Mastering YouTube Brand Visuals: The Ultimate Creation Guide

How to Make Killer YouTube Channel Art

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Call it channel art, call it a cover, banner or whatever you like, the fact remains that YouTube channel art is one of the key elements of any successful YouTube channel. Your viewers arrive at your channel to see your videos, but it is the channel art that can market your brand and products to them.

As much as creating great videos with personality can sell your YouTube channel, the way your channel looks and feels is equally important. Take a brief look around any popular YouTuber’s channel and you’ll see that they’ve invested time and thought into creating beautiful, eye-catching channel art for it.

If you’re still in the dark about how to create YouTube channel art; we’re here to help. Here’s what you need to know.

Quick Jump Menu

• What is YouTube channel art [5 Elements Should Be Included]
• YouTube Channel Art Dimensions & Size [Mobile/Tablet/Desktop/TV]
• Why should you care about channel art
• Tips for making channel art
• Tools you need to create killer YouTube channel art
• Download YouTube Channel Art Templates for Free
• YouTube Channel Art Dimensions Cheatsheet [Infographic]

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The Filmora team has made a video tutorial about how to master YouTube Channel Art, watch it before digging in. Remember to download the free Filmora Trial version to have a try.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

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Part 1: What is YouTube channel art?

YouTube channel art includes thumbnails, banners, watermarks, and icons. Thumbnails will help viewers decide to watch your videos, and a personalized banner will tell people who you are and what your vlog is about. Watermarks both label your work as yours and protect it from theft. Your icon is the avatar you will use to communicate with your subscribers. You can totally change the look and feel of the page and the changes will carry forwards for the page display on all platforms. However, the elements might look slightly different on desktops, mobile devices, and TV screens.

1. Banner

A banner sits at the top of your channel, welcoming viewers to your videos and promoting your brand. Having your brand front and center here is a great plan, as it gives people confidence in who they are watching, as well as raising your brand profile on the platform.

Size: 2560x1440px recommended. Cannot be smaller than 2048x1152px.

Safe Area for All Devices: 1546x423px

File Size: 6MB or smaller

Do:

- Make sure all your text is in the safe area

- Include channel information like what kinds of videos you make and your upload days

- Add social media links

Don’t:

- Use a font or font color that’s hard to read at a glance

- Put a busy background or photo directly behind your text (put a solid background in-between)

How to Upload a YouTube Banner / Channel Art

Go to My Channel and select Add channel art near the top of the screen (if this is the first time), or hover over your existing channel art to make the edit icon show up.

2. Watermark

Watermarking your videos, banner and other content you produce can help protect your hard work. Sharing should be encouraged on YouTube, but you should absolutely get the credit for your content. A watermark ensures your brand is being acknowledged whenever someone hits the share button.

3. Thumbnail

Developing unique thumbnails can really encourage more video views. Rather than just using a still from your actual video, you can create unique art to accompany each upload, describing what’s within the video and motivating people to watch.

Size: 1289x720px recommended. Width cannot be less than 640px.

File Size: 2MB or smaller

Format: .JPG, .GIF (no moving GIFS), .BMP, .PNG

Do:

- Use colors that stand out

- Have a consistent format (all your thumbnails should have the same basic layout)

- Include your face (or a character’s face, if you’re a gamer)

- Show viewers what your video is about

Don’t:

- Include anything sexually suggestive or violent.

- Write more than 3 words or use a small font

How to Upload a YouTube Thumbnail

In the screen right after you’ve uploaded a video (in your Creator Studio), select Custom thumbnail under Video thumbnails after you upload a video.

OR

Select Edit next to your video in the Video Manager/Creator Studio. In the preview screen, click Custom thumbnail.

4. Icon or logo

If you’re building a brand on YouTube, you should absolutely have a recognizable logo or, at least, an icon that is unique to you. This way you’ll start to be recognized whenever people stumble across your footage, even if it’s on another platform such as Facebook.

Size: 800x800px recommended. Can be square or round, but must render to 98x98px.

Format: JPG, GIF (no animated GIFs), BMP, PNG

Do:

- Use a close up of your face (if you want a custom URL: only channels that use photos as icons qualify)

- Use a simple logo (if that’s more on-brand for you)

Don’t:

- Use a full-body picture (it won’t look good shrunk down)

- Use a picture of a celebrity or an image that falls under someone else’s copyright

How to Upload a YouTube Profile Picture / Icon

Go to My Channel, hover over your existing channel icon, and click the edit icon (looks like a pencil). Then, click Edit.

5. Channel art links

Adding links to your YouTube channel is a no-brainer. After all, if people love your channel, why not get them engaged on your social networks and website too? Adding links is easy in the Creator Studio, and you can choose to have links overlaid on your channel art too.

6. YouTube Intros

Ideal Length: under 10 seconds is alright. Under 5 seconds is better.

Placement: within the first 30 seconds of your video.

Do:

- Use music

- Include colors and images that match your personal brand

- Include the name of your channel

Don’t:

- Make it longer than 10 seconds

How to Add a YouTube Intro

Add your intro before you upload using your video editing software. It’s best to create it in a separate project and export it as a clip you can re-use in all your videos. Click here to download some free intros

7. YouTube End Screens / Outros

Length: 5-20 seconds

Placement: the last 5-20 seconds of your video

Your video must be at least 25 seconds in order to add an end screen.

Do:

- Link to at least 1 video or playlist

- Prompt viewers to subscribe

- Include social icons and handles so people can find you

Don’t:

- Overcrowd the screen with options (it makes people less likely to click anything)

Part 2: YouTube Channel Art Dimensions & Image Size Checklist

Getting the sizing of your channel art right is crucial. If you don’t plan this from the start, then all the effort you put into designing your channel art will be wasted, as it will either not display properly or will just look terrible. YouTube has provided these guidelines for channel art designs:

• The file size must not exceed 6MB
• The image should ideally be 2560 x 1440 pixels
• The minimum image size is 2048 x 1152 pixels
• The maximum width is 2560 x 423 pixels

The ideal dimensions for different devices are listed below:

• Mobile:1546px * 423px
• Tablet :1855px * 423px
• Desktop:2560px * 423px
• TV:2560px * 1440px

You see, YouTube channel art 2560*1440 px is ideal for TV devices. If you’re not sure about the width and height of the channel art image, you can download the Channel Art Templates from YouTube Official Site to check.

Keeping in mind people will access your channel on a variety of screen sizes, you’re going to need to design channel art that fits within these proportions and displays correctly no matter how it’s viewed. Use the ‘safe area’ displayed on YouTube to ensure your logo and branding is correct on every screen size.

Part 3: Why should you care about channel art?

If you’re wondering if you should really be bothered about channel art, the answer is you absolutely should. Channel art is all about branding, and in today’s cluttered web world, having a strong, recognizable brand is crucial. Rather than simply having a place to upload some videos, your YouTube channel can become a powerful marketing tool for promoting your brand and values.

According to research, we are a highly visual species. 65 percent of people learn better visually, and when you’re thinking about retaining information, 90 percent of what we store in our brains is visual information. By presenting your viewers with visual content, you’re helping them take it in, retain it better and remember you for the future.

Part 4: Tips for Making Channel Art

1. Tips for Making Thumbnails

A thumbnail is an image that represents your video in YouTube’s search results. There are things you can do with your thumbnail that will make it more likely to get clicked on. Always upload your own thumbnail rather than relying on the one YouTube automatically chooses, and make sure the thumbnail you use is related to the content of your video.

One of the most important things to remember is that thumbnails are small. It is better if there is not a lot going on in them because details will be hard to see. If there is any text in your thumbnail make sure it is huge so that people can still read it once it has been shrunken down.

If you are making a thumbnail for a vlog entry then choose a shot that has you in it, particularly one where you are not too far away from the camera. It is also a good idea if the thumbnails for your vlog entries all look similar so it is easy for people browsing to recognize which videos are yours.

2. Tips for Making Watermarks

Watermarks work best when they are small and transparent so they do not distract viewers from your videos. If your watermark is colored, there should not be more than one or two colors. Unlike the full version of your logo, you do not want your watermark to be overly eye-catching.

3. Tips for Making Icons

Watermarks work best when they are small and transparent so they do not distract viewers from your videos. If your watermark is colored, there should not be more than one or two colors. Unlike the full version of your logo, you do not want your watermark to be overly eye-catching.

Part 5: Best Free & Paid YouTube Channel Art Maker [2021 List]

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a renowned artist or graphic designer to get some swish YouTube art ready for your channel. With some of the easy-to-use, powerful tools that are available out there, you can make some beautiful, professional-looking channel art in no time at all. Here are six of our favorite tools for creating amazing youtube channel art:

1. Photoshop

Produced by Adobe, Photoshop has been leading the way in professional design software for many years. When it comes to creating logos, banners, editing photos and more, nothing really comes close to the power of this software. While the professional version of Photoshop can set you back several hundreds of dollars, Photoshop Elements is much more affordable at around the $100 mark, and has enough functionality to do most things you’d need for your channel art.

New from Adobe is Adobe Spark Post, a free-to-use web and iOS app which has been specifically designed to help you create beautiful channel art. Although it can only provide basic channel art without much in the way of editing tools, if you’re new to graphic design and want a free, user-friendly way to create your art, this could be worth considering.

2. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform provides a wonderful creative design solution for you. Just through drag and drop templates, and then use photos/text/elements to design. After the simple and fast design, One-Click to download your creations, and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, and YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.

This online platform empowers anyone to create a beautiful design within a few steps. No professional skills required! By simply dragging and dropping the creative elements and templates, you are capable to release your imagination and convert it to stunning artwork.

3. Fotor

For a good, user-friendly way to create professional-looking YouTube channel art, Fotor is a pretty solid choice. Using a simple drag and drop interface, users can create a unique channel banner using preset designs or even uploading their own artwork.

The developers of Fotor have built in a bespoke banner maker, preset to the exact size required for YouTube channel art. This makes it easier than ever to ensure you develop excellent channel art which will display correctly on any device. Editing is limited, so advanced designers will probably find it all a bit too simplistic, but for the man on the street, this is a perfect choice.

4. Canva

Canva really stands out from the competition for the number of customizable design elements present on the website. From shapes to backgrounds, images to text, there are thousands of awesome, professional-looking elements to choose from to create your unique channel art.

Similar to Fotor, those who know what they’re doing in the design field will find it lacking in functionality, and there’s an irritating glitch where you can’t stretch more than one image to the ends of the canvas. Watch out for premium design elements too, as lots require payment, although usually not more than a dollar or two.

5. PicMonkey

For a good middle ground between expensive but powerful Photoshop and free but limited options like Canva and Fotor, PicMonkey is a great solution. It has plenty of design functionality, from working with layers to performing tasks like blending, and you can free draw and erase parts of your image too.

We found PicMonkey capable of pretty much everything you’d need to create a professional YouTube banner, and it’s a fair bit more user friendly than Photoshop too. It’s not free, but at a cost of $7.99 per month, it’s pretty affordable for what you get.

6. Snappa

Another web-based freemium service, Snappa has the added advantage of coming pre-loaded with all the dimensions of popular social channel’s banners, profile images and more, including YouTube. That means you can work on your channel art directly, seeing clearly which parts will be displayed on what devices.

The drawback to this particular platform is the sheer volume of stock images already on the site. There are some nice ones, but due to the lack of organization you need to scroll through quite a few mediocre options to find them. There’s also a fairly ungenerous limit on how many items you can create and save without upgrading, but the pro version is fairly affordable at just $10 a month.

There are many other services out there to help you create your YouTube channel art and what’s best for you will depend on the type of channel art you’re looking to create, as well as your own abilities with graphic design. Try some of the free versions before you jump in and pay for things, as some are actually really rather good.

Part 6: YouTube Channel Art Templates Free Download

If you don’t know how to make youtube channel art, don’t be worry, because in the following part, I’ll share with you some free youtube channel art templates. The Filmora team has a community and forum for YouTube creators and it has designed some stunning YouTube Channel Art templates for different genres channels such as gaming, beauty, travel, comedy and education. Click here to download 50 free YouTube Banners, JPG & PhotoShop files. Examples:

Part 7: YouTube Channel Art Dimensions Cheatsheet [Infographic]

Usually, a viewer won’t visit your channel page and see your channel art until after they’ve watched one of your videos. The reason they’ve clicked to see your channel is that they want to learn more about you – do you have more videos like the one they just watched? Do you post a lot? Are you worth subscribing to?

If a viewer who is on the fence about subscribing to you arrives on your channel page and sees that you haven’t bothered uploading channel art, or that you’re using something that looks sloppy, odds are they won’t subscribe. This ‘Channel Art Cheat Sheet’ will help ensure you aren’t losing potential subscribers.

Recommended Video Editing Software for YouTube

The best video editor for YouTubers - Wondershare Filmora , not only allows you to cut, crop, rotate, reverse videos, but also offers your advanced features like PIP, Green Screen, or audio mixing. What’s more, you can find lots of effects on Fashion, gaming, education, tutorial, sports, etc. Check this article to know more.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Mastering MP4 Editing on Mac: Top Selections for YouTubers

What is the Best MP4 Cutter for YouTubers On Mac?

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

Editing videos is a big part of YouTubers’ job including cutting MP4, customizing intros and outros, grading video colors, adding a multitude of effects, and many more. All YouTube celebrities use a diverse set of video editing features such as filters, transitions, custom titles and captions, and overlays.

These post-processing effects ensure that their videos don’t only look aesthetically pleasing but are more engaging and interactive to keep their viewers hooked from the beginning right till the end. This is exactly why cutting MP4 videos and editing have become monumentally significant for newcomers.

Having said that, most of the beginners and hobbyists either can’t afford or want to pay for professional video editing software for cutting MP4 such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. In this time, FilmoraX will be a better choice to cut MP4 for Youtube

Before we further delve into the details of advanced video cutter functions, let’s first develop an understanding of the basics.

Section1. Basic Video Cutter Functions

Section2. Advanced Video Cutter Functions

Section 1. Basic Video Cutter Functions

These are the features of cutting MP4 videos that are used by almost all of the YouTuber to give their videos a more engaging look and contextualize them based on the content. For instance, almost all of the YouTubers use customized captions and titles to share information that is highly valuable for the viewers and enables them to develop a connection with the YouTuber.

Almost all of the YouTubers have customized intros and outros in their videos but some of the notable names include MKBHD, PewDiePie, and Smosh. In the process of cutting MP4 videos, they add these effects to create a brand for themselves.

• Customizing Intros & Outros

One of the most basic functions of cutting MP4 or other videos intended for YouTube audiences is to add your intro and outro.

- Intro - It is a customized beginning where YouTubers usually add their channel name or its logo along with the title of the video. This helps them to develop a personal brand and add context to what their audience is about to see.

- Outro - It is the customized ending of the video where most content creators choose to add a call to action (CTA) encouraging them to engage with the channel or the video in some manner. For example, they may add an outro that asks the users to subscribe to the YouTube channel.

• Rich Stickers & Titles

These are customized stickers, captions, and titles that enable YouTubers to add contextual information at any point in the video to add more value to their content during the process of cutting MP4 videos. For example, if a YouTuber is running a smartphone review channel, they can add rich stickers that contain specifications of the smartphone for those who are interested in particulars.

Including such information, while cutting MP4 also adds to the credibility of the content creator as they are perceived as more professional and dedicated to their job.

Steps to Perform Basic Video Cutter Effects on Filmora X

Here’s how you can add intros and outros to your YouTube videos using Wondershare Filmora X for cutting MP4 videos.

1. Add intro background and select your favorite audio or sound effect
2. Add your logo and/or text to the intro video
3. Now add cool effects to improve the appearance of your intro
4. Export your intro video and add it to shared media

You can also use Filmora templates for cutting MP4 videos to create your intro video for your YouTube content.

In Filmora, you will find a wide variety of templates for titles, openers, end credits, plain texts, callouts, and more for cutting MP4 and other video formats. You can use the premade template to add the desired text effect and then edit them according to your preferences. If you want to use these settings again, save the customized text effects as presets. It will save you a lot of time.

Section 2. Advanced Video Cutter Functions

These are the cutting MP4 effects that aren’t used by beginners but hobbyists and professional video content creators may use them to add production value and interactive dimension to their content.

• Green Screen - This effect allows YouTubers to add any type of live or static background while cutting MP4 videos adding production value to their video.
• Motion Tracking - This is a cinematic method that enables YouTubers to include digital visuals in live-action video. It ensures that everything including scale, position, relative motion, and orientation is accurate.
• Color Matching - If you are shooting your video with different cameras, every camera records the footage in its own color profile. Color matching is used to introduce color consistency throughout the video. Filmora X is perfectly capable of handling color matching while you are cutting MP4 and other videos.

Some of the channels and YouTubers that rely on advanced video cutting MP4 effects include Vlad and Niki, MKBHD, Dude Perfect, Canal KondZilla, Like Nastya Vlog, and Kids Diana Show.

Performing Advanced Cutting MP4 Video Effects on Filmora X

• Using Green Screen

Step 1 - Set up and position the green screen and add adequate lighting.

Step 2 - Make sure that you don’t wear anything that’s green and start shooting.

Step 3 - Download green screen backgrounds from the website of your choice.

Step 4 - Import your green screen footage into Filmora X and adjust the settings according to your preferences.

Step 5 - Position the background-clip so it looks natural and then export the video in your required format (MP4).

• Using Motion Tracking

Step 1 - Go to Behaviors in Control Panel and select the top clip. Then click on the “plus” button right next to Behaviors.

Step 2 - Here, select the motion track from the list and open the folder to select the footage you want to track.

Step 3 - This will automatically start motion analysis of the video clip and you’ll be notified with grey tracker points once the analysis is complete.

Step 4 - You can draw around the region that you want to follow the motion and it will be automatically applied to the object.

Step 5 - Preview the clip and adjust any settings if the result isn’t according to your liking.

• Using Color Matching

Step 1 - Drag the video clip to your timeline and move the play head to the frame you want to color match.

Step 2 - Select the remaining video clips and apply color matching through the right-click or the toolbar. Select the frame as a reference and click on ‘Match’.

Step 3 - Now, using the slider, adjust the extent to which you want the color setting of other clips that need to be matched. See the result in the ‘comparison view’.

Final Word

Cutting MP4 or other videos for YouTube content creation is a major part of the process. You need to have reliable and versatile video editing software that can get the job done without any hassle. And while there are professional packages available, they cost way too much for the YouTubers who are just starting out or are just hobbyists. That’s where Filmora X can be an exceptional alternative offering a wide variety of features at a fraction of the cost.

You can tryFilmora X for free for cutting MP4 videos before you pay for the fully-featured software.

You May Also Like:How do Beginners Make a Cool Video for YouTube on Mac>>>

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

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