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"2024 Approved Unlocking the Secrets to High Clickthrough Rates in Thumbnails"
Unlocking the Secrets to High Clickthrough Rates in Thumbnails
The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Thumbnails that Get Views
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Search for any topic on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of videos. How do you decide which of them to watch? Thumbnails play a major role in what viewers decide to click on. They’re often more important than video titles.
Viewers click on thumbnails that both standout and feel relevant to their search. Your task when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails is to make something that does both of those things while also maintaining your personal style.
- How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
- How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
- YouTube Thumbnail Makers
- How to Make Thumbnails that Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
- Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Part 1: How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
In order to create a custom video thumbnail, you’ll need a program to put it together in. You can use an image editing program like Photoshop if you have one, but if you don’t you can check out these free thumbnail makers.
Here are some examples of popular thumbnail styles.
1. The Classic Thumbnail (Photo or Screenshot)
A photo that shows what happens in your video – whether that means the finished ‘look’ from your makeup tutorial or you posing in front of the landmark you shot your travel vlog in front of – is a great way to let viewers know what to expect. While curiosity can be a big motive behind clicking on a video thumbnail (or anything online), when people have searched for a specific topic they want to be convinced that your video has what they’re looking for.
#1. Choose Your Photo
To start off, either choose a still frame from your video or take a photograph while you’re still set up from your video. A separate photograph is usually a better idea because your video editor might not be able to export a high-quality snapshot, and also because you’re able to choose your facial expression.
Aim to make this shot a close-up or medium close-up and make sure you’re either in the center of the screen or off to one side, as per the ‘rule of thirds’. Many cameras allow you to bring an optional grid up onto your viewfinder. This will divide your screen into three equal segments both vertically and horizontally. Try to make sure your eyes line up with the top line, and if you’re going to be off to one side then make sure you’re on one of the vertical lines. This will ensure your image is visually appealing.
If you want to add text later, it’s a good idea to be off to one side.
Including your face is important for most types of YouTube videos. People are attracted to eye contact and are more likely to click on thumbnails that feature a face. Gamers might choose to use a picture of a video game character instead and it will have the same effect.
Some situations where it isn’t essential to include your face include tech reviews, where viewers will be more interested in seeing the product, and cooking videos where people are looking to be tempted by a yummy food pic.
#2. Add Text and/or Images
This part isn’t essential – in some cases, a photo is enough – but a lot of the thumbnails for the videos ranked highest in YouTube’s search results include either a couple of words of text, a simple graphic (i.e. an emoji), or both.
In some cases you might use text to make it clear what type of video you’ve made, i.e. ‘review’ or ‘tutorial’. It’s best to keep any text you use brief, but you could get a bit more descriptive and write something like ‘fall makeup tutorial’. Three words is probably the most you can get away with. Remember that your text will be shrunk down with the rest of your image; you need to make it big enough to read easily once it’s shrunk, and that means you don’t have a ton of room for text.
You should also avoid fonts that are harder to read. Fonts with a lot of curves can be harder to read, and you want to make sure you choose a color that stands out from your background. Yellow might work against black, but it probably won’t work against the beige wall of your sunny bedroom. Sans serif fonts tend to be best.
Another tactic used in successful thumbnails is to add small graphics, like emojis or small images (i.e. pumpkins for a Halloween video), which are related to your video’s content. As with text, you don’t want to overload your thumbnail with images, but they’re a great way to add something eye-catching that’s a bit different from competing thumbnails.
2. The Emotional Laser (Background + Face Reacting)
One increasingly popular style of YouTube thumbnail is what we’re going to call the ‘Emotional Laser’. It’s bright (like, blindingly bright), it communicates a clear feeling, and it creates high expectations for how exciting the video’s content is going to be.
The three main elements of the Emotional Laser thumbnail are a background (usually bright), your face on the right wearing an over-pronounced expression, and either the thing your expression is in reaction to (i.e. food, a product, the topic of your video in text) or reinforcement of your emotion (i.e an emoji or question marks) on the left.
#1. Ham It Up (Take Your Reaction Photo)
Take a high-quality photograph of yourself conveying strong emotion. Generally, you want to look extremely excited, disgusted, angry, or shocked depending on the theme of the video.
If there’s an object you want to include in your thumbnail, like a product you’ll be talking about, then it’s a good idea to hold it for this photo. Hold it to one side of your head, turn towards it slightly (but not so much that the camera can only see the side of your face) and put on the expression that’s supposed to be a reaction to the object.
It can be a good idea to take this photo in front of a solid color so you can remove the background easily with chroma key.
#2. Choose Your Background
Your background might be scenery, a solid color, or even the room you filmed the video in. Light or bright colors are popular. Make sure there’s nothing that will distract from your expression. If your background is a room, or anything else where there could be things like pictures hanging, you may want to add a blur effect in the next step.
#3. Put It Together
In your thumbnail maker or a program like Photoshop, you’ll need to put your photo and your background together. This will work differently depending on what program you use. If your program has a chroma key tool and your reaction photo was taken against a solid color then you can make that solid color transparent.
What if I don’t have a separate background? If you don’t have a background you want to use, but you still want your reaction to stand out the same way it would if you did, then you can use your photo editor’s blur tool to turn the normal background of your photo into something you can pop-out from.
#4. Add Extras (Text, Emojis, etc.)
If instead of an object you plan to fill the other side of your thumbnail with text, question marks, emojis, or some other graphic element then now is the time to add it.
Part 2: How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
When you upload a new video to YouTube, you will see a Custom thumbnail option under Video thumbnails after your upload is complete.
If you want to add a custom thumbnail to a video that’s already up, that’s easy too.
- Go to your Video Manager in the Creator Studio.
- Find the video you want to change the thumbnail for and click Edit next to it.
- Click Custom thumbnail on the right of the preview screen.
- Upload your thumbnail and click Save changes.
Remember when you’re uploading custom thumbnails that you need to use a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG image with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and that your file size has to be under 2MB.
YouTube recommends that thumbnail images have a resolution of 1280x720px, and you cannot upload an image with a width of less than 640 pixels.
Make sure that all of your thumbnails adhere to YouTube’s Community guidelines. Anything sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise graphic could result in your video being age-restricted.
Part 3: YouTube Thumbnail Makers
You don’t have to go out and buy a photo editor like Photoshop to make custom video thumbnails (although it’s a good thing to use if you already have it). Here are two free online programs you can use instead:
Canva is an intuitive option with templates for Thumbnails, Channel Art, and other social media graphics. There are stock photos and graphics provided, but not all of them are free (paid options cost $1 each). Canva’s templates do tend to include paid resources, so you may want to use them mostly for their layouts or as inspiration and replace everything they provide with your own images.
Generally, using Canva is as easy as dragging and dropping things where you want them. You’ll be able to set the dimensions for your project so the image you export is a perfect size. Adding text and changing the size, font, or color is easy too.
Adobe Spark also has templates for channel art, and it’s also very easy to use. The first time you use it helpful notes will pop up to guide you through the process. Using templates is especially simple because you just click on the elements in the pre-made thumbnail and replace them with your own photos/text.
You can make changes to the colors in your Spark thumbnail easily by selecting a new color scheme or filter. You can even toggle through layouts easily. When you choose a new layout, Spark will rearrange all the pieces of your current thumbnail to align with the new layout so you can quickly see what it looks like instead of having to rebuild.
Click to check more YouTube thumbnail makers
Part 4: How to Make Thumbnails That Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
Here are the top 10 best practices for creating effective YouTube thumbnails:
#1. Show What Your Video Is About
Being mysterious and clickbaity can get you views, if you’re already big. For small YouTubers, it pays off to be clear about your video’s topic. You want people to click who want to watch the actual content of your video. Even if you manage to get some clicks by being mysterious, you’ll probably end up with low viewer retention because people are clicking away when they realize your video isn’t what they were looking for. That will make YouTube’s algorithm rank your video lower, and then even fewer people will find it.
If your video is a product review, show the product in the thumbnail and maybe even write ‘review’ on it. If your video is a makeup tutorial, show your face with the finished makeup and maybe even include pictures of the products you used. People want to know what they’re clicking on before they click.
#2. Use a Consistent Layout
As you grow, you’ll want people to be able to see one of your thumbnails and instantly know it’s yours. Building a recognizable brand is about consistency. Try to stick with one basic layout for all of your videos. You can still customize every individual thumbnail by using different facial expressions and different graphics, but try to use similar backgrounds, fonts, and general layouts (i.e. you to the right of the thumbnails, text to the left) over and over.
#3. Use Your Face
Why should people want to watch your videos? If the answer is ‘because I can teach them to create delicious food’ or ‘because they want to learn about the latest iPhone’ then your thumbnail should include that food or that iPhone.
If part of the reason people want to watch your videos is you – your personality and your sense of humor – then you should be in your thumbnail.
Viewers who are on YouTube because they like seeing a creator’s personality like to feel the presence of that personality in the video thumbnail, and eye contact naturally draws attention and clicks.
#4. Add Small Graphics
Adding small graphics, like emojis or hearts, to your thumbnail can help you stand out in a couple different ways. First, if they’re being compared to thumbnails that are just screenshots from the video, your thumbnails will look a lot more polished. Second, they’ll add a splash of color which can draw eyes to your video in a search where other thumbnails are not using those same colors.
#5. Your Text Should Be Huge
Your thumbnail will end up being a fraction of the size it is while you’re creating it in your thumbnail maker, and that means that any text you use will end up being shrunk down. You could probably type a six-word sentence in a size 18 font and have it look fine while you’re making your thumbnail, but after you upload it there’s no way people will be able to read it at a glance.
Aim for a huge font size, and 3 words or less (so your thumbnail doesn’t end up looking crowded).
#6. Check Out The Competition
Type your video’s title or topic into the search engine on YouTube and look at the thumbnails for the videos that come up. These are your competition. You want to make a thumbnail that is similar enough to what comes up that viewers know it’s on the same topic, but different enough that it stands out.
Generally, if most of the thumbnails have the same layout, you’ll want to mimic that layout. Where you can break from the crowd is in the colors, fonts, and graphics you use.
Part 5: Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Whether or not you upload a custom thumbnail to YouTube, YouTube’s A.I will choose what it thinks are the 3 juiciest seconds of your video (you cannot choose for yourself) and play them as a GIF-like animation when people mouseover your video thumbnails.
As of now, this only works in the Google Chrome desktop browser. Videos have to be at least 30 seconds long to get moving thumbnails.
Alright, now that you know everything about YouTube thumbnails, go make one! Tell us in the comments what you’re going to do to make your video thumbnails stand out.
Touch Up YouTube Videos with Effects & Elements in Filmora
As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. Download the free trial version and get started now.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Search for any topic on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of videos. How do you decide which of them to watch? Thumbnails play a major role in what viewers decide to click on. They’re often more important than video titles.
Viewers click on thumbnails that both standout and feel relevant to their search. Your task when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails is to make something that does both of those things while also maintaining your personal style.
- How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
- How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
- YouTube Thumbnail Makers
- How to Make Thumbnails that Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
- Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Part 1: How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
In order to create a custom video thumbnail, you’ll need a program to put it together in. You can use an image editing program like Photoshop if you have one, but if you don’t you can check out these free thumbnail makers.
Here are some examples of popular thumbnail styles.
1. The Classic Thumbnail (Photo or Screenshot)
A photo that shows what happens in your video – whether that means the finished ‘look’ from your makeup tutorial or you posing in front of the landmark you shot your travel vlog in front of – is a great way to let viewers know what to expect. While curiosity can be a big motive behind clicking on a video thumbnail (or anything online), when people have searched for a specific topic they want to be convinced that your video has what they’re looking for.
#1. Choose Your Photo
To start off, either choose a still frame from your video or take a photograph while you’re still set up from your video. A separate photograph is usually a better idea because your video editor might not be able to export a high-quality snapshot, and also because you’re able to choose your facial expression.
Aim to make this shot a close-up or medium close-up and make sure you’re either in the center of the screen or off to one side, as per the ‘rule of thirds’. Many cameras allow you to bring an optional grid up onto your viewfinder. This will divide your screen into three equal segments both vertically and horizontally. Try to make sure your eyes line up with the top line, and if you’re going to be off to one side then make sure you’re on one of the vertical lines. This will ensure your image is visually appealing.
If you want to add text later, it’s a good idea to be off to one side.
Including your face is important for most types of YouTube videos. People are attracted to eye contact and are more likely to click on thumbnails that feature a face. Gamers might choose to use a picture of a video game character instead and it will have the same effect.
Some situations where it isn’t essential to include your face include tech reviews, where viewers will be more interested in seeing the product, and cooking videos where people are looking to be tempted by a yummy food pic.
#2. Add Text and/or Images
This part isn’t essential – in some cases, a photo is enough – but a lot of the thumbnails for the videos ranked highest in YouTube’s search results include either a couple of words of text, a simple graphic (i.e. an emoji), or both.
In some cases you might use text to make it clear what type of video you’ve made, i.e. ‘review’ or ‘tutorial’. It’s best to keep any text you use brief, but you could get a bit more descriptive and write something like ‘fall makeup tutorial’. Three words is probably the most you can get away with. Remember that your text will be shrunk down with the rest of your image; you need to make it big enough to read easily once it’s shrunk, and that means you don’t have a ton of room for text.
You should also avoid fonts that are harder to read. Fonts with a lot of curves can be harder to read, and you want to make sure you choose a color that stands out from your background. Yellow might work against black, but it probably won’t work against the beige wall of your sunny bedroom. Sans serif fonts tend to be best.
Another tactic used in successful thumbnails is to add small graphics, like emojis or small images (i.e. pumpkins for a Halloween video), which are related to your video’s content. As with text, you don’t want to overload your thumbnail with images, but they’re a great way to add something eye-catching that’s a bit different from competing thumbnails.
2. The Emotional Laser (Background + Face Reacting)
One increasingly popular style of YouTube thumbnail is what we’re going to call the ‘Emotional Laser’. It’s bright (like, blindingly bright), it communicates a clear feeling, and it creates high expectations for how exciting the video’s content is going to be.
The three main elements of the Emotional Laser thumbnail are a background (usually bright), your face on the right wearing an over-pronounced expression, and either the thing your expression is in reaction to (i.e. food, a product, the topic of your video in text) or reinforcement of your emotion (i.e an emoji or question marks) on the left.
#1. Ham It Up (Take Your Reaction Photo)
Take a high-quality photograph of yourself conveying strong emotion. Generally, you want to look extremely excited, disgusted, angry, or shocked depending on the theme of the video.
If there’s an object you want to include in your thumbnail, like a product you’ll be talking about, then it’s a good idea to hold it for this photo. Hold it to one side of your head, turn towards it slightly (but not so much that the camera can only see the side of your face) and put on the expression that’s supposed to be a reaction to the object.
It can be a good idea to take this photo in front of a solid color so you can remove the background easily with chroma key.
#2. Choose Your Background
Your background might be scenery, a solid color, or even the room you filmed the video in. Light or bright colors are popular. Make sure there’s nothing that will distract from your expression. If your background is a room, or anything else where there could be things like pictures hanging, you may want to add a blur effect in the next step.
#3. Put It Together
In your thumbnail maker or a program like Photoshop, you’ll need to put your photo and your background together. This will work differently depending on what program you use. If your program has a chroma key tool and your reaction photo was taken against a solid color then you can make that solid color transparent.
What if I don’t have a separate background? If you don’t have a background you want to use, but you still want your reaction to stand out the same way it would if you did, then you can use your photo editor’s blur tool to turn the normal background of your photo into something you can pop-out from.
#4. Add Extras (Text, Emojis, etc.)
If instead of an object you plan to fill the other side of your thumbnail with text, question marks, emojis, or some other graphic element then now is the time to add it.
Part 2: How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
When you upload a new video to YouTube, you will see a Custom thumbnail option under Video thumbnails after your upload is complete.
If you want to add a custom thumbnail to a video that’s already up, that’s easy too.
- Go to your Video Manager in the Creator Studio.
- Find the video you want to change the thumbnail for and click Edit next to it.
- Click Custom thumbnail on the right of the preview screen.
- Upload your thumbnail and click Save changes.
Remember when you’re uploading custom thumbnails that you need to use a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG image with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and that your file size has to be under 2MB.
YouTube recommends that thumbnail images have a resolution of 1280x720px, and you cannot upload an image with a width of less than 640 pixels.
Make sure that all of your thumbnails adhere to YouTube’s Community guidelines. Anything sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise graphic could result in your video being age-restricted.
Part 3: YouTube Thumbnail Makers
You don’t have to go out and buy a photo editor like Photoshop to make custom video thumbnails (although it’s a good thing to use if you already have it). Here are two free online programs you can use instead:
Canva is an intuitive option with templates for Thumbnails, Channel Art, and other social media graphics. There are stock photos and graphics provided, but not all of them are free (paid options cost $1 each). Canva’s templates do tend to include paid resources, so you may want to use them mostly for their layouts or as inspiration and replace everything they provide with your own images.
Generally, using Canva is as easy as dragging and dropping things where you want them. You’ll be able to set the dimensions for your project so the image you export is a perfect size. Adding text and changing the size, font, or color is easy too.
Adobe Spark also has templates for channel art, and it’s also very easy to use. The first time you use it helpful notes will pop up to guide you through the process. Using templates is especially simple because you just click on the elements in the pre-made thumbnail and replace them with your own photos/text.
You can make changes to the colors in your Spark thumbnail easily by selecting a new color scheme or filter. You can even toggle through layouts easily. When you choose a new layout, Spark will rearrange all the pieces of your current thumbnail to align with the new layout so you can quickly see what it looks like instead of having to rebuild.
Click to check more YouTube thumbnail makers
Part 4: How to Make Thumbnails That Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
Here are the top 10 best practices for creating effective YouTube thumbnails:
#1. Show What Your Video Is About
Being mysterious and clickbaity can get you views, if you’re already big. For small YouTubers, it pays off to be clear about your video’s topic. You want people to click who want to watch the actual content of your video. Even if you manage to get some clicks by being mysterious, you’ll probably end up with low viewer retention because people are clicking away when they realize your video isn’t what they were looking for. That will make YouTube’s algorithm rank your video lower, and then even fewer people will find it.
If your video is a product review, show the product in the thumbnail and maybe even write ‘review’ on it. If your video is a makeup tutorial, show your face with the finished makeup and maybe even include pictures of the products you used. People want to know what they’re clicking on before they click.
#2. Use a Consistent Layout
As you grow, you’ll want people to be able to see one of your thumbnails and instantly know it’s yours. Building a recognizable brand is about consistency. Try to stick with one basic layout for all of your videos. You can still customize every individual thumbnail by using different facial expressions and different graphics, but try to use similar backgrounds, fonts, and general layouts (i.e. you to the right of the thumbnails, text to the left) over and over.
#3. Use Your Face
Why should people want to watch your videos? If the answer is ‘because I can teach them to create delicious food’ or ‘because they want to learn about the latest iPhone’ then your thumbnail should include that food or that iPhone.
If part of the reason people want to watch your videos is you – your personality and your sense of humor – then you should be in your thumbnail.
Viewers who are on YouTube because they like seeing a creator’s personality like to feel the presence of that personality in the video thumbnail, and eye contact naturally draws attention and clicks.
#4. Add Small Graphics
Adding small graphics, like emojis or hearts, to your thumbnail can help you stand out in a couple different ways. First, if they’re being compared to thumbnails that are just screenshots from the video, your thumbnails will look a lot more polished. Second, they’ll add a splash of color which can draw eyes to your video in a search where other thumbnails are not using those same colors.
#5. Your Text Should Be Huge
Your thumbnail will end up being a fraction of the size it is while you’re creating it in your thumbnail maker, and that means that any text you use will end up being shrunk down. You could probably type a six-word sentence in a size 18 font and have it look fine while you’re making your thumbnail, but after you upload it there’s no way people will be able to read it at a glance.
Aim for a huge font size, and 3 words or less (so your thumbnail doesn’t end up looking crowded).
#6. Check Out The Competition
Type your video’s title or topic into the search engine on YouTube and look at the thumbnails for the videos that come up. These are your competition. You want to make a thumbnail that is similar enough to what comes up that viewers know it’s on the same topic, but different enough that it stands out.
Generally, if most of the thumbnails have the same layout, you’ll want to mimic that layout. Where you can break from the crowd is in the colors, fonts, and graphics you use.
Part 5: Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Whether or not you upload a custom thumbnail to YouTube, YouTube’s A.I will choose what it thinks are the 3 juiciest seconds of your video (you cannot choose for yourself) and play them as a GIF-like animation when people mouseover your video thumbnails.
As of now, this only works in the Google Chrome desktop browser. Videos have to be at least 30 seconds long to get moving thumbnails.
Alright, now that you know everything about YouTube thumbnails, go make one! Tell us in the comments what you’re going to do to make your video thumbnails stand out.
Touch Up YouTube Videos with Effects & Elements in Filmora
As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. Download the free trial version and get started now.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Search for any topic on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of videos. How do you decide which of them to watch? Thumbnails play a major role in what viewers decide to click on. They’re often more important than video titles.
Viewers click on thumbnails that both standout and feel relevant to their search. Your task when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails is to make something that does both of those things while also maintaining your personal style.
- How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
- How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
- YouTube Thumbnail Makers
- How to Make Thumbnails that Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
- Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Part 1: How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
In order to create a custom video thumbnail, you’ll need a program to put it together in. You can use an image editing program like Photoshop if you have one, but if you don’t you can check out these free thumbnail makers.
Here are some examples of popular thumbnail styles.
1. The Classic Thumbnail (Photo or Screenshot)
A photo that shows what happens in your video – whether that means the finished ‘look’ from your makeup tutorial or you posing in front of the landmark you shot your travel vlog in front of – is a great way to let viewers know what to expect. While curiosity can be a big motive behind clicking on a video thumbnail (or anything online), when people have searched for a specific topic they want to be convinced that your video has what they’re looking for.
#1. Choose Your Photo
To start off, either choose a still frame from your video or take a photograph while you’re still set up from your video. A separate photograph is usually a better idea because your video editor might not be able to export a high-quality snapshot, and also because you’re able to choose your facial expression.
Aim to make this shot a close-up or medium close-up and make sure you’re either in the center of the screen or off to one side, as per the ‘rule of thirds’. Many cameras allow you to bring an optional grid up onto your viewfinder. This will divide your screen into three equal segments both vertically and horizontally. Try to make sure your eyes line up with the top line, and if you’re going to be off to one side then make sure you’re on one of the vertical lines. This will ensure your image is visually appealing.
If you want to add text later, it’s a good idea to be off to one side.
Including your face is important for most types of YouTube videos. People are attracted to eye contact and are more likely to click on thumbnails that feature a face. Gamers might choose to use a picture of a video game character instead and it will have the same effect.
Some situations where it isn’t essential to include your face include tech reviews, where viewers will be more interested in seeing the product, and cooking videos where people are looking to be tempted by a yummy food pic.
#2. Add Text and/or Images
This part isn’t essential – in some cases, a photo is enough – but a lot of the thumbnails for the videos ranked highest in YouTube’s search results include either a couple of words of text, a simple graphic (i.e. an emoji), or both.
In some cases you might use text to make it clear what type of video you’ve made, i.e. ‘review’ or ‘tutorial’. It’s best to keep any text you use brief, but you could get a bit more descriptive and write something like ‘fall makeup tutorial’. Three words is probably the most you can get away with. Remember that your text will be shrunk down with the rest of your image; you need to make it big enough to read easily once it’s shrunk, and that means you don’t have a ton of room for text.
You should also avoid fonts that are harder to read. Fonts with a lot of curves can be harder to read, and you want to make sure you choose a color that stands out from your background. Yellow might work against black, but it probably won’t work against the beige wall of your sunny bedroom. Sans serif fonts tend to be best.
Another tactic used in successful thumbnails is to add small graphics, like emojis or small images (i.e. pumpkins for a Halloween video), which are related to your video’s content. As with text, you don’t want to overload your thumbnail with images, but they’re a great way to add something eye-catching that’s a bit different from competing thumbnails.
2. The Emotional Laser (Background + Face Reacting)
One increasingly popular style of YouTube thumbnail is what we’re going to call the ‘Emotional Laser’. It’s bright (like, blindingly bright), it communicates a clear feeling, and it creates high expectations for how exciting the video’s content is going to be.
The three main elements of the Emotional Laser thumbnail are a background (usually bright), your face on the right wearing an over-pronounced expression, and either the thing your expression is in reaction to (i.e. food, a product, the topic of your video in text) or reinforcement of your emotion (i.e an emoji or question marks) on the left.
#1. Ham It Up (Take Your Reaction Photo)
Take a high-quality photograph of yourself conveying strong emotion. Generally, you want to look extremely excited, disgusted, angry, or shocked depending on the theme of the video.
If there’s an object you want to include in your thumbnail, like a product you’ll be talking about, then it’s a good idea to hold it for this photo. Hold it to one side of your head, turn towards it slightly (but not so much that the camera can only see the side of your face) and put on the expression that’s supposed to be a reaction to the object.
It can be a good idea to take this photo in front of a solid color so you can remove the background easily with chroma key.
#2. Choose Your Background
Your background might be scenery, a solid color, or even the room you filmed the video in. Light or bright colors are popular. Make sure there’s nothing that will distract from your expression. If your background is a room, or anything else where there could be things like pictures hanging, you may want to add a blur effect in the next step.
#3. Put It Together
In your thumbnail maker or a program like Photoshop, you’ll need to put your photo and your background together. This will work differently depending on what program you use. If your program has a chroma key tool and your reaction photo was taken against a solid color then you can make that solid color transparent.
What if I don’t have a separate background? If you don’t have a background you want to use, but you still want your reaction to stand out the same way it would if you did, then you can use your photo editor’s blur tool to turn the normal background of your photo into something you can pop-out from.
#4. Add Extras (Text, Emojis, etc.)
If instead of an object you plan to fill the other side of your thumbnail with text, question marks, emojis, or some other graphic element then now is the time to add it.
Part 2: How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
When you upload a new video to YouTube, you will see a Custom thumbnail option under Video thumbnails after your upload is complete.
If you want to add a custom thumbnail to a video that’s already up, that’s easy too.
- Go to your Video Manager in the Creator Studio.
- Find the video you want to change the thumbnail for and click Edit next to it.
- Click Custom thumbnail on the right of the preview screen.
- Upload your thumbnail and click Save changes.
Remember when you’re uploading custom thumbnails that you need to use a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG image with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and that your file size has to be under 2MB.
YouTube recommends that thumbnail images have a resolution of 1280x720px, and you cannot upload an image with a width of less than 640 pixels.
Make sure that all of your thumbnails adhere to YouTube’s Community guidelines. Anything sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise graphic could result in your video being age-restricted.
Part 3: YouTube Thumbnail Makers
You don’t have to go out and buy a photo editor like Photoshop to make custom video thumbnails (although it’s a good thing to use if you already have it). Here are two free online programs you can use instead:
Canva is an intuitive option with templates for Thumbnails, Channel Art, and other social media graphics. There are stock photos and graphics provided, but not all of them are free (paid options cost $1 each). Canva’s templates do tend to include paid resources, so you may want to use them mostly for their layouts or as inspiration and replace everything they provide with your own images.
Generally, using Canva is as easy as dragging and dropping things where you want them. You’ll be able to set the dimensions for your project so the image you export is a perfect size. Adding text and changing the size, font, or color is easy too.
Adobe Spark also has templates for channel art, and it’s also very easy to use. The first time you use it helpful notes will pop up to guide you through the process. Using templates is especially simple because you just click on the elements in the pre-made thumbnail and replace them with your own photos/text.
You can make changes to the colors in your Spark thumbnail easily by selecting a new color scheme or filter. You can even toggle through layouts easily. When you choose a new layout, Spark will rearrange all the pieces of your current thumbnail to align with the new layout so you can quickly see what it looks like instead of having to rebuild.
Click to check more YouTube thumbnail makers
Part 4: How to Make Thumbnails That Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
Here are the top 10 best practices for creating effective YouTube thumbnails:
#1. Show What Your Video Is About
Being mysterious and clickbaity can get you views, if you’re already big. For small YouTubers, it pays off to be clear about your video’s topic. You want people to click who want to watch the actual content of your video. Even if you manage to get some clicks by being mysterious, you’ll probably end up with low viewer retention because people are clicking away when they realize your video isn’t what they were looking for. That will make YouTube’s algorithm rank your video lower, and then even fewer people will find it.
If your video is a product review, show the product in the thumbnail and maybe even write ‘review’ on it. If your video is a makeup tutorial, show your face with the finished makeup and maybe even include pictures of the products you used. People want to know what they’re clicking on before they click.
#2. Use a Consistent Layout
As you grow, you’ll want people to be able to see one of your thumbnails and instantly know it’s yours. Building a recognizable brand is about consistency. Try to stick with one basic layout for all of your videos. You can still customize every individual thumbnail by using different facial expressions and different graphics, but try to use similar backgrounds, fonts, and general layouts (i.e. you to the right of the thumbnails, text to the left) over and over.
#3. Use Your Face
Why should people want to watch your videos? If the answer is ‘because I can teach them to create delicious food’ or ‘because they want to learn about the latest iPhone’ then your thumbnail should include that food or that iPhone.
If part of the reason people want to watch your videos is you – your personality and your sense of humor – then you should be in your thumbnail.
Viewers who are on YouTube because they like seeing a creator’s personality like to feel the presence of that personality in the video thumbnail, and eye contact naturally draws attention and clicks.
#4. Add Small Graphics
Adding small graphics, like emojis or hearts, to your thumbnail can help you stand out in a couple different ways. First, if they’re being compared to thumbnails that are just screenshots from the video, your thumbnails will look a lot more polished. Second, they’ll add a splash of color which can draw eyes to your video in a search where other thumbnails are not using those same colors.
#5. Your Text Should Be Huge
Your thumbnail will end up being a fraction of the size it is while you’re creating it in your thumbnail maker, and that means that any text you use will end up being shrunk down. You could probably type a six-word sentence in a size 18 font and have it look fine while you’re making your thumbnail, but after you upload it there’s no way people will be able to read it at a glance.
Aim for a huge font size, and 3 words or less (so your thumbnail doesn’t end up looking crowded).
#6. Check Out The Competition
Type your video’s title or topic into the search engine on YouTube and look at the thumbnails for the videos that come up. These are your competition. You want to make a thumbnail that is similar enough to what comes up that viewers know it’s on the same topic, but different enough that it stands out.
Generally, if most of the thumbnails have the same layout, you’ll want to mimic that layout. Where you can break from the crowd is in the colors, fonts, and graphics you use.
Part 5: Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Whether or not you upload a custom thumbnail to YouTube, YouTube’s A.I will choose what it thinks are the 3 juiciest seconds of your video (you cannot choose for yourself) and play them as a GIF-like animation when people mouseover your video thumbnails.
As of now, this only works in the Google Chrome desktop browser. Videos have to be at least 30 seconds long to get moving thumbnails.
Alright, now that you know everything about YouTube thumbnails, go make one! Tell us in the comments what you’re going to do to make your video thumbnails stand out.
Touch Up YouTube Videos with Effects & Elements in Filmora
As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. Download the free trial version and get started now.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Search for any topic on YouTube and you’ll find thousands of videos. How do you decide which of them to watch? Thumbnails play a major role in what viewers decide to click on. They’re often more important than video titles.
Viewers click on thumbnails that both standout and feel relevant to their search. Your task when it comes to creating YouTube thumbnails is to make something that does both of those things while also maintaining your personal style.
- How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
- How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
- YouTube Thumbnail Makers
- How to Make Thumbnails that Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
- Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Part 1: How to Make a YouTube Thumbnail
In order to create a custom video thumbnail, you’ll need a program to put it together in. You can use an image editing program like Photoshop if you have one, but if you don’t you can check out these free thumbnail makers.
Here are some examples of popular thumbnail styles.
1. The Classic Thumbnail (Photo or Screenshot)
A photo that shows what happens in your video – whether that means the finished ‘look’ from your makeup tutorial or you posing in front of the landmark you shot your travel vlog in front of – is a great way to let viewers know what to expect. While curiosity can be a big motive behind clicking on a video thumbnail (or anything online), when people have searched for a specific topic they want to be convinced that your video has what they’re looking for.
#1. Choose Your Photo
To start off, either choose a still frame from your video or take a photograph while you’re still set up from your video. A separate photograph is usually a better idea because your video editor might not be able to export a high-quality snapshot, and also because you’re able to choose your facial expression.
Aim to make this shot a close-up or medium close-up and make sure you’re either in the center of the screen or off to one side, as per the ‘rule of thirds’. Many cameras allow you to bring an optional grid up onto your viewfinder. This will divide your screen into three equal segments both vertically and horizontally. Try to make sure your eyes line up with the top line, and if you’re going to be off to one side then make sure you’re on one of the vertical lines. This will ensure your image is visually appealing.
If you want to add text later, it’s a good idea to be off to one side.
Including your face is important for most types of YouTube videos. People are attracted to eye contact and are more likely to click on thumbnails that feature a face. Gamers might choose to use a picture of a video game character instead and it will have the same effect.
Some situations where it isn’t essential to include your face include tech reviews, where viewers will be more interested in seeing the product, and cooking videos where people are looking to be tempted by a yummy food pic.
#2. Add Text and/or Images
This part isn’t essential – in some cases, a photo is enough – but a lot of the thumbnails for the videos ranked highest in YouTube’s search results include either a couple of words of text, a simple graphic (i.e. an emoji), or both.
In some cases you might use text to make it clear what type of video you’ve made, i.e. ‘review’ or ‘tutorial’. It’s best to keep any text you use brief, but you could get a bit more descriptive and write something like ‘fall makeup tutorial’. Three words is probably the most you can get away with. Remember that your text will be shrunk down with the rest of your image; you need to make it big enough to read easily once it’s shrunk, and that means you don’t have a ton of room for text.
You should also avoid fonts that are harder to read. Fonts with a lot of curves can be harder to read, and you want to make sure you choose a color that stands out from your background. Yellow might work against black, but it probably won’t work against the beige wall of your sunny bedroom. Sans serif fonts tend to be best.
Another tactic used in successful thumbnails is to add small graphics, like emojis or small images (i.e. pumpkins for a Halloween video), which are related to your video’s content. As with text, you don’t want to overload your thumbnail with images, but they’re a great way to add something eye-catching that’s a bit different from competing thumbnails.
2. The Emotional Laser (Background + Face Reacting)
One increasingly popular style of YouTube thumbnail is what we’re going to call the ‘Emotional Laser’. It’s bright (like, blindingly bright), it communicates a clear feeling, and it creates high expectations for how exciting the video’s content is going to be.
The three main elements of the Emotional Laser thumbnail are a background (usually bright), your face on the right wearing an over-pronounced expression, and either the thing your expression is in reaction to (i.e. food, a product, the topic of your video in text) or reinforcement of your emotion (i.e an emoji or question marks) on the left.
#1. Ham It Up (Take Your Reaction Photo)
Take a high-quality photograph of yourself conveying strong emotion. Generally, you want to look extremely excited, disgusted, angry, or shocked depending on the theme of the video.
If there’s an object you want to include in your thumbnail, like a product you’ll be talking about, then it’s a good idea to hold it for this photo. Hold it to one side of your head, turn towards it slightly (but not so much that the camera can only see the side of your face) and put on the expression that’s supposed to be a reaction to the object.
It can be a good idea to take this photo in front of a solid color so you can remove the background easily with chroma key.
#2. Choose Your Background
Your background might be scenery, a solid color, or even the room you filmed the video in. Light or bright colors are popular. Make sure there’s nothing that will distract from your expression. If your background is a room, or anything else where there could be things like pictures hanging, you may want to add a blur effect in the next step.
#3. Put It Together
In your thumbnail maker or a program like Photoshop, you’ll need to put your photo and your background together. This will work differently depending on what program you use. If your program has a chroma key tool and your reaction photo was taken against a solid color then you can make that solid color transparent.
What if I don’t have a separate background? If you don’t have a background you want to use, but you still want your reaction to stand out the same way it would if you did, then you can use your photo editor’s blur tool to turn the normal background of your photo into something you can pop-out from.
#4. Add Extras (Text, Emojis, etc.)
If instead of an object you plan to fill the other side of your thumbnail with text, question marks, emojis, or some other graphic element then now is the time to add it.
Part 2: How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail
When you upload a new video to YouTube, you will see a Custom thumbnail option under Video thumbnails after your upload is complete.
If you want to add a custom thumbnail to a video that’s already up, that’s easy too.
- Go to your Video Manager in the Creator Studio.
- Find the video you want to change the thumbnail for and click Edit next to it.
- Click Custom thumbnail on the right of the preview screen.
- Upload your thumbnail and click Save changes.
Remember when you’re uploading custom thumbnails that you need to use a .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG image with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and that your file size has to be under 2MB.
YouTube recommends that thumbnail images have a resolution of 1280x720px, and you cannot upload an image with a width of less than 640 pixels.
Make sure that all of your thumbnails adhere to YouTube’s Community guidelines. Anything sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise graphic could result in your video being age-restricted.
Part 3: YouTube Thumbnail Makers
You don’t have to go out and buy a photo editor like Photoshop to make custom video thumbnails (although it’s a good thing to use if you already have it). Here are two free online programs you can use instead:
Canva is an intuitive option with templates for Thumbnails, Channel Art, and other social media graphics. There are stock photos and graphics provided, but not all of them are free (paid options cost $1 each). Canva’s templates do tend to include paid resources, so you may want to use them mostly for their layouts or as inspiration and replace everything they provide with your own images.
Generally, using Canva is as easy as dragging and dropping things where you want them. You’ll be able to set the dimensions for your project so the image you export is a perfect size. Adding text and changing the size, font, or color is easy too.
Adobe Spark also has templates for channel art, and it’s also very easy to use. The first time you use it helpful notes will pop up to guide you through the process. Using templates is especially simple because you just click on the elements in the pre-made thumbnail and replace them with your own photos/text.
You can make changes to the colors in your Spark thumbnail easily by selecting a new color scheme or filter. You can even toggle through layouts easily. When you choose a new layout, Spark will rearrange all the pieces of your current thumbnail to align with the new layout so you can quickly see what it looks like instead of having to rebuild.
Click to check more YouTube thumbnail makers
Part 4: How to Make Thumbnails That Get Clicks (Without Clickbait!)
Here are the top 10 best practices for creating effective YouTube thumbnails:
#1. Show What Your Video Is About
Being mysterious and clickbaity can get you views, if you’re already big. For small YouTubers, it pays off to be clear about your video’s topic. You want people to click who want to watch the actual content of your video. Even if you manage to get some clicks by being mysterious, you’ll probably end up with low viewer retention because people are clicking away when they realize your video isn’t what they were looking for. That will make YouTube’s algorithm rank your video lower, and then even fewer people will find it.
If your video is a product review, show the product in the thumbnail and maybe even write ‘review’ on it. If your video is a makeup tutorial, show your face with the finished makeup and maybe even include pictures of the products you used. People want to know what they’re clicking on before they click.
#2. Use a Consistent Layout
As you grow, you’ll want people to be able to see one of your thumbnails and instantly know it’s yours. Building a recognizable brand is about consistency. Try to stick with one basic layout for all of your videos. You can still customize every individual thumbnail by using different facial expressions and different graphics, but try to use similar backgrounds, fonts, and general layouts (i.e. you to the right of the thumbnails, text to the left) over and over.
#3. Use Your Face
Why should people want to watch your videos? If the answer is ‘because I can teach them to create delicious food’ or ‘because they want to learn about the latest iPhone’ then your thumbnail should include that food or that iPhone.
If part of the reason people want to watch your videos is you – your personality and your sense of humor – then you should be in your thumbnail.
Viewers who are on YouTube because they like seeing a creator’s personality like to feel the presence of that personality in the video thumbnail, and eye contact naturally draws attention and clicks.
#4. Add Small Graphics
Adding small graphics, like emojis or hearts, to your thumbnail can help you stand out in a couple different ways. First, if they’re being compared to thumbnails that are just screenshots from the video, your thumbnails will look a lot more polished. Second, they’ll add a splash of color which can draw eyes to your video in a search where other thumbnails are not using those same colors.
#5. Your Text Should Be Huge
Your thumbnail will end up being a fraction of the size it is while you’re creating it in your thumbnail maker, and that means that any text you use will end up being shrunk down. You could probably type a six-word sentence in a size 18 font and have it look fine while you’re making your thumbnail, but after you upload it there’s no way people will be able to read it at a glance.
Aim for a huge font size, and 3 words or less (so your thumbnail doesn’t end up looking crowded).
#6. Check Out The Competition
Type your video’s title or topic into the search engine on YouTube and look at the thumbnails for the videos that come up. These are your competition. You want to make a thumbnail that is similar enough to what comes up that viewers know it’s on the same topic, but different enough that it stands out.
Generally, if most of the thumbnails have the same layout, you’ll want to mimic that layout. Where you can break from the crowd is in the colors, fonts, and graphics you use.
Part 5: Animated YouTube Thumbnails
Whether or not you upload a custom thumbnail to YouTube, YouTube’s A.I will choose what it thinks are the 3 juiciest seconds of your video (you cannot choose for yourself) and play them as a GIF-like animation when people mouseover your video thumbnails.
As of now, this only works in the Google Chrome desktop browser. Videos have to be at least 30 seconds long to get moving thumbnails.
Alright, now that you know everything about YouTube thumbnails, go make one! Tell us in the comments what you’re going to do to make your video thumbnails stand out.
Touch Up YouTube Videos with Effects & Elements in Filmora
As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface. Download the free trial version and get started now.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Unveiling Our Exclusive Package of Free YouTube Adornments
50 FREE YouTube Banners - Come See Them All
Liza Brown
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.
Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!
Here’s what you’ll be getting:
- YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
- Bright YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
- Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Education Channels
- Funky YouTube Banners
- Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
- YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
- Minimalist YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.
Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous
This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.
Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go
You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.
Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day
This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.
Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine
Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.
Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors
Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.
2. Bright YouTube Banners
These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.
Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset
Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.
Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl
This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!
Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness
This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!
Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk
Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.
Bright Banner 5: Color Splat
Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.
3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.
Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You
This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.
Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever
All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.
Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches
These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.
Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion
In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.
Comedy Banner 5: The Theater
This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.
4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners
These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.
Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos
Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.
Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames
This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.
Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare
Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.
Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City
This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.
Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts
There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.
5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.
Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece
Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.
Education Banner 2: Science Rules
Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.
Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard
This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.
Education Banner 4: Classroom
This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.
Education Banner 5: Creative Learning
Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.
6. Funky YouTube Banners
You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.
Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti
If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.
Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh
This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.
Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud
The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!
Funky Banner 4: Prismatic
A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.
Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise
This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.
7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.
Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space
Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.
Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise
Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.
Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs
Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).
Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles
This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.
Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula
An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.
8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.
Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft
Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.
Gaming Banner 2: Commando
It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.
Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops
Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.
Gaming Banner 4: Firepower
Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.
Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ
This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.
9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.
Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy
This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.
Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business
Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.
Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain
This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.
Minimalist Banner 4: Zen
This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.
Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses
Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.
10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.
Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway
This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.
Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust
This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.
Travel Banner 3: Beachy
If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.
Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living
You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.
Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter
This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.
Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.
Liza Brown
Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Liza Brown
Liza Brown
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.
Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!
Here’s what you’ll be getting:
- YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
- Bright YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
- Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Education Channels
- Funky YouTube Banners
- Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
- YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
- Minimalist YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.
Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous
This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.
Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go
You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.
Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day
This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.
Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine
Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.
Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors
Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.
2. Bright YouTube Banners
These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.
Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset
Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.
Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl
This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!
Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness
This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!
Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk
Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.
Bright Banner 5: Color Splat
Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.
3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.
Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You
This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.
Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever
All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.
Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches
These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.
Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion
In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.
Comedy Banner 5: The Theater
This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.
4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners
These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.
Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos
Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.
Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames
This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.
Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare
Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.
Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City
This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.
Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts
There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.
5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.
Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece
Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.
Education Banner 2: Science Rules
Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.
Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard
This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.
Education Banner 4: Classroom
This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.
Education Banner 5: Creative Learning
Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.
6. Funky YouTube Banners
You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.
Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti
If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.
Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh
This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.
Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud
The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!
Funky Banner 4: Prismatic
A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.
Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise
This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.
7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.
Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space
Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.
Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise
Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.
Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs
Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).
Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles
This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.
Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula
An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.
8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.
Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft
Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.
Gaming Banner 2: Commando
It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.
Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops
Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.
Gaming Banner 4: Firepower
Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.
Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ
This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.
9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.
Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy
This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.
Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business
Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.
Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain
This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.
Minimalist Banner 4: Zen
This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.
Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses
Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.
10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.
Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway
This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.
Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust
This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.
Travel Banner 3: Beachy
If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.
Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living
You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.
Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter
This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.
Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.
Liza Brown
Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Liza Brown
Liza Brown
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.
Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!
Here’s what you’ll be getting:
- YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
- Bright YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
- Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Education Channels
- Funky YouTube Banners
- Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
- YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
- Minimalist YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.
Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous
This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.
Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go
You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.
Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day
This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.
Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine
Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.
Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors
Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.
2. Bright YouTube Banners
These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.
Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset
Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.
Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl
This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!
Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness
This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!
Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk
Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.
Bright Banner 5: Color Splat
Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.
3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.
Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You
This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.
Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever
All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.
Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches
These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.
Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion
In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.
Comedy Banner 5: The Theater
This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.
4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners
These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.
Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos
Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.
Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames
This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.
Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare
Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.
Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City
This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.
Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts
There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.
5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.
Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece
Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.
Education Banner 2: Science Rules
Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.
Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard
This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.
Education Banner 4: Classroom
This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.
Education Banner 5: Creative Learning
Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.
6. Funky YouTube Banners
You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.
Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti
If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.
Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh
This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.
Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud
The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!
Funky Banner 4: Prismatic
A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.
Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise
This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.
7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.
Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space
Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.
Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise
Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.
Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs
Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).
Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles
This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.
Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula
An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.
8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.
Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft
Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.
Gaming Banner 2: Commando
It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.
Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops
Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.
Gaming Banner 4: Firepower
Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.
Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ
This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.
9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.
Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy
This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.
Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business
Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.
Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain
This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.
Minimalist Banner 4: Zen
This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.
Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses
Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.
10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.
Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway
This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.
Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust
This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.
Travel Banner 3: Beachy
If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.
Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living
You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.
Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter
This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.
Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.
Liza Brown
Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Liza Brown
Liza Brown
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.
Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!
Here’s what you’ll be getting:
- YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
- Bright YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
- Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Education Channels
- Funky YouTube Banners
- Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
- YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
- Minimalist YouTube Banners
- YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.
Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous
This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.
Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go
You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.
Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day
This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.
Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine
Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.
Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors
Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.
2. Bright YouTube Banners
These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.
Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset
Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.
Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl
This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!
Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness
This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!
Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk
Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.
Bright Banner 5: Color Splat
Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.
3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.
Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You
This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.
Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever
All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.
Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches
These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.
Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion
In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.
Comedy Banner 5: The Theater
This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.
4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners
These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.
Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos
Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.
Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames
This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.
Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare
Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.
Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City
This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.
Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts
There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.
5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.
Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece
Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.
Education Banner 2: Science Rules
Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.
Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard
This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.
Education Banner 4: Classroom
This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.
Education Banner 5: Creative Learning
Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.
6. Funky YouTube Banners
You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.
Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti
If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.
Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh
This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.
Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud
The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!
Funky Banner 4: Prismatic
A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.
Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise
This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.
7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.
Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space
Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.
Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise
Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.
Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs
Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).
Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles
This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.
Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula
An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.
8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.
Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft
Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.
Gaming Banner 2: Commando
It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.
Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops
Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.
Gaming Banner 4: Firepower
Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.
Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ
This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.
9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.
Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy
This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.
Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business
Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.
Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain
This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.
Minimalist Banner 4: Zen
This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.
Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses
Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.
10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels
These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.
Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway
This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.
Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust
This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.
Travel Banner 3: Beachy
If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.
Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living
You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.
Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter
This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.
Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.
Liza Brown
Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Liza Brown
- Title: "2024 Approved Unlocking the Secrets to High Clickthrough Rates in Thumbnails"
- Author: Joseph
- Created at : 2024-05-31 13:50:34
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 13:50:34
- Link: https://youtube-stream.techidaily.com/2024-approved-unlocking-the-secrets-to-high-clickthrough-rates-in-thumbnails/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
