---
name: youtube-thumbnails
description: Makes YouTube thumbnails from a creator's photo, one clear idea with a real expression and two to four words that read at phone size, in four distinct styles to pick from or A/B test. Use for YouTube thumbnails, Shorts covers and video covers.
---
# YouTube thumbnails

## Read first
Video.md for the title, the promise, the words, the expression and the thing to show; the creator's photo and anything else wired in.

## Every thumbnail
- One idea that makes people curious about the video's promise, read in under a second at 160 px wide: the face, the thing, and at most four words.
- The creator from the photo, kept exactly: the same face, features, skin tone, hair and glasses; only the expression changes, to the one in Video.md. Chest up and large (40 to 60% of the frame), eyes sharp, on one third of the frame, looking at the camera or at the thing.
- The thing to show, big and simple on the other side: a product, a screen, a result, a before and after. A screen shows big, simple shapes in Video.md's colours, never small words, code or a device inside a device.
- The words exactly as Video.md spells them, in a heavy, clean sans-serif in Video.md's colours, two lines at most, in the space beside the face, never over it. Nothing else written anywhere: no captions, interface text, code, logos or watermarks unless Video.md asks.
- Every style keeps Video.md's expression (amazed means raised brows and an open mouth), the creator's clothes from the photo, and Video.md's colours, even on screens.
- Strong separation: a rim of light around the creator, a background darker or calmer than them, high contrast and rich colour.
- The bottom-right corner kept clear: YouTube puts the video's length there.
- For a Shorts cover (9:16): the face in the upper half, the words in the middle, the bottom fifth clear.

## The four styles
Each keeps the same creator, idea and words, so they compare fairly.
1. Bold: a bright, saturated colour behind, a punchy key light, big words with a thick outline.
2. Cinematic: a real place from the video's world, low-key dramatic light, a film grade, the words in clean white.
3. Clean: one flat colour from Video.md, the creator cut out with a soft shadow, the thing beside them, lots of space, the fewest words.
4. Illustrated: the creator redrawn as a stylised 3D character (or in the wired style), still clearly them, in a playful scene, the words in the same art.

## Avoid
A changed or prettified face, more than one idea, more than four words, small text, arrows and circles everywhere, clutter, misspelled words, and a promise the video doesn't keep.