Thumbnail Mode

Optimized settings and workflows for creating YouTube thumbnails. Includes aspect ratio presets, text overlay guidance, and best practices for click-worthy thumbnails.

Tutorial

What Thumbnail Mode Is

Thumbnail Mode is like having an expert thumbnail designer built into your image generation. When enabled, it:

• Understands your goals - Analyzes what kind of thumbnail you want

• Applies best practices - Uses proven techniques that work for YouTube

• Optimizes automatically - Enhances your prompt with thumbnail-specific guidance

• Uses proven styles - Optionally references successful thumbnail examples

• Creates variations - Generates 2-4 different approaches for A/B testing

In simple terms: It makes your thumbnails better without you having to know all the technical details.

How It Works

When you enable Thumbnail Mode, the system goes through these steps before generating your image:

Step 1: Understanding Your Request

What you see:

• "Understanding your thumbnail goals..."

• "Analyzing your images and prompt..."

What's happening:

• System figures out what niche you're targeting (gaming, tech, finance, etc.)

• Identifies the tone you want (excited, curious, professional, etc.)

• Understands what elements should be in the thumbnail

• Suggests the best thumbnail style for your content

Step 2: Finding Best Practices

What you see:

• "Searching best practices..."

• "Querying thumbnail knowledge..."

What's happening:

• System looks up proven thumbnail techniques

• Finds successful thumbnail styles for your niche

• Gets design rules that work

• Optionally selects reference thumbnails to inspire the style (if "On with Blueprints" is enabled)

Step 3: Optimizing Your Prompt

What you see:

• "Optimizing your prompt..."

• "Compiling insights into optimized instructions..."

What's happening:

• Your prompt gets enhanced with thumbnail best practices

• System adds guidance for high click-through rates

• If generating multiple thumbnails, creates unique variations

• Prepares everything for generation

Step 4: Generating Your Thumbnail

What you see:

• Standard image generation progress

• Your thumbnail(s) appear when ready

What's happening:

• System generates your optimized thumbnail

• Applies thumbnail-specific quality requirements

• If multiple thumbnails requested, generates all variations

Thumbnail Mode Options

Off (Default)

What it does:

• Standard image generation

• No thumbnail optimization

• Just creates what you ask for

Use when:

• Creating regular images (not thumbnails)

• You want standard generation

• You don't need thumbnail optimization

On

What it does:

• ✅ Runs full thumbnail optimization

• ✅ Applies thumbnail best practices

• ✅ Uses proven techniques for your niche

• ✅ Optimizes prompts for better results

• ❌ Does NOT attach reference images

Use when:

• Creating thumbnails

• Want automatic optimization

• Don't need visual style references

• Want faster generation

Best for:

• Quick thumbnail creation

• When you have a clear idea

• Testing different concepts

On with Blueprints

What it does:

• ✅ Everything from "On" mode

• ✅ PLUS attaches 1-4 reference thumbnail images

• ✅ Uses proven high-performing thumbnails as style inspiration

• ✅ Combines your idea with successful layouts

Use when:

• Want style inspiration from proven thumbnails

• Need help with composition

• Want to match successful thumbnail styles

• Creating professional thumbnails

Best for:

• Professional thumbnail creation

• When you want proven layouts

• Matching successful styles

• Maximum optimization

Multi-Thumbnail Generation Mode

When you request multiple thumbnails (2-4), Thumbnail Mode creates different optimized variations of the same concept. Each one uses a different approach, style, and strategy.

How It Works

1. Smart selection - System picks relevant thumbnail styles for your prompt

2. Unique variations - Each thumbnail gets its own optimized approach

3. Visual differences - Different poses, colors, layouts, backgrounds

4. Text variations - Different text/CTA approaches (questions, statements, numbers, etc.)

5. All at once - All variations generate simultaneously

What Makes Each Variation Different

Variation 1:

• Style: Reaction Face approach

• Pose: Confident standing

• Colors: Professional blue tones

• Background: Clean gradient studio

• Text: Direct statement

Variation 2:

• Style: Versus/Comparison approach

• Pose: Power stance

• Colors: Vibrant warm tones

• Background: Dynamic burst effect

• Text: Curiosity gap hook

Variation 3:

• Style: Hero Object focus

• Pose: Thoughtful lean

• Colors: Cool mysterious tones

• Background: Minimal dark

• Text: Question hook

Variation 4:

• Style: Before/After approach

• Pose: Presenting gesture

• Colors: High contrast

• Background: Clean solid color

• Text: Number list hook

Requesting Multiple Thumbnails

Method 1: Quantity selector

• Enable Thumbnail Mode

• Use quantity selector (if available)

• Select 2, 3, or 4 thumbnails

• Generate

Method 2: Natural language

• "Create 3 thumbnail variations"

• "Generate 4 different thumbnails"

• "A/B test thumbnails"

Method 3: Explicit request

• "Create multiple thumbnails with different approaches"

How to Edit a Thumbnail

After generating a thumbnail, you can edit it using standard image editing:

Basic Modifications

1. Re-attach the thumbnail - Drag the generated thumbnail back into the composer

2. Turn Thumbnail Mode OFF - Disable thumbnail mode in settings

3. Make your edits - Describe the changes you want

4. Generate - Creates the edited version

Why turn Thumbnail Mode off:

• Thumbnail Mode optimizes for creating NEW thumbnails

• For edits, you want standard image-to-image behavior

• Avoids re-applying thumbnail optimization to an existing thumbnail

Example Workflow

1. Generate thumbnail with Thumbnail Mode ON

2. Review the thumbnail

3. Re-attach thumbnail to composer

4. Turn Thumbnail Mode OFF

5. Type: "Change the text to 'New Title'"

6. Generate edited version

Advanced Edits with Canvas Editor

1. Generate thumbnail

2. Click "Edit" on thumbnail

3. Use Canvas Editor tools

4. Make precise edits (remove objects, add elements, modify colors)

5. Apply changes

6. Thumbnail Mode can stay ON (combines with Canvas)

Supported Models

Only specific models support Thumbnail Mode. These models have the advanced optimization enabled:

Model	Thumbnail Mode	Multi-Image	Best For
Nano Banana Pro	✅ Primary	✅ Up to 14 images	Most versatile
Flux 2 Max	✅ Enabled	✅ Up to 3 images	High quality, crisp text
GPT Image 1.5	✅ Enabled	✅ Up to 3 images	High quality, creative output

Models that DON'T support Thumbnail Mode:

• Z-Image Turbo

• Seadream v4

Troubleshooting

"Thumbnail Mode not available"

Solutions:

• Check you're using a supported model

• Ensure Generate Media is enabled

• Some models don't support Thumbnail Mode

• Switch to a supported model

"Blueprints not attaching"

Solutions:

• Ensure "On with Blueprints" is selected (not just "On")

• Check reference library is available

• System automatically selects references based on your prompt

• References are optional - "On" mode works without them

"Variations look too similar"

Solutions:

• Request more variations (3-4 instead of 2)

• Be more specific about wanting different approaches

• System creates variations automatically

• Each should have different style/approach

"How to edit a thumbnail"

Solutions:

• Re-attach the generated thumbnail

• Turn Thumbnail Mode OFF

• Describe your changes

• Or use Canvas Editor for precise edits

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Next: Learn about Video Editing Tools for modifying videos.