Youtube Thumbnail

YouTube Thumbnail Generator

Turns a thumbnail concept into rendered, verified frames — with the style built from an element menu you pick from, not a fixed template. One number matters: CTR.

Division of labor: /packaging decides what to bet on (one fixed title, 3 distinct thumbnail levers, honesty checks). This skill decides what the frame looks like and renders it. Run standalone for iteration ("give me a new B"), or let packaging Stage 5 delegate here. Both inherit two non-negotiables from packaging:

• Honesty guardrail — the frame must promise only what the video keeps.
• Loud-vs-calm — thumbnails are deliberately louder than brand.md. Never tone down to match the in-video brand.

The baseline look (always on, never asked about)

Every render, regardless of selections: high contrast (deep darks OR clean brights, never flat) · vibrant saturated color with one accent doing the work · clear focal hierarchy (headline → hero object → face, three steps max) · big high-energy positive face from the media/library/faces/ kit · premium, clickable finish — crisp edges, no clutter · every text element perfectly spelled and razor sharp.

These came from a real before/after CTR comparison (the "Image 13" guide, 2026-08): the flat, low-contrast, no-hierarchy frame lost to the bold high-contrast hierarchical one ~4.4x on views. The axes are always-on; the decorations below are strictly opt-in.

The element menu (opt-in — this is what you ask about)

Exact prompt language for every element lives in references/style-elements.md. Summary:

Environments (pick one): dark-studio (neon-on-black, dramatic) · real-office (candid DSLR look, anchored to the real room visible in the face refs) · bright-graphic (saturated studio composite, the classic loud style).

The flow

1 — Locate context

Project dir, existing packaging/thumbs/ (what letters/versions exist), the locked title if packaging ran (thumbnail text must never repeat it), face kit present (no kit → stop and ask, see media/library/faces/README.md), GEMINI_API_KEY in .env.

2 — The interview (the point of this skill)

Ask before generating — one AskUserQuestion round. Skip any axis the user already specified in their request; ask only what's still open.

1. Environment — dark-studio / real-office / bright-graphic.
2. Text budget — single-hook (recommended default) / headline-plus-one (tiered headline + at most ONE accent element) / full-kit (headline + sticker + checkstrip + tag — warn that it's the busy end; opt-in only).
3. Extras (multi-select) — glow-burst, results-fan, real-logo, real-app-screen, a prop/object, none.
4. Accent color — green (house default) / yellow / red / cyan.

Calibration note (real creator feedback, 2026-08): the default is MINIMAL text. The full-kit look was tried and rejected as "too much text"; high contrast + vibrant were explicitly kept. Never stack every element just because the guide contains them — each text block after the first must earn its slot.

3 — Confirm the words

Echo the exact hook text (and sticker/strip words if selected) before rendering. Check against the locked title: thumbnail text never repeats title words — the two combine into one message.

4 — Build the prompt

Assemble from references/style-elements.md blocks: labeled brief (Reference roles → Subject & Action → Composition & Hierarchy → Setting & Lighting → Text → Style), letter-by-letter spelling for every rendered word, positive framing with the one earned negation (sub-images carry no lettering/logos). Hardware rule: laptops/phones are "generic, plain dark bezel, no logos or lettering on the hardware" — otherwise you get a MacBook.