Eugene Komarov, better known as Dispecto, is an 18-year-old thumbnail designer from Russia who is also studying marketing. He started his journey at 16, when he discovered the world of YouTube thumbnails. Inspired by the idea of working with popular creators, he began actively learning Photoshop and later Blender.
After a few years of dedicated work, he has collaborated with many of the most well-known bloggers in the CIS. In his designs, he focuses on the artistic side, paying close attention to detail and overall concept.
Currently, he is studying drawing to further improve his thumbnails. In the future, he aims to become a concept artist and work in the larger creative industry on major projects. Dispecto is available for hire.
Twitter (X) → x.com/dispecto
Telegram → t.me/didsgn
Featured design
Brief
I've recently gotten the opportunity to perform at a local circus show, but I'd never learned circus tricks before! It was really difficult to study everything, because I only had one week of preparation, so I was quite stressed in the video. I tried a bit of everything, so you can use any circus skill you want in the thumbnail (I did juggling, acrobatics, magic tricks, clown comedy... The only thing they didn't let me try was to tame the lion, as it was too dangerous). Please make it clear that there is a real show with a real audience at the end of the video, as it's the big moment that I want to hook people with! Thank you, I'm excited to see what you can make!
Thumbnail Creation
As soon as I went through the thumbnail brief, three ideas came to my mind — two of which were original. The first two revolved around a character hanging onto a rope with a threat below serving as a trigger. In the first version, it was a height; in the second, it was a lion, a crocodile — basically anything alive with huge teeth. The second idea was about a character tied to a target, with knives being thrown at him. For me, the choice was obvious — the first concepts seemed rather cliche and not particularly effective as a thumbnail, while the second one worked much better in that regard. Plus, I already knew a really cool reference, which made the work a lot easier.
Sketches
Yep, those are real sketches, hopefully my drawing skills have grown since then.
References
Of course, high-quality references and studying them are a VERY important part of the success of any artistic work. Just look at the masterpieces I used for this project. I owe a lot to these works and their creators.
Blender to Photoshop
I created this piece using my usual workflow, first building the entire base in Blender, then refining it in Photoshop. The combination of these two programs allows you to do anything and bring even your wildest ideas to life. Over the course of one night, I blocked out the whole scene in Blender, set up the lighting and the camera. I rarely model anything myself, there are tons of free 3D models online without copyright restrictions, so given the limited time, I find this approach more than acceptable.
I think you’ve noticed that I used the Joker model, which doesn’t really resemble the client or even a real person, so I replaced the head right away. Client photos don’t always work well for swaps due to the wrong angle, and this case was no exception. In such situations, I use a ComfyUI workflow. I’ve shared it with my followers on Twitter, and it’s easy to find online anyway. It’s the best tool for working with faces — changing expressions, and basically doing anything you want.
Original photo / Expression changed
Essentially, the entire process after Blender can be described as one big refinement stage. We already have the foundation we’re just adding details of varying importance, moving from the main focal points outward. Usually, that focal point is the face. Following this logic, the closer something is to the face, the more detailed it should be.
When it comes to color, the scheme is fairly simple: I use warm tones for accents and cool tones for the background. This way, you can guide the viewer’s attention not only through composition but also through color — warm, rich hues naturally draw the eye, while a cool background provides contrast without stealing focus or turning the whole image into a mess.
Unlayered
Workstation
Workstation Items
Main Monitor: MSI Optix G274QPX
Second Monitor: Samsung C27R500FHI
Microphone: Samson C01U Pro
Headphones: AirPods Pro
Mouse: Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2
Keyboard: Varmilo VEM87 Vintage Days CMYK
PC Specs
CPU: Ryzen 9 9950X3D
GPU: RTX 3060
RAM: 64 GB DDR5-6000
Storage: 4 TB SSD + 22 TB HDD
Tools
Adobe Photoshop
Stable Diffusion
Comfy UI
ChatGPT
Blender
Freepik
1. What do you enjoy most about creating thumbnails?
Lately, I’ve completely fallen in love with the creative side of making thumbnails, the whole process, from the idea to the final render and all the little details, brings me so much joy. Unfortunately, thumbnails aren’t really about details quality, so on the side, I’ve been making art and learning to draw just for my own satisfaction. I hope that one day I’ll be able to connect my life with it. Thumbnails, though, are more about deadlines and speed, quality comes second. Still, I truly love this work, and if more clients appear who appreciate a creative and detailed approach, that would be nothing short of magical.
2. How long does it take you to make a thumbnail?
In three years, I’ve really honed my skills — on average, it takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours to finish a thumbnail. Sometimes it’s faster, sometimes slower. Interestingly, the speed doesn’t really depend on how complex the thumbnail is, but rather on how long I’ve been working with the client.
3. What does your workflow look like?
That’s a very interesting question, because thumbnail designers in the CIS countries work in a slightly different format. For some reason, our clients really love all sorts of artistic and completely unrealistic elements in the design. To us, your style is minimalist and realistic, we even have a term for it: “the American style”. We, on the other hand, create magical, unnatural glows behind characters, bold and equally unrealistic color choices, and overall our works look more like posters or magazine covers rather than thumbnails meant to simply show what the video is about. Nevertheless, that’s considered normal here, and the contrast when working with you is noticeable, but many of us have gotten used to it, and it’s really great that we’re all part of the same big community.
4. How do you balance your studies and your design work?
In fact, the professors at my university are very understanding toward me, they deeply respect my work and my skills, and because of that, they sometimes cut me some slack. I respect them just as much for it. The most surprising thing is that I’m studying marketing, you’d think they might say my activities aren’t serious, but it’s actually the opposite. They’re wonderful people. Overall, university feels more like a pleasant kind of workload that helps me stay sharp and in good shape.
5. What’s one tip you’d give to new thumbnail designers?
Lately, it feels like there are far fewer newcomers, or maybe they’ve just become much more talented. I really wish people would stop chasing clients and money so much, and instead focus on improving quality and becoming better versions of themselves through that. Skill is something that stays with you forever, and it’s truly priceless, above everything else.
If you found this edition of Unlayered helpful, please consider sharing it with someone who might benefit from this workflow too! 💙