THUMB WARS #2020 (Patreon)

Here's a look at past thumbnails, the design process and the misfires!

The Beauty Of Sonic's Design

People did not like this thumbnail haha. I was hoping it would be so weird that it'll make people curious, in the same way the thumbnail for "The CRINGE History Behind My Username" did. I think more people were put off by it. And that's a huge shame because Oli Putland did such an amazing job with my utterly bizarre commission and to this day I feel really bad about it.

I did experiment to see if just focussing on the head would help, but it didn't.

In the end I dropped the commissioned art, and kept it to traditional Sonic art, while also acting as an evolution line from concept to modern styles.

The Secret Monster Of Monsters Inc

No variations to this one. I think the Sonic video scared me away from getting commissioned artwork for thumbnails.

What Are The Rules Of Time Travel

This was the original thumbnail. As you can see, it's very busy but it has all the iconic imagery in it. Maybe if I had dropped the text it would be better? But instead, several months later, I made it ENTIRELY text!

I Am The WORST Pokemon Trainer EVER

Wow. This is a really boring thumbnail, haha! And I must have realised this because a full 5 months later, I changed it to what we have now.

When Lets Play Becomes Role Play

Very straightforward thumbnail. It's pretty much the ideal formula: Eddache + One Iconic Character + Attention Grabbing Text. Interesting how, in an effort to shift the red-dotted half-tone background, I recoloured it green.

What Happened to Mrs Goofy? 

It's tricky to make a thumbnail about something that doesn't exist but it's hard to fault this thumbnail. The half tone background is finally dying!

How We Made £1,000,000 On Kickstarter

Having access to the full-res logos and artwork makes creating a thumbnail much easier! And I think this is the last time we see the half-tone background (now white and grey).

Why I Used To Be ANTI-Anime (And What Changed My Mind)

This is a very sweet thumbnail. I commissioned Thunderstorm Lioness (NSFW) who did this chibi version of me as I was angling for a more sentimental vibe, along with the title "Anime and Me". But the video struggled massively so I had to drop the original art for something more eye catching.

Sadly this would be the last time I commission artwork for a thumbnail.

This was a consideration but it's too busy (oh hello half-tone background!)

I settled with this and the name change. It's another case of having to draw a line under a videos performance and just move on to the next thing.

Overthinking The Ghosts Of Scooby Doo

I meddled with the title of this video (like a meddling kid) but the thumbnail stayed the same. 

Stan Lee Made His Own BATMAN?!

A very straight forward thumbnail, but the video struggled massively. So I had to try something else.

Lose Stan Lee, more focus on Batman. Marvel logo and question to encourage curiosity. But it's not a very iconic looking Batman.

Settled for this in the end. Not perfect but fine enough.