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AI YouTube thumbnail artwork

Create AI YouTube thumbnail artwork from your episode brief: a face-reaction host or a clean product hero, with clean space left for your overlay text. No click promises; the demo people are synthetic.

Sema will tell you what she needs, look at what you send, and show you the price before anything is made.

Generated sample. Topic: baking a crusty Dutch oven loaf. Premise: sticky dough becomes a dark, crackling loaf. Hook: the first crack of the crust. Angle: face-reaction. Featuring: the host in the attached photo, delighted.

Prompt for this example

A real photograph, an environmental portrait, telephoto-compressed at 135mm and f/4 on a clean low-noise full-frame sensor. A bare off-axis flash from camera left, a stop and a half above the ambient daylight, models the subject crisply with definite single-edged contact shadows while the background holds readable detail a stop darker. Honest skin texture, natural microcontrast, controlled saturated color, deep clean shadows and a polished natural finish. A thumbnail artwork for a baking episode about a crusty Dutch oven loaf, angle: face-reaction, hook: the first crack of the crust. Use [your face photo] as the identity for the host, the only person in the scene: keep their recognizable features as this style renders people, including hair, eyes, any small nose stud, skin tone and apparent age, without substituting another person or changing age, skin tone or hair. Scene: a close head-and-shoulders crop of the host a little left of center, three-quarter turned toward the camera with a wide, open, delighted smile and visible eyes looking at the viewer; both hands lift a dark crusty round loaf with a deeply cracked, steaming crust at the chest, held against an apron at the bottom center and clear of both lower corners; the kitchen behind falls subdued and softly out of focus, a stop darker than the lit face; strong separation with one controlled saturated accent in the warm crust; a clean quiet region across the upper right stays empty for overlay text and the lower-right corner stays quiet. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Tool prompt

One thumbnail artwork for the video in [your video brief: the topic, what happens in the episode, and the one hook], composed for [your angle: face-reaction, object hero, before/after split or curiosity gap], one uninterrupted horizontal 16:9 frame in [style]. Compose for thumbnail scale: one dominant focal subject, large simple shapes, and strong value contrast between the subject and a subdued background, so the episode reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. For a reaction layout, use a close head-and-shoulders crop with visible eyes and the emotion you name, appropriate to the episode; the face is never hidden, shrunken or rubbery. Use strong subject-background separation, controlled saturated accents, and an outline or restrained glow only when separation needs it; leave out decorative props. Reserve a clean negative-space region on the left or top for your overlay text, and keep the lower-right corner quiet so a video timestamp stays readable. [Optional face photo] If supplied, it is the identity: carry the person's recognizable features, apparent age, skin tone, hairstyle and hair color into the artwork as the chosen style renders people, and never substitute another face or change age, skin tone or hair. [Optional product photo] If supplied, it names the product: keep its visible shape, proportions, material and branding exactly as photographed and render its label wording character for character; if detail is unreadable, ask for a clearer photo rather than inventing branding. [Optional exact wording in quotes] Only if you give exact wording, render those words character for character in plain lettering that stays legible at thumbnail size; otherwise every surface stays plain and unlettered. Never add a person, product, animal or prop the brief does not name, and never stage earnings, results, awards, statistics or events the episode does not describe. A real person's likeness comes only from that person's own photo, and a competitor's thumbnail is never copied. A before/after split needs both real states supplied, and is otherwise not built. Render everything in one consistent language of the chosen style and let the artwork fill the frame with nothing important cropped.

Works with any AI art generator.

When to use this tool

You are publishing a video and want artwork for one episode: a tutorial, a review, a topic explainer. Bring the episode in words, choose the angle, and optionally add a face or product photo for visual discovery.

What you get

One AI-made horizontal 16:9 thumbnail artwork in the catalog look you choose, downloaded as an image file at the dimensions the provider returns. The episodes in the examples are fictional briefs, the people in them are synthetic, and no click-through is promised.

How it works

  1. Describe the video: its topic, what actually happens in the episode, the one hook, and your angle: face-reaction, object hero, before/after split, or curiosity gap.
  2. Optionally add a face or product photo and choose a catalog look; Sema plans for free and leaves clean space for the overlay text you add in your own editor.
  3. Approve the quoted credits, then inspect the artwork at thumbnail size before keeping it; a second distinct concept is a separate priced generation.

Tips for the best brief

  • Name the single image the hook deserves; a thumbnail reads one subject at a time.
  • Say what the artwork must not show: the episode stays truthful when the scene is bounded.

Questions

How exact is the wording in the artwork?

Only wording you approve is rendered, matched character for character and reviewed character by character before the artwork ships. With no approved wording the artwork ships completely unlettered, with clean space left or top for the overlay text you add in your own editor, and Sema will not add titles, captions or watermarks on her own.

Can I use a photo of my face or my product?

Yes, and both are optional. Send only photos you have the right to use. A face photo makes the artwork identity-bound: recognizable features, apparent age, skin tone and hair are preserved and the face is never substituted, with the emotion you choose for the episode. A product photo keeps the item's visible shape and branding, and unreadable branding is declined rather than invented. A likeness is aimed for in style, never guaranteed.

Will the artwork show things that never happen in my video?

No. The artwork illustrates the episode you describe. It never stages earnings, results, awards, statistics or events the brief does not give, never renders a celebrity or public figure, and never copies a competitor's thumbnail. A before/after split is built only from both real states you supply; when either state is missing, that angle is declined.

What does one thumbnail cost?

Planning with Sema is free. One thumbnail artwork with no photo reference costs 2 credits at the standard quality tier, 4 credits with one reference and 6 with two, and the exact cost is shown for your approval before anything runs. A generation that fails technically returns its credits.

Can I get several thumbnail options to compare?

Yes, as separate priced generations. Ask for a second distinct concept and Sema prices it as a new generation, so you can test genuinely different ideas rather than tiny changes of one design. Same-prompt reruns are not different angles, and there is no batch: each concept is its own approved generation.

What do I get, and how do I use it?

One AI-made raster artwork in a horizontal 16:9 frame, downloaded as an image file at the dimensions the provider returns; the demos on this page are 1672x941, within one percent of 16:9. YouTube currently recommends 3840x2160 with 1280x720 as the baseline, so check the delivered file against YouTube's current upload requirements yourself; no export-spec compliance is claimed.

Can Sema guarantee clicks?

No. The artwork is composed to read clearly at thumbnail scale, but no tool can guarantee click-through, and nothing here promises viral performance. YouTube's own Test and compare, not this tool, runs thumbnail A/B tests against watch time. No trademark clearance, exclusivity or production-ready deliverable is included.

Who are the people in the demo thumbnails?

No one real. Every host in the examples is a generated synthetic person shown on a fictional video brief, and the featured projector is a fictional product with an invented brand. Your artwork features only the people and products you supply and describe.

Pairs well with

What Sema needs from you

  • Video brief · required · text

    Describe the video's topic, what happens in the episode, and the one hook the thumbnail should carry.

  • Angle · required · text

    Pick the angle the thumbnail should take: face-reaction, object hero, before/after split, or curiosity gap.

  • Face photo · optional · image

    Optional and encouraged for a face-reaction angle: a clear photo of the person the artwork should feature, plus the emotion you want. Skip it and the artwork casts no one.

  • Product photo · optional · image

    Optional: a clear photo of the product the episode features. Skip it and the artwork shows no product.

  • Exact wording · optional · text

    Optional: exact words to place in the artwork, in quotes. Leave it out and the artwork stays unlettered.

Results may vary; inspect before sharing.

Choose a style

Each example is display-only. Your own words guide the result; examples are never used as your input.

Dramatic Flash Portrait thumbnail

A thumbnail artwork in the Dramatic daylight-flash portrait look, with crisp photographic faces against subdued surroundings for your episode.
Explore Dramatic Flash Portrait thumbnail style

Prompt for this example

A real photograph, an environmental portrait, telephoto-compressed at 135mm and f/4 on a clean low-noise full-frame sensor. A bare off-axis flash from camera left, a stop and a half above the ambient daylight, models the subject crisply with definite single-edged contact shadows while the background holds readable detail a stop darker. Honest skin texture, natural microcontrast, controlled saturated color, deep clean shadows and a polished natural finish. A thumbnail artwork for a tech review episode about a week with a palm-sized projector, angle: face-reaction, hook: whether a pocket projector really replaces a TV. Use [your face photo] as the identity for the host, the only person in the scene: keep their recognizable features as this style renders people, including hair, any beard and glasses, skin tone and apparent age, without substituting another person or changing age, skin tone or hair. Use [your product photo] for the product and keep its rounded-square matte charcoal body, round glass lens, perforated top grille and gray braided lanyard exactly as photographed, with its label turned toward the body so it shows nothing. Scene: a close head-and-shoulders crop of the host at the left third, turned toward the camera with one raised eyebrow and a skeptical half-smile, eyes looking at the viewer; they hold the small projector at chest height with its round lens facing the camera, subordinate to the face; behind them one plain, dark, evenly out-of-focus wall with no shelves, frames, plants or windows, more than a stop darker than the lit face, leaving the upper left and right as calm dark negative space; only a quiet hint of desk at the bottom edge, and the lower-right corner stays quiet. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Prompt for this example

A real photograph, an environmental portrait, telephoto-compressed at 135mm and f/4 on a clean low-noise full-frame sensor. A bare off-axis flash from camera left, a stop and a half above the ambient daylight, models the subject crisply with definite single-edged contact shadows while the background holds readable detail a stop darker. Honest skin texture, natural microcontrast, controlled saturated color, deep clean shadows and a polished natural finish. A thumbnail artwork for a personal finance episode about a simple cash-envelope plan for one month, angle: face-reaction, hook: the one envelope most plans forget. Use [your face photo] as the identity for the presenter, the only person in the scene: keep their recognizable features as this style renders people, including hair, any beard and glasses, skin tone and apparent age, without substituting another person or changing age, skin tone or hair. Scene: a close head-and-shoulders crop of the presenter at the left of the frame, facing the camera with a calm, knowing expression and visible eyes; before them on the desk stands a short row of plain kraft paper envelopes, and one single envelope stands apart at the end of the row, lifted upright and catching the strongest light, clearly the one the episode is about; a small tower of plain gold coins sits beside the row; the envelopes and coins are unmarked props, and the separated envelope sits clear of the lower-right corner; the home office behind is a plain, dark, softly out-of-focus wall with no shelves or frames, more than a stop darker than the lit face; a clean quiet region across the upper right stays empty for overlay text. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the calm face and the single lit envelope read at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, amounts, balances, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every envelope, coin and surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Dramatic Flash Portrait thumbnail

A real photograph, an environmental portrait, telephoto-compressed at 135mm and f/4 on a clean low-noise full-frame sensor. A bare off-axis flash from camera left, a stop and a half above the ambient daylight, models the subject crisply with definite single-edged contact shadows while the background holds readable detail a stop darker. Honest skin texture, natural microcontrast, controlled saturated color, deep clean shadows and a polished natural finish.

Commercial Still Life thumbnail

A thumbnail artwork in the Commercial still-life photography look, a clean product or food hero for your episode.
Explore Commercial Still Life thumbnail style

Prompt for this example

A real photograph in the commercial still-life genre, medium-format look with a 100mm lens at f/11 for deep crisp focus edge to edge and ultrafine grain. A single large overhead softbox slightly front-left sends even directional light downward, laying clean specular accents on glossy finishes and short contact shading beneath forms, in bright neutral color with tight contrast and faithful material sheen. A thumbnail artwork for a baking episode about a crusty Dutch oven loaf, angle: object hero, hook: the first crack of the crust. Scene: one dark crusty round loaf with a deeply cracked, steaming crust rests centered on a pale linen cloth over a walnut board, seen slightly from above; a plain unmarked bread knife lies at a low angle beside the board and a few loose flour specks catch the light; everything behind the loaf falls to a clean dark neutral field so the loaf stands alone as the single dominant subject, with strong value contrast between the dark crust and the pale cloth; the upper left stays a clean empty negative-space region for overlay text and the lower-right corner stays quiet. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Prompt for this example

A real photograph in the commercial still-life genre, medium-format look with a 100mm lens at f/11 for deep crisp focus edge to edge and ultrafine grain. A single large overhead softbox slightly front-left sends even directional light downward, laying clean specular accents on glossy finishes and short contact shading beneath forms, in bright neutral color with tight contrast and faithful material sheen. A thumbnail artwork for a tech review episode about a week with a palm-sized projector, angle: object hero, hook: whether a pocket projector really replaces a TV. Use [your product photo] for the product and keep its rounded-square matte charcoal body with softly curved edges, prominent round glass lens, perforated top grille, short gray braided lanyard and small white front label exactly as photographed, with the label wording transcribed character for character. Scene: the projector stands centered on a walnut desk surface against a clean dark neutral field, its lens catching one clean specular highlight, the lanyard coiled neatly beside it; a faint cool beam of plain unmarked light spreads from the lens toward the upper right, wide and soft; the upper left stays a clean empty negative-space region for overlay text and the lower-right corner stays quiet. The only wording anywhere is the product's own label; every other surface stays plain. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the projector reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No added text, lettering, numbers or watermarks.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Commercial Still Life thumbnail

A real photograph in the commercial still-life genre, medium-format look with a 100mm lens at f/11 for deep crisp focus edge to edge and ultrafine grain. A single large overhead softbox slightly front-left sends even directional light downward, laying clean specular accents on glossy finishes and short contact shading beneath forms, in bright neutral color with tight contrast and faithful material sheen.

Bold Graphic Cartoon thumbnail

A thumbnail artwork in the Bold Graphic Cartoon look, an expressive saturated illustration for your episode.
Explore Bold Graphic Cartoon thumbnail style

Prompt for this example

Bold graphic cartoon illustration: every form redrawn as simplified shapes with confident near-black contours and broad flat color fills, modeled only by a few textured brush shadows and painted highlights; nothing photographic. Saturated colors with strong light-dark separation, clear dark lines for eyes, brows, nose and mouth (slightly enlarged so the expression reads at a glance), and a plain solid or brushed backdrop that keeps the subject first. A thumbnail artwork for a gaming episode about [your game], an indie adventure game, angle: face-reaction, hook: the moment the relic lights up. Use [your face photo] as the identity for the host, the only person in the scene: keep their recognizable features as this style draws people, including their tousled black hair, skin tone, charcoal hoodie and black over-ear headphones resting around the neck, and apparent age, without substituting another person or changing age, skin tone or hair. Scene: a close head-and-shoulders crop of the drawn host at the right of the frame, face turned to the viewer with a wide-eyed surprised grin, oversized expressive eyes and raised brows; both drawn hands hold up a hand-sized crystal relic with a warm ember glow at its core, just below the chin so it stays subordinate to the face; the backdrop is a simple deep teal field with a soft coral glow cast by the relic; a clean quiet region across the upper left stays empty for overlay text and the lower-right corner stays quiet. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Prompt for this example

Bold graphic cartoon illustration: every form redrawn as simplified shapes with confident near-black contours and broad flat color fills, modeled only by a few textured brush shadows and painted highlights; nothing photographic. Saturated colors with strong light-dark separation, clear dark lines for eyes, brows, nose and mouth (slightly enlarged so the expression reads at a glance), and a plain solid or brushed backdrop that keeps the subject first. Every shape is one flat fill of a single color inside a thick confident dark contour line, like screen-printed poster art, with at most two or three flat highlight shapes and no gradients, soft painterly rendering, translucent volumetric effects, anime or realistic texture. A thumbnail artwork for a science episode about making a cloud in a bottle, angle: curiosity gap, hook: the second the fog fills the bottle. This scene holds no person, and the simple backdrop keeps attention on the one subject. Scene: one large clear bottle drawn as flat cartoon shapes stands centered, tilted slightly, its lower half filled with a dramatic white cloud built from bold flat cloud shapes caught mid-formation, in flat cream and near-white fills with dark contour edges, wisps curling up toward the neck where a plain unmarked flat cap hangs open; a few flat droplet shapes ring the inside of the clear upper half; the backdrop is one simple deep teal field with one flat cream highlight shape behind the bottle; a clean quiet flat teal region across the upper left stays empty for overlay text, the lower-right corner stays quiet, and there is clear margin above the cap. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Prompt for this example

Bold graphic cartoon illustration: every form redrawn as simplified shapes with confident near-black contours and broad flat color fills, modeled only by a few textured brush shadows and painted highlights; nothing photographic. Saturated colors with strong light-dark separation, clear dark lines for eyes, brows, nose and mouth (slightly enlarged so the expression reads at a glance), and a plain solid or brushed backdrop that keeps the subject first. Every shape is one flat fill of a single color inside a thick confident dark contour line, like screen-printed poster art, with at most two or three flat highlight shapes and no gradients, soft painterly rendering, translucent volumetric effects, anime or realistic texture. A thumbnail artwork for a home improvement episode about choosing between two floating shelf designs for one wall, angle: a side-by-side comparison of two clearly hypothetical design options, never staged as a real before and after. This scene holds no person. Scene: one deep teal interior wall fills the whole frame as flat color, one wall color on both halves, divided down the middle by one thin cream vertical seam line, under the same flat even light, with a plain flat baseboard strip at the bottom and nothing else in the room; the only props are the shelves and the objects named here. Left half, design option one: three thick mustard-wood floating shelves staggered, carrying three plain closed books in coral and cream covers and one small potted plant with flat coral-and-green leaves. Right half, design option two: two long mustard-wood floating shelves stacked, carrying two plain storage boxes, one coral and one cream, and one small cream frame holding a blank abstract image of flat color shapes. The two options have clearly different silhouettes; a clean quiet flat teal region across the top center stays empty for overlay text and the lower-right corner stays quiet. Large simple shapes and strong value contrast so the subject reads at a glance even at 320 pixels wide. Horizontal 16:9 frame with nothing important touching the edges. No text, lettering, numbers, brands or watermarks anywhere, and every surface plain and unlettered.

Adapted for any generator.

Generated sample.

Example preview, not yet a validated result.

Display-only example. Bring your own brief; Sema will discuss your version before generating.

Bold Graphic Cartoon thumbnail

Bold graphic cartoon illustration: every form redrawn as simplified shapes with confident near-black contours and broad flat color fills, modeled only by a few textured brush shadows and painted highlights; nothing photographic. Saturated colors suit each scene, with strong light-dark separation. People keep natural proportions; eyes, brows, nose and mouth are drawn in clear dark lines, eyes and brows slightly enlarged so the scene's expression reads at a glance; skin is flat tone with one or two brushed shadows; hair falls in chunky locks. A plain solid or brushed backdrop keeps the subject first.