How to Make Great Thumbnails

Thumbnails are the first thing the customer will see when they enter FlippedNormals; it's their first impression. A good thumbnail can be the difference between whether a customer will click a product or not, so it's crucial to design a good thumbnail to give your product the chance to be successful. This is a short guide on how to create good thumbnails by using our thumbnail template.

▶ Download FlippedNormals Thumbnail Template & Font

1. Install Font

The first thing you need to do is to install our custom version of the font League Spartan. You can download it along with the thumbnail template here.

2. Find the Best Image

The very first thing you need to do is to decide which image to use. The image needs to be of good quality and represent your product well. It should not have too much going on, like text, UI elements, too many colors, etc. You should also keep in mind that thumbnails are displayed quite small, so a nice close-up or mid-shot of your product that really shows it off is preferred.

✔ Close-up or mid-shot of your product
✔ A nice, clean render
✔ Clearly shows what you're selling

✖ Text & UI elements
✖ Viewport screenshot
✖ Too many small details

3. Template Overview

Import your chosen image into the thumbnail template PSD. Place the image under either 'LIGHT TEMPLATE' or 'DARK TEMPLATE' - replacing the layer called 'IMAGE HERE'

GUIDELINES - These are there to help you place your logos and text. HIDE THIS FOLDER when you are done using the guidelines.
LOGOS - Contains all software icons that go in the left corner of the thumbnail
FONTS - Contains all the font colors you can use.
TEMPLATE DARK - Contains the design template for dark and mid-toned images.
TEMPLATE LIGHT - Contains the design template for images with light colors and backgrounds. (Mainly white backgrounds)

4. Saving Out

When saving out, the goal is to make the image file size take up as little space as possible without losing quality. We do this by going to File → Export → Save for Web (Legacy). This will open up a window from where you can control the quality and file size. You can see the current file size in the bottom left-hand corner.

Try to make the file size between 60kb - 120kb.

Most of the time, PhotoShop's own size estimate will be great, but if it needs tweaking, click the dropdown in the right-hand corner and click "optimize to file size". You can now type in your desired file size and click okay.

5. That's It!

You now have a beautiful thumbnail that's ready to be uploaded to FlippedNormals.

Remember - the better your thumbnail is, the more you will sell!

General Tips

The fonts with the word “light” in it go well with the light template
Don't change the resolution of the photoshop file
Don’t resize the fonts. If your title doesn't fit, it's best to shorten it and make it more ''catchy''
Use a maximum of 2-3 logos
Use the guideline layers to help you place the Logos and Text
Do not use logos if your product is compatible with lots of software. Example: If you're selling an asset as an obj and put a Maya logo on your thumbnail, people using Blender might not think they can use your asset and won't click on your product.