How to make a YouTube thumbnail

Make a YouTube thumbnail in seven steps

1. 1

   Create a 1280 × 720 canvas

   Download the sample portrait. In the editor, choose File› then New… Set Name to Portrait lighting, Units to Pixels, Width to 1280 and Height to 720. Choose Black under Background and click Create.

   Leave the other settings at their defaults. Resolution is for print; the pixel dimensions determine the size of this thumbnail.

   

2. 2

   Place and fit the portrait

   Choose File› then Place Image as Layer… and select portrait-street.png. This puts the photo in the new canvas; File› then Open… would open a separate document.

   Choose Edit› then Free Transform. In the options bar, select the center dot in the nine-dot reference grid and turn on the chain link after H. Type 70 into W; H also becomes 70. Set X to 700 and Y to 360, then press Enter. These numbers shrink and position this sample without stretching it.

   Tip With your own photo, drag a corner with the link on and drag inside the frame to position it. Keep the face on the right and leave the left half for the headline.

   

   

3. 3

   Make an editable cut-out

   Choose Select› then Subject and wait for the selection border. Then choose Select› then Refine Edge… Set Preview to black and Zoom to 100% to inspect the hair.

   For this sample, keep Maximum edge recovery at 8 px with Adapt to edge on and Remove background color at 100%. Set Output to New layer with editable mask and click Apply. A mask hides the street while keeping the photo's pixels. The original photo layer becomes hidden.

   Double-click the new layer's name in Layers, type Portrait and press Enter.

   Tip If the selection misses part of your subject, follow the background-removal lesson to correct the selection and refine the edge.

   

   

4. 4

   Outline the subject

   Select the Portrait layer's image thumbnail, then choose Layer› then Layer Style› then Layer Style… Enable Stroke in the list at left: an outline around the visible pixels. Set Size to 8 px and Position to Outside. Click its Color swatch, type ffffff in the # field and click OK. Click OK in Layer Style to apply it.

   A white outline separates the dark blazer from the black background. Keep it narrow enough that the hair and face remain the focal point.

   

   

5. 5

   Add a two-line headline

   Choose Text in the left toolbar. In the options bar, use Arial, set Size to 96 px and turn on Bold. Click Color, enter ffe454 in the # field and click OK for the sample's yellow.

   Click once in the empty left area, roughly 64 pixels from the left edge and 270 pixels from the top. Type PORTRAIT, press Enter for a new line, then type LIGHTING. Finish with the checkmark in the options bar (Commit text). The words remain an editable text layer.

   Tip Press V, or choose the toolbar's Move button, to reposition the committed headline.

   

   

   

6. 6

   Read the design at thumbnail size

   Choose the Move button to hide the text cursor, then set the status-bar zoom to 25%. A 1280 × 720 canvas now appears at 320 × 180 pixels. Read both words without enlarging the view.

   If the headline is hard to read, remove words or increase its size. Leave space around the edges and keep the lower-right corner free of essential text, where a video-duration label may cover it.

   

7. 7

   Export the thumbnail and save its layers

   Choose File› then Export› then JPEG… Set File name to portrait-lighting.jpg and Quality to 90, then click Export. The sample is 1280 × 720 and well below 2 MB. Export writes a new file.

   Choose File› then Save As› then Lil Cactus Project… to keep the text, mask and outline editable. After that, File› then Save updates the project. Save writes an opened image back in its own format; for an image opened from this page, or any JPEG, the first Save opens Save Image.

   

   

   

Use the original photo as the background

A cut-out is optional. If your photo already has an empty area for text, place and fit it, then skip the selection, mask and portrait outline. Choose a text color that stands apart from that area. If the photo is busy everywhere, shorten the headline or use a different frame from the video.

Change the words, outline or background later

Open the saved .cactus project. Choose Text and click the headline to edit the words; finish with the checkmark. Select Portrait and reopen Layer› then Layer Style› then Layer Style… to change or remove the outline.

For another background color, select Background and choose Layer› then New Fill Layer› then Solid Color… Pick the color and confirm. The fill is added above Background, beneath the photo and text. Save the project and export a new JPEG.

Fix common thumbnail problems

The text sits behind the portrait

In Layers, drag the text row above Portrait, releasing over the upper half of its row. Text still needs its own space: move it away from the face instead of covering it.

The outline surrounds the entire photo

The style is on the unmasked source layer. Select the Portrait layer with a mask thumbnail and apply Stroke there. Keep the original portrait-street layer hidden.

The upload file is too large

Reopen File› then Export› then JPEG… and lower Quality from 90 to 80. Check the estimate and actual downloaded size. Use the compression lesson if you still need a smaller file.

The photo looks soft

Use a larger original or show the subject smaller. Enlarging a small cut-out cannot recreate missing detail; exporting at a higher Quality only reduces JPEG damage.

Upload the thumbnail to YouTube

In YouTube Studio on a computer, choose Content, open the video's details, then under Thumbnail choose Upload file. Select the exported JPEG and click SAVE. Your account must be verified to use a custom thumbnail.

These requirements were checked on October 11, 2026. See YouTube's current thumbnail guidance for changes. Continue with text formatting and alignment.

Coming from another editor

Photoshop

Place the photo through File › Place Embedded… Add the headline with the Horizontal Type tool and the outline through Layer › Layer Style › Stroke.

YouTube thumbnails: questions and answers