and call it a day. If it makes me laugh it’s good!

[@tbmHQ]

This was a really cool video. I've always felt like my thumbnails seemed out of touch and not enough effort put into any of them.

[@Coolguy.399]

Oh hell yeah, another one of the fire videos.

[@scribblecloud]

YEAAA

[@Snonc41]

I (mostly) take a random screenshot and spice it up a little

[@ragdollwilly1]

SAME

[@sierralvx]

When I worked for a studio I was making thumbnails for several short films conveyor belt-style. I had a quota of people I could squeeze in the image before it got to busy (it was like 3-4 at most). But my manager had a different quota of putting literally every character in the thumb. There were 7+ actors in some of these short films and I had a debate with my manager about what the point of putting all those people in the thumb would be if you couldn't even see them all. That and trying to fit long film titles in them as well(they were treating the thumb the same as a film poster). It was so much to fit in and I was trying to argue that it good to put in all this info, but that the film's _feeling_ was the most important. They didn't get it though and I got so tired of it I left.

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

Even 3-4 is mad pushing it imo. I'd have left too--it's imperative that when you're hired to do a job, the people who hired you trust you to know how to do that job lmao

[@XL-985]

nice!

[@kootunesscrewy]

Nah. We need to make them more like the object show thumbnails. But I like your thumbnail and great video.

[@SuspendedFlame]

ngl I just planned on not using any custom thumbnails and just using the ones KZbin generates I don't really care about making one

[@thecalvinistkat]

I like how you described the thumbnail as part of the video instead of, like, the “CLICK ME CLICK ME CLICK ME” picture that it so often seems to be. Thinking about it as part of the message and product itself is very helpful!

[@dadgamingonline]

Fantastic video! Another great take - I clicked this video because of the thumbnail and stayed for the epic tutorial. Thanks as always! :D

[@neleven]

I always make 2 thumbnails for my videos. One goes in my intro as the title card (like a cartoon), and the other is a recreation of my favorite moment in the video

[@IsaqueSbr]

Wo great video! :)

[@nunothedudesvideodump]

All this idealistic garbage, if u make a unique thumbnail u wont get views simple, u cant get away from the meta

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

This is the Meta, see: my channel views on videos before & after this change, which I showed in the video

[@PatrickStirling]

we here

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

my man

[@theprosonicgamer2011]

Wait, are you a sonic fan?

[@NeatOnTheRocks]

Um, yes!!!

[@theprosonicgamer2011]

@@NeatOnTheRocks WOW! Me too! I even have a whole channel dedicated to play sonic games!

[@JorWat25]

And then you've got ProZD, who uses default thumbnails for every video and still has a very successful channel.