Preset
YouTube thumbnail
A bold click ready thumbnail in one of sixteen proven layouts, with a large expressive subject, a vivid color pop background and a clean rim lit finish. Wide for YouTube, tall for Shorts or 4:5 for the feed, and readable even at feed size.
- Best for
- YouTube videos, Shorts covers, podcast episodes, stream art
- Output
- Image
- Time
- under 1 min
- Credits
- 8 credits per thumbnail, 21 at 2K and 58 at 4K est.
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350 free credits when you create an account, no card required. You land right in NOLGIA Agent, on this preset's questions, ready to run.
How to use it
NOLGIA Agent asks these questions in a chat, one at a time, with your own material.
What words go on it?
Write it in your own words. Two or three punchy words, exactly as they should read on the thumbnail.
For example: I QUIT SUGAR
Which layout?Optional
Pick one. Pick one of sixteen proven thumbnail layouts. Skip it and we use big face and object.
- Big face and object
- Before and after
- Split versus
- Three panel story
- Size contrast
- Repetition
- and 10 more
Who is in it?Optional
Pick one of your characters. Pick a saved character to be the face, or leave it blank and we pick someone.
Your channel logoOptional
Add a photo from your device or your Library. Optional. Drop your logo or pick it from your library and it appears once, small, exactly as given. If your project has a brand kit, its logo rides by itself, so you can skip this.
The one object in the pictureOptional
Write it in your own words. The one thing the thumbnail is about, like a cracked sugar cube. You can skip this.
For example: A cracked sugar cube
What face is the person making?
Pick one. The look the viewer sees first.
- Shock
- Joy
- Intrigue
Where will it be shown?Optional
Pick one. YouTube videos are wide, Shorts are tall, feed covers are 4:5.
- YouTube video 16:9
- Shorts 9:16
- Feed cover 4:5
Create
One press of Create makes your image and saves it to your Library. The price is on the button, and nothing runs until you press it. It takes under 1 min.
About this preset
A bold, click ready thumbnail built to stay readable at feed size, which is where most thumbnails quietly fail. You get a large expressive subject filling half the frame, a vivid colour field behind them, clean rim lighting, and your hero object oversized and flying at the camera. Tell us the video topic and we handle the composition, the lighting and the colour. Pick one of sixteen proven layouts, from big face and object to before and after, a three panel story or a map, and choose wide for YouTube, tall for Shorts or 4:5 for the feed. It renders on GPT Image 2.5, the strongest lane we have for readable text, bold layout and packshot detail in one frame. Under a minute, and cheap enough to make five and pick one. Add your channel logo and it lands once, exactly as given, or let your brand kit place it. Every thumbnail ships with a 120 px feed size proof, so you see it the way YouTube shows it before you publish.
Use cases
- YouTube video and Shorts covers
- Podcast episode art and stream thumbnails
- A B testing five thumbnails on one video before you publish
- Course and webinar cover images
- Consistent channel art when every video needs to look like the same show
Examples
Made with this preset, with the prompt behind each one.
Tech review thumbnail: shocked creator, oversized product flying at the lens, title readable at feed size
A tech reviewer, chest up, with an oversized product flying toward the lens on a vivid colour field, title "GAME CHANGER"
Shorts cover, 9:16, size contrast layout: a tiny cabin on a cliff beside a beaming creator, title readable at feed size
Bold, punchy YouTube-thumbnail composite, poster-grade, photoreal and high-impact, NOT a muted cinematic movie still, laid out exactly as the COMPOSITION line below describes and filling the whole frame edge to edge. TITLE TEXT: I LIVED TINY. The title is set in huge thick bold sans serif letters, white with a heavy black outline, in the clearest open area of the layout and never across the face, perfectly legible even at feed size. The hero product is unbranded, carrying no logo, wordmark or trademark of any kind. No other text, no readable UI labels, no watermark. COMPOSITION: size contrast, the hero object shown absurdly huge or absurdly tiny next to the subject so the difference in scale is the whole joke. SUBJECT: a creator with a crisply sharp face and one big readable expression, the mood named at the end of this prompt, or an open mouthed wide eyed gasp of shock when none is named. KEY ELEMENT: a tiny wooden cabin perched on a cliff edge. BACKGROUND: wherever the layout leaves open space, a bold, vivid saturated color-field gradient with punchy high-contrast tones, soft vignette, edge falloff. LIGHTING: strong key light sculpting the face, soft fill lifting the shadows, and a defined back light tracing a clean bright rim along hair and shoulders. GRADE: vivid high-impact color, punchy contrast, bright clean exposure, rich saturated colors, deep blacks and bright highlights, crisp and glossy, poster-punchy. Use only the brand names, logos and trademarks the customer includes in their request; never add real-world brands, logos or trademarked designs the customer did not mention. Joy: The subject beams with big open joy for an upbeat, positive thumbnail.
Suggest directions for me
Say what you are making it for and NOLGIA suggests a few directions for YouTube thumbnail, each with a prompt and the options it sets. Nothing is generated until you use one.
Options
Named starting points this preset knows. Pick one after signing in and the chat opens with it in the composer.
- ShockThe subject reacts with wide eyed shock for maximum click curiosity.
- JoyThe subject beams with big open joy for an upbeat, positive thumbnail.
- IntrigueThe subject looks curious and mysterious to make viewers want answers.
Models it uses
The model NOLGIA Agent reaches for on this preset. Sign in to see live credit costs and capabilities from the model catalog.
GPT Image 2.5 Flare
image- Credits per generation
- 8 credits per image
Ready to make a YouTube thumbnail?
A few quick questions in the chat, your own material, and NOLGIA makes it.