How to Make Animation Images or Animated YouTube Thumbnails

Grabbing the attention of prospects or buyers is often challenging for businesses. For the same reason, many content creators, sales representatives, and sales professionals take advantage of moving thumbnails. Besides, we are going to tell you in this post how you can create a YouTube thumbnail for videos. In fact, we shall tell you in this post how to create an animated YouTube thumbnail. Before we jump into the details of how to create an animated thumbnail for a YouTube video, we shall like to tell you why you should use an animated thumbnail.

Logo and Animating It

Why Should You Choose an Animated Thumbnail?

An animated thumbnail is a wonderful alternative to a static image. The best thing about an animated thumbnail is that it can express far more emotions than typical photos. For business professionals, an animated thumbnail is very advantageous to use. Besides, it lets businesses stand out when it comes to their inbox.

Moreover, engaging customers or prospects is always critical for businesses. Plus, we shall tell you in this post how to create an eye-catching animated thumbnail that boosts your viewership.

How to Create an Eye-Catching YouTube Thumbnail, with Canva, to Boost Your Viewership

It is pretty technical to create your own animated thumbnail. You may need to invest in expensive video editing software to create an animated thumbnail. Or you may need coding knowledge to do that. What if you do neither of the two? Yes, you can hire an animator to make an animated thumbnail for your YouTube video. In any case, we are going to tell you how you can create an animated video thumbnail, with Canva.

Frankly, animated thumbnails look super cool. At the same time, they can serve as a dead-end to business in terms of communication. It is because you cannot express much to viewers with a thumbnail only showcasing a smiling face only. Besides, eye-catching video thumbnails are hyperlinked to video emails.

It is possible to summarize all the awesomeness of your video in only one animated thumbnail design. You will need to capture the full length of your YouTube video in one image to increase clicks on it. With Canva, you can easily accomplish it while ameliorating your chosen snapshot with text & design elements. Canva tools and its easy-to-navigate interface can help you accomplish it like a walkover. It is very easy to create a YouTube thumbnail with Canva. At the same time, it is important that you follow the steps carefully and in order.

Here is how you can create an animated YouTube thumbnail with Canva:

Step No. 1: Launch Canva

The first step in the process entails that you open up Canva. Then, you will need to search for the YouTube Thumbnail design. You will need to do it to make sure you create your animated thumbnail in the design you want it.

Step No. 2: Browse Templates

It is important that you explore templates to get the inspiration for the thumbnail you are after. You can find a wide range of YouTube thumbnail options while exploring your options in Canva. For example, you will find music, food, beauty, travel, and other YouTube thumbnail templates. Browsing the templates will help you find the template that you are after. Once you find a template that you are really after, click on it to proceed with designing.

Step No. 3: Exploit a Range of Features

If you choose Canva to build your animated YouTube thumbnail, you can exploit Canva’s library. Canva’s library comprises millions of icons, photos, and illustrations. In other words, you can exploit innumerable options with Canva’s library to create your animated YouTube thumbnail. At the same time, it is important that you sagaciously choose a color scheme and font combination. Besides, you should choose a color scheme and font combination that perfectly reflects your brand.

Step No. 4: Customize Your Thumbnail

It is the step where you can get creative with your thumbnail. Therefore, we encourage you to upload your own images and artwork. Then, you may experiment with the layout, reorganize ingredients, and make changes. You should keep doing it until you are satisfied with the changes you have made. Besides, you can come up with a one-of-a-kind customized thumbnail if you presume your thumbnail is as unique as you are.

Step No. 5: Upload and Publish Your Thumbnail

Once you are happy with the thumbnail design you have made, you can share it with the world. To do it, you will need to download your customized thumbnail and save it to your desktop or mobile device. Next, you can add your animated thumbnail to your YouTube channel. You can also share a video thumbnail you created on social media. Besides, sharing it on social media is only a matter of one click.

How to Use Animated YouTube Thumbnails to Stand Out?

Besides the Canva app, there are different software you can use to create an animated thumbnail for your YouTube video. Further, we also mentioned that you can hire a professional animator to create a thumbnail for you. However, the animation cost to create a thumbnail for your video will vary from company to company. Besides, esteemed video production companies will charge you a competitive price to create an animated YouTube thumbnail for you. An eye-catching animated thumbnail can really set you apart from others on YouTube with many people clicking on it and eventually watching your video.

Further, YouTube is the best video-sharing platform today for various reasons. People upload 300 hours of video every minute on YouTube. Plus, people watch 5 billion videos every single day on YouTube. In addition, more than 30 million visitors visit YouTube per day. Now, the question arises: How can you catch the attention of your audience on YouTube? You can use a mesmerizing animated YouTube thumbnail to accomplish it. An animated YouTube thumbnail should give your audience an idea at the first look of what your video is about. If it does, the audience will click on your video.

In other words, your YouTube thumbnail image should give your audience a positive first impression of your business. Besides, you can easily draw eyes to videos with animated thumbnails than videos with statics thumbnails. However, it is also important that you create an animated thumbnail that best summarizes your video content. It is also how your animated YouTube thumbnail can set you apart from others on YouTube.

How to Activate Thumbnails on YouTube?

Here is how to activate thumbnails on YouTube:

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube Studio.

Step 2: Choose Videos from the menu on the left.

Step 3: Choose a video by clicking on the video title or thumbnail.

Step 4: Choose an auto-generated thumbnail and save. However, we do not recommend it. We recommend you create a custom video thumbnail with a verified YouTube account. You should create a verified YouTube account if you have not created one yet.

Users on YouTube can see your YouTube thumbnail preview once you follow all the steps we have mentioned above.

Conclusion

Using an animated YouTube thumbnail can help you get more clicks on your video. At the same time, it is important that you create a YouTube thumbnail that best summarizes your video content. Lastly, here is a recap of the five steps you can follow to create an animated YouTube thumbnail with Canva:

1. Launch Canva
2. Browse Templates
3. Exploit a Range of Features
4. Customize Your Thumbnail
5. Upload and Publish Your Thumbnail

FAQS

1. Can a YouTube Thumbnail be Animated?

Yes, it is possible to create an animated thumbnail for your YouTube video. However, you will first need to use an animation app or software, such as Canva to create your animated thumbnail. Here is how you can create and upload an animated thumbnail for a YouTube video with the aid of Canva:Step 1: Launch Canva.Step 2: Browse templates there.Step 3: Deploy a range of features to create and animate a thumbnail for your YouTube video.Step 4: Customize your thumbnail with Canva and make it ready for your YouTube video.Step 5: Finally, upload your animated video thumbnail for the desired YouTube video after logging in to the YouTube app.

2. What Makes a Video Thumbnail Attractive?

In order to make a video thumbnail entice your audience to watch your video, there are certain elements you should ensure your thumbnail has. Adding some branding or interesting yet relevant text to your thumbnail image can make your potential viewers definitely click and watch your video. As a result, your video will also get more views and eventually help you increase your brand awareness.

3. Which Types of Thumbnails Get the Most Clicks?

When it comes to thumbnails that get the most clicks, the best among them are those that connect the audience emotionally. Besides, video marketing statistics also depict that emotional thumbnails get the most clicks. For the same reason, it is best to give some personal touch to your video thumbnails to capture the audience’s attention to your video. Additionally, creating and deploying an animated video thumbnail for your video can certainly help in this regard.

4. What Is the Perfect Size for a YouTube Video Thumbnail?

The perfect size for a YouTube video thumbnail is 1280 * 720 pixels. Additionally, experts recommend uploading a video thumbnail with a 16:9 aspect ratio for a YouTube video. Further, thumbnails in the following formats are supported by YouTube: JPG, GIF, and PNG. Additionally, the minimum size dimensions for YouTube thumbnail image includes a width of 640 pixels.