Studying, working from home, and having a nice income is a dream for every person in this world, and YouTube has been able to provide that to Editors and Designers, do you wonder how?
We interviewed a Prodigy of Thumbnails in todays episode, asking him questions about how this can be possible.
Gavilan, who also goes by the name Leatherleaf or Leaf on social media, has turned YouTube thumbnails into a business that does not interrupt his studies. Here are his responses to our questions.
- How did you start on thumbnails, what was that moment you said this is my thing?
- The whole thumbnail journey started in like February of 2020, where I saw a designer break down one of his thumbnail step by step on the internet. I thought it was super cool, so I went home and downloaded Blender that day.
- What would you say about your first designs?
- My first pieces were nothing impressive, but I just kept making more pieces, practicing and practicing, and getting help from experienced designers and tutorials.
- What was the hardest obstacle you experienced as a starter?
- The biggest obstacle I think just building a reputation and a name for myself. If no one really knows of you, you won’t get commissions and opportunities to further yourself, so I made sure to consistently be active and productive in growing my brand. This just helps so I have steady work and can make thumbnails when I want. The flexibility is definitely a nice plus.
- What do you think makes a thumbnail clickable?
- I think a clickable thumbnail has all of the following: not too much going on; if there’s lots of subjects, clutter, unnecessary noise, and overall distractions, the viewer wont be able to isolate the proper subject, and understand the thumbnail, leading to less clicks. A good rule of thumb is to have about 3 main points of attention in a thumbnail, such as a face, an object that has relevancy to the video, a specific environment the subject is in, and so on. On top of that, bright and vibrant colors help a lot in catching eyes, as well as making sure the subject stands out and doesnt blend in too much. Ways to do this are adding vignette to bring the eyes towards the center, and changing the colors of clothes to create color contrast. More is not always better, simplicity is very helpful in thumbnails.
- What would be something you would suggest the beginners on the thumbnail world doing?
- This applies to many aspects of creation, but I’d recomend looking at people to learn and take inspiration from. Looking at existing top tier thumbnail artists’ work will help greatly, as well as learning more about Photoshop and designing tools. For that I recomend people like Benny Productions and PixImperfect. Learning stuff like how light works, how to simulate situations in photoshop, and what works best specifically for thumbnails is a great thing for beginners to do. When a client commissions you, they are paying for what you know, not just what you can do, so growing what you know is a great way to jump into the thumbnail world. On top of that, post your work to twitter, behance, and possibly other sites. Growing a social media presence is easy and free for marketing your product. Every time you get a commission, you can post that piece to advertise for more commissions.
- What would be the 3 Main Things that a thumbnail MUST HAVE?
- 1. Instantly Identifiable subject relevant to the video ( a face, object in the vid, etc.)
- 2. something that makes it stand out from the rest (something overdramatized and slightly unrealistic to capture attention, something that might not actually happen but helps with quickly getting eyes to look)
- 3. overall composited and graded well (sloppy photoshop jobs and bad colors will lead to a fall in ctr, these things are very important)
- Would you say YouTube consists of different styles of thumbnails and that every style can be sucessful? Or is it only a few style that can be sucessful.
- Out of all successful thumbnails, nearly all of them fall into only a handful of categories. These few types of thumbs are proven to often be successful, but I do believe not every thumbnail has to fall under these categories. I believe it is totally possible to create something out of the ordinary and it still does well
- What is your main inspirtaion when doing a thumbnail?
- I’m inspired by other’s work in the community, inspired by the excitement of helping a video perform well, and just overall very happy with this passion. Love what I do and grateful I get to work in this space.
- Which part would you say is the hardest while making a thumbnail?
- When I was learning how to do all this, I think figuring out what to do right was very difficult. Learning posing, advanced color correction, and manipulation were struggles for a while. Now, I feel mostly comfortable in all aspects of each project, so I’ll say that the slowest and most time consuming parts are the hardest: subject masking and painting in shadows. For these I recomend the pen tool, and hair brush, and an understanding of light while using a flow of 1%.
- As a strategist what is a advice / strategy you strictly tell your clients and public to do?
- Keep it simple. Its always better to make certain the viewer can comprehend the thumbnail, instead of going over the top. There is a difference between artistic beauty and youtube success. Sometimes an image looks amazing but won’t get clicks. Learning the difference is a beneficial skill.
Would you guys want a job that is able to provide you enough money to study at the same time?
We would suggest you take the advice of the brilliant artist, and get started as soon as possible.
Reports and Writes TrainViral,
Social Media and Contact of the Artist
LeatherLeaf
