{"id":62209,"date":"2019-05-03T04:33:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T09:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/?p=62209"},"modified":"2024-05-30T23:06:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T03:06:19","slug":"how-to-make-great-youtube-thumbnails-for-your-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/how-to-make-great-youtube-thumbnails-for-your-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Great YouTube Thumbnails for Your Videos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll show you how you can\ndownload free editing software and use it to create the most eye catching\nYouTube thumbnails. This guide will help you to bring attention to your\nthumbnails to help boost click through rate and bring more views to your\nchannel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time we\u2019ve finished this guide,\nhopefully you\u2019ll know everything there is to know about creating thumbnails on\nYouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Image Editing Software for Thumbnails<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To start with, you\u2019ll need to download free image editing software. We would suggest using GIMP – the GNU image manipulation program. It\u2019s free, open source, and our tutorial will be based on using GIMP, so you can follow along. Download GIMP here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once you have downloaded GIMP, open the\ninstaller and go through the installation process. Once installed, open GIMP\nand you\u2019ll be greeted with something a little like the image shown above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Click File<\/strong><\/li>
  • Click New<\/strong><\/li>
  • A new window will open<\/li>
  • Input 1920<\/strong> into Width<\/strong><\/li>
  • Input 1080<\/strong> into Height<\/strong><\/li>
  • Click OK<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    You will now have a blank canvas to work with.\nThis will be the beginning of your YouTube thumbnail. Next, it\u2019s time to add\nsome text. If you watch YouTube, you\u2019ll know that text is one of the most\nimportant parts to draw interested viewers in. The most successful YouTube\nthumbnails have the majority of the image dedicated to text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The key here is to use words that will draw in\nyour users or intrigue them. This depends on the topic itself, but if you can\nthink of a good title, you can often just include the beginning of the title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    To do this, first click the text tool<\/strong> in the top left. Next, on your blank canvas, click to start typing. You can use the floating toolbar to adjust the text size and the box on the left to change font. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are many fonts to choose from by default, but Ebrima Bold is a good starting point. It\u2019s clear, eye-catching, but doesn\u2019t lean too far towards either being over the top or too toned down and boring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    We would suggest typing the first line of\ntext. Later, you can repeat the following steps with a new line of text, if\nneeded. Now that you have some text, it\u2019s time to add some detail to it to help\nit stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before that, though, we need to choose a background color or image that compliments the text. Usually, a nice backdrop with toned down colors can work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For this, we\u2019ll just take a backdrop of a mountain by searching for a mountain image on a royalty free image website like Pexels or Pixabay. For your image, try something relevant to the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
    • Right click your image <\/strong>found on Google, and click Copy Image.<\/strong><\/li>
    • Go back to GIMP <\/strong>and then press Shift+Ctrl+N <\/strong>to create a new layer.<\/li>
    • Keep the default settings and click OK.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
      • Next, press Ctrl+V<\/strong> to paste your image onto the newly created layer in GIMP.<\/li>
      • In the top tab, click Layer<\/strong>, then <\/strong>click To New Layer.<\/strong><\/li>
      • After, pay attention to the panel in the bottom right. This is your layer panel.<\/li>
      • Click and drag your image layer<\/strong> right to the bottom, just above \u2018background\u2019.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        After, you should have your image layer just\nbelow your text layer, like shown above. We don\u2019t want this background\ndistracting viewers from the text, so click\nthe blur tool<\/strong> from the box in the top left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Once you have the blur tool, increase its size to about 400<\/strong>, then\nstart clicking and dragging on your background image. This will blur the image\nand help to keep it from being too distracting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        If your background is still drawing too much\nattention away from your text, you can adjust\nthe opacity slightly<\/strong> in the layer box at the bottom right. Double click the number on the opacity bar <\/strong>and\nadjust it 2-5%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Once that is done, your background image will\nbe ready, and it\u2019s now time to focus on the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        If you\u2019d like to, you can adjust the text color and other attributes by clicking on the text tool, selecting your previously written text, and using the tools that appear on the left side of the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        If you don\u2019t want to go over the top, white is\noften an excellent choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Next, it\u2019s time to add a background to your text. This helps the text to stand out even further. To do this, first click on the text tool <\/strong>again in the top left, then double click your text<\/strong> to select it. After that, right click<\/strong>, and <\/strong>click Path from Text<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        After that, click Select <\/strong>in the toolbar at the top, and then click From Path.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        When you do this, your text will have an outline to indicate that it has been selected. Next, click Layer<\/strong> in the top and click New Layer<\/strong>. After click Select <\/strong>in the toolbar at the top again and <\/strong>click Grow.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        A new window will appear. Choose 20 px<\/strong> under Grow selection by<\/strong>\u2019. Finally, get the bucket tool <\/strong>in the box in the top left and choose a color. Black is often a good choice. Click to fill in the selected area. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        You should end up with something that looks\nlike this. After following these steps, you can bring the black background\nlayer under the text layer by dragging\nit in the layer box <\/strong>in the bottom right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        You will now have completed the steps\nnecessary to make text that stands out. You can repeat these steps for a new\nline of text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        After doing this with a new line of text, here\nis what we have created. It\u2019s still missing something, though. To finish it off\nwith a final touch, we would suggest adding a point of interest to the bottom\nright corner of the thumbnail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        If you are able, a good image of your face will be perfect, but if it doesn\u2019t suit the video, you could take a good shot of whatever product or item you may be discussing in your video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Or, even just grabbing a stock photo image can work. For this example, we went to Pexels and found an ecstatic man, then right clicked it, copied it, and pasted it onto a new layer on GIMP, just like with the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Once you\u2019ve done this, you may need to cut out\nthe background, so follow the steps below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Click the Free select tool <\/strong>lasso in the toolbox at the top left. Click to create points around the outline of the area you\u2019d like to keep. If you need to be more precise zoom in and out with ctrl+mouse wheel up\/down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        This process can take some time, but just be patient. You\u2019ll get the hang of it after a while. Make sure the start point connects with the end point by clicking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Once you\u2019ve finished, go to the Select <\/strong>option in the top toolbar and <\/strong>click By Color.<\/strong> After, click Select <\/strong>again and <\/strong>click Invert<\/strong>. Finally, press Ctrl+X.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        This is what you should see with your finished\nimage. With some tweaking you can make the text grab the attention of those\nthat would be interested in your video and choose a backdrop and supporting\nimage that are more relevant to what the video is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        I hope that you\u2019ve found this guide on making\nYouTube thumbnails useful. If you\u2019d like any more advice, please leave a\ncomment below and I\u2019ll get back to you when I can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        In this guide, we\u2019ll show you how you can download free editing software and use it to create the most eye catching YouTube thumbnails. This guide will help you to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":62228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5267],"tags":[5338],"class_list":{"0":"post-62209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-media","8":"tag-youtube"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/fun-thumbnails-youtube.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Ollie Green","author_link":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/author\/ogreen\/"},"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t