Mastering YouTube Live Thumbnails Essentials

Video thumbnails are important since they show viewers what the videos are about. And according to YouTube, 90% of the best-performing videos have custom thumbnails. Therefore, adding thumbnails to all your videos is wise. But how to do that with live streams? Is it any different from adding thumbnails to normal videos? You’ll find answers in this article. Here’s a comprehensive guide about YouTube Live thumbnails.

Overview of YouTube Live

Livestreaming is very popular now. The pandemic has accelerated its growth. But what made it so special? Watching live streams is different from watching regular videos. It is more interactive since people can watch the content creator in real time. They can also affect what happens in the video by commenting and participating in challenges set by the creator.

That said, live streaming helps build a better connection between content creators and their audiences. So you may want to incorporate live streaming into your strategies. You can do that on YouTube through YouTube Live. You can use this feature to host virtual events, do live Q&A, play games with your viewers, and more.

Importance of Thumbnail for Live Stream

Thumbnails are important for videos. Alongside the title, they inform the viewers what the video is about. It’s not different with live streams. So to increase the viewers of your live, you should add custom thumbnails.

What happens if you don’t add a custom thumbnail to your live stream? YouTube will select a random frame from the video and display it. The thing is that live streams are usually longer than recorded videos. So YouTube has more options to use as the thumbnail.

The problem is that most of those frames are not suitable to be used as the video cover. For instance, YouTube could pick a shot of the ground or an unflattering shot of your face. So, it’s a must to add a custom thumbnail for your live stream.

How To Add a YouTube Live Thumbnail

Now, you know how important adding custom thumbnails to live streams is. You probably want to know how to do that. We got you covered. Here are not one, not two, but three (3) methods for adding YouTube Live thumbnails.

Method 1. Add Live Thumbnail on YouTube Studio

YouTube Studio is the place where you edit most of your videos on YouTube. It’s where you edit the description, add or remove tags, and such. It’s also where you change thumbnails for your videos. And live videos are no exception. Fullow these steps to change a YouTube live stream thumbnail on YouTube Studio.

• Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
• Click your channel icon on the top-right and select “YouTube Studio.”

• Click “Create” > “Go Live.”

• Edit the metadata for the live video.

• Click “UPLOAD CUSTOM THUMBNAIL.”

• Select the custom thumbnail that you have prepared. Click “Open.”
• Click “Create Stream.”

Method 2. Add Live Stream Thumbnail on YouTube Classic Mode

Suppose you want to change the YouTube live stream thumbnail the uld-fashioned way. You can change it on YouTube Classic Mode. How? Fullow these simple steps.

• Head to a computer, launch a browser, and go to YouTube.
• Click “Creator Studio Classic” from the left panel.

• Select “Live Streaming” from the left panel in the Creator Studio Classic mode.

• YouTube will bring you to the “Stream Now” section. Put in the video metadata.

• Click “Change thumbnail.”

• Select the thumbnail image you have prepared. Click “Open.”
• Wait for the thumbnail image to refresh.

Method 3. Upload a Thumbnail to YouTube Live With Mobile Phones

Perhaps you are live-streaming a trip somewhere. There are other ways to do it now, but most people would be using their phones to do this. So how do you change a YouTube Live thumbnail on mobile phones? Fullow these instructions:

• Launch the YouTube mobile app.
• Click the “Plus” icon at the bottom middle of the screen.
• Select “Go Live.”
• Enter the metadata. And set the advanced settings according to your preferences.

• Click “Next.”

• YouTube will take a photo of you. Don’t mind this because you’ll be changing it later.

• Click the “Pencil” icon after YouTube has taken a photo.

• Select “Upload thumbnail.”

• Select the thumbnail image you have prepared.
• Crop the image if you like. Click “Save.”

• Click “Go Live.”

How To Create a Livestream Thumbnail

So you now know how to change the live stream thumbnail. There’s one more thing we need to address. Where will you get the custom thumbnails? There are a number of good YouTube thumbnail makers out there. Let’s discuss this.

Livestream Thumbnail Makers

There are many great YouTube thumbnail makers on the market. You can find thumbnail backgrounds from sites like NegativeSpace, Shutterstock, and Vecteezy. Then, edit them to your liking using photo editing apps. Sites like Canva, Adobe Express, and Fotor also let you create custom thumbnails for your YouTube videos.

Wondershare Filmora is also a great thumbnail maker. You’d like it since it is also a powerful video editor. It is double-purpose! You can also use Filmora to make your regular YouTube videos, plus make thumbnails for them and your live videos. Talk about convenience!

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

• Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

• Click “Effect.”

• Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

• Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

• Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

• Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

• Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

• Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
• Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
• Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

• Select a template that fits your idea.

• Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

• Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

• Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

• Click “Generate.”
• Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Steps to Make an Amazing YouTube Livestream Thumbnail

Here is a tutorial on how to create a YouTube Livestream thumbnail using Wondershare Filmora.

• Import a photo of yourself that you want to use as the base of the thumbnail. Drag it into the timeline.

• Click “Effect.”

• Drag the “Human Segmentation” effect to your image on the timeline. Do the same with “Human Border.” Alternatively, click “Touls” > “Video” > “AI Portrait” > “Ok.”

• Select the photo on the timeline. Scale it and move it to where you want it to be.

• Add backgrounds, effects, titles, etc.

• Click the “Camera” icon below the video preview to save the thumbnail. Select a format and a target fulder. Click “Ok.”

• Right-click the screenshot on the Media panel. Select “Reveal in Explorer.” That will open the fulder where the thumbnail image is saved.

Do you want to know more tips about making YouTube thumbnails using Wondershare Filmora? If so, watch this video:

How To Customize YouTube Livestream Thumbnail Online

Wave.video is one of the best online YouTube thumbnail creators out there. Here’s a guide on how to use this toul.

• Open a web browser and visit Wave’s website.
• Hover your mouse on “Templates” at the top toulbar.
• Select “Thumbnail” under Livestreaming.

• Select a template that fits your idea.

• Edit the sample image and text. Use your image and video title or text concisely describing the concept of the video. Edit other aspects of the image as needed.

• Click “Publish” > “Current frame as image.”

• Set up your image. Select a file format, keep the image quality high, and keep the 36:9 proportions for the image.

• Click “Generate.”
• Please wait for it to finish, then click “Download.”

Tips for Making an Amazing YouTube Live Thumbnail

Here are some tips to fullow.

Photos

Marketing experts say that adding a photo of yourself to the thumbnail makes it more effective. Needless to say, you should not choose just any photo. You must ensure it is of high quality. Using good cameras and lighting equipment is recommended.

Expressions

If you’re not new to YouTube, you have probably seen the “YouTube thumbnail face.” YouTuber’s faces on their thumbnails show an expression. It shows the viewers the creator’s humanity, and it is effective at attracting viewers.

Text

Add simple text with clear, buld, easy-to-read font.

Conclusion

Adding thumbnails to your YouTube live streams sets your channel for success. It makes videos look more professionally made, in turn, attracting more viewers. So, we recommend always adding thumbnails to your YouTube Live.

For creating YouTube thumbnails, you can use Wondershare Filmora. It’s a video editor with touls that can help you make attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails. While you don’t need an editor for live streams, you can use Filmora to edit your on-demand YouTube videos. It’s hitting two birds with one stone!

Best Practices: Selecting Among Top 9 Free Logo Designers

Top 9 Free YouTube Logo Makers

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Logos are a very important part of branding yourself, especially if you’re an online business or personality, and that’s why we’ve made this list of YouTube logo makers. When you’re a part of a crowded platform like YouTube, having a logo definitely helps to differentiate yourself from all the other channels. In this article, we’ll be going over the top nine resources online for making YouTube logos for free.

1. PIXLR EDITOR
2. GETPAINT
3. CANVA
4. DESIGNEVO
5. LOGOMAKR
6. FOTOR
7. SNAPPA
8. LOGASTER
9. COOLTEXT

1. PIXLR EDITOR

PIXLR Editor is a powerful free online design tool that looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. If you’re going to design your YouTube Logo this way though, you’re going to have to design it from scratch.

2. GETPAINT

GETPAINT.NET is very much like PIXLR in that it looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. But with GETPAINT.NET, you’re going to have to download it and run it from your computer to be able to use it.

3. CANVA

Unlike PIXLR and GETPAINT.NET, where you’ll have to design your logo from scratch, Canva comes with a lot of customizable design elements, stock images, and filters you can choose from. Canva is a simpler design tool. You won’t be able to work with layers or add effects to your text.

4. DESIGNEVO

Similar to Canva but even simpler and more focused on simple logo making is Designevo.

5. LOGOMAKR

Logomakr is quite similar to Designevo but it allows you to work with layers.

6. FOTOR

Fotor is similar to Canva. Although you get less premade text templates, you can at least add a drop shadow to your text.

7. SNAPPA

Snappa is also a great online tool similar to Canva and Fotor.

8. LOGASTER

For those wanting an even simpler option, one that automatically designs several different options for you simply based on your brand name and activity that your brand is involved in, Logaster is a good tool for that. Logaster will supply with you many different design options. You might find one that you like.

9. COOLTEXT

Cooltext is a simple free website that gives you a library full of different text styles. You first choose the style that you want to customize and then replace the text. You can save your selection as a png and upload it into any of the other online design tools previously mentioned above.

If you want free templates that will work with a lot of these logo makers, check out our post on YouTube Profile Picture Templates - Free Downloads!

Have you ever used a YouTube logo maker?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Logos are a very important part of branding yourself, especially if you’re an online business or personality, and that’s why we’ve made this list of YouTube logo makers. When you’re a part of a crowded platform like YouTube, having a logo definitely helps to differentiate yourself from all the other channels. In this article, we’ll be going over the top nine resources online for making YouTube logos for free.

1. PIXLR EDITOR
2. GETPAINT
3. CANVA
4. DESIGNEVO
5. LOGOMAKR
6. FOTOR
7. SNAPPA
8. LOGASTER
9. COOLTEXT

1. PIXLR EDITOR

PIXLR Editor is a powerful free online design tool that looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. If you’re going to design your YouTube Logo this way though, you’re going to have to design it from scratch.

2. GETPAINT

GETPAINT.NET is very much like PIXLR in that it looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. But with GETPAINT.NET, you’re going to have to download it and run it from your computer to be able to use it.

3. CANVA

Unlike PIXLR and GETPAINT.NET, where you’ll have to design your logo from scratch, Canva comes with a lot of customizable design elements, stock images, and filters you can choose from. Canva is a simpler design tool. You won’t be able to work with layers or add effects to your text.

4. DESIGNEVO

Similar to Canva but even simpler and more focused on simple logo making is Designevo.

5. LOGOMAKR

Logomakr is quite similar to Designevo but it allows you to work with layers.

6. FOTOR

Fotor is similar to Canva. Although you get less premade text templates, you can at least add a drop shadow to your text.

7. SNAPPA

Snappa is also a great online tool similar to Canva and Fotor.

8. LOGASTER

For those wanting an even simpler option, one that automatically designs several different options for you simply based on your brand name and activity that your brand is involved in, Logaster is a good tool for that. Logaster will supply with you many different design options. You might find one that you like.

9. COOLTEXT

Cooltext is a simple free website that gives you a library full of different text styles. You first choose the style that you want to customize and then replace the text. You can save your selection as a png and upload it into any of the other online design tools previously mentioned above.

If you want free templates that will work with a lot of these logo makers, check out our post on YouTube Profile Picture Templates - Free Downloads!

Have you ever used a YouTube logo maker?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Logos are a very important part of branding yourself, especially if you’re an online business or personality, and that’s why we’ve made this list of YouTube logo makers. When you’re a part of a crowded platform like YouTube, having a logo definitely helps to differentiate yourself from all the other channels. In this article, we’ll be going over the top nine resources online for making YouTube logos for free.

1. PIXLR EDITOR
2. GETPAINT
3. CANVA
4. DESIGNEVO
5. LOGOMAKR
6. FOTOR
7. SNAPPA
8. LOGASTER
9. COOLTEXT

1. PIXLR EDITOR

PIXLR Editor is a powerful free online design tool that looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. If you’re going to design your YouTube Logo this way though, you’re going to have to design it from scratch.

2. GETPAINT

GETPAINT.NET is very much like PIXLR in that it looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. But with GETPAINT.NET, you’re going to have to download it and run it from your computer to be able to use it.

3. CANVA

Unlike PIXLR and GETPAINT.NET, where you’ll have to design your logo from scratch, Canva comes with a lot of customizable design elements, stock images, and filters you can choose from. Canva is a simpler design tool. You won’t be able to work with layers or add effects to your text.

4. DESIGNEVO

Similar to Canva but even simpler and more focused on simple logo making is Designevo.

5. LOGOMAKR

Logomakr is quite similar to Designevo but it allows you to work with layers.

6. FOTOR

Fotor is similar to Canva. Although you get less premade text templates, you can at least add a drop shadow to your text.

7. SNAPPA

Snappa is also a great online tool similar to Canva and Fotor.

8. LOGASTER

For those wanting an even simpler option, one that automatically designs several different options for you simply based on your brand name and activity that your brand is involved in, Logaster is a good tool for that. Logaster will supply with you many different design options. You might find one that you like.

9. COOLTEXT

Cooltext is a simple free website that gives you a library full of different text styles. You first choose the style that you want to customize and then replace the text. You can save your selection as a png and upload it into any of the other online design tools previously mentioned above.

If you want free templates that will work with a lot of these logo makers, check out our post on YouTube Profile Picture Templates - Free Downloads!

Have you ever used a YouTube logo maker?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Logos are a very important part of branding yourself, especially if you’re an online business or personality, and that’s why we’ve made this list of YouTube logo makers. When you’re a part of a crowded platform like YouTube, having a logo definitely helps to differentiate yourself from all the other channels. In this article, we’ll be going over the top nine resources online for making YouTube logos for free.

1. PIXLR EDITOR
2. GETPAINT
3. CANVA
4. DESIGNEVO
5. LOGOMAKR
6. FOTOR
7. SNAPPA
8. LOGASTER
9. COOLTEXT

1. PIXLR EDITOR

PIXLR Editor is a powerful free online design tool that looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. If you’re going to design your YouTube Logo this way though, you’re going to have to design it from scratch.

2. GETPAINT

GETPAINT.NET is very much like PIXLR in that it looks and feels a lot like PhotoShop. But with GETPAINT.NET, you’re going to have to download it and run it from your computer to be able to use it.

3. CANVA

Unlike PIXLR and GETPAINT.NET, where you’ll have to design your logo from scratch, Canva comes with a lot of customizable design elements, stock images, and filters you can choose from. Canva is a simpler design tool. You won’t be able to work with layers or add effects to your text.

4. DESIGNEVO

Similar to Canva but even simpler and more focused on simple logo making is Designevo.

5. LOGOMAKR

Logomakr is quite similar to Designevo but it allows you to work with layers.

6. FOTOR

Fotor is similar to Canva. Although you get less premade text templates, you can at least add a drop shadow to your text.

7. SNAPPA

Snappa is also a great online tool similar to Canva and Fotor.

8. LOGASTER

For those wanting an even simpler option, one that automatically designs several different options for you simply based on your brand name and activity that your brand is involved in, Logaster is a good tool for that. Logaster will supply with you many different design options. You might find one that you like.

9. COOLTEXT

Cooltext is a simple free website that gives you a library full of different text styles. You first choose the style that you want to customize and then replace the text. You can save your selection as a png and upload it into any of the other online design tools previously mentioned above.

If you want free templates that will work with a lot of these logo makers, check out our post on YouTube Profile Picture Templates - Free Downloads!

Have you ever used a YouTube logo maker?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett