Avi Saini, aka Yoursdex, is a 17-year-old designer from Uttarakhand, India. After finishing high school in 2024, he was looking for ways to earn online and learn a new skill, which is when he found out about thumbnail design.
He slowly started liking this creative field, so he kept going. In the starting days he was doing it on mobile, and after upgrading his laptop in August 2025 he got to learn a lot of new things — he's still learning something new every day. Yoursdex is available for hire.
Twitter (X) → x.com/yoursdex
Instagram → instagram.com/_yoursdex
Website → yoursdex.lovable.app
Featured design
Overview
Hello readers! So this was the brief for Thumbnail 101 Weekly Challenge #48, and the theme was "Playing Among Us, But It's Real Life." The challenge gave us full creative freedom, you could choose any composition, perspective, or angle you wanted, with just one condition: include at least 3 people in the thumbnail.
WC#48 brief
This challenge was posted on June 29th, but I saw it three days later, on July 2nd. I was on summer vacation at that time. I'm not really an Among Us fan, and I only knew basics about the game, so the first thing I did was go to Pinterest to look for some ideas about Among Us.
Initial concept
Before I get into how I actually made this thumbnail, let me take you on a quick flashback, because this wasn't the first idea I had.
While scrolling through Pinterest, I came across a lot of Among Us-related ideas, but I chose this one first because I liked the perspective and concept in it: a player trying to press the buzzer and the imposter behind him trying to kill him before he could press it.
Pinterest inspiration, a cyan crewmate reaching for the emergency button with a red crewmate closing in behind him.
But since the challenge needed at least 3 people, I started thinking in my mind, how do I turn this two-player idea into a three-person story? So after getting an idea, I made a rough sketch to figure out the players' positions and how it would look the way I wanted it. (Please don't judge my sketching skills; I know it's really bad, lol.)
My design sketch, marked up with the positions: blue trying to press the button, red trying to kill blue, green already dead against the wall, blood on the floor and a door in the background.
To see how it would actually look, I used AI to design this image. But then I decided to drop this idea. One small reason was that someone had already submitted a similar buzzer-pressing thumbnail. It wasn't the same, but I still dropped it for that. The second and real reason was simple: I just wasn't happy with it anymore.
The AI-generated version of that first idea: blue at the button, red raising a knife behind him, green lying dead by the wall.
If I hadn't dropped this idea, maybe I wouldn't be here on Unlayered right now, and you wouldn't be reading this. This thumbnail wouldn't even exist. That's why I feel like you should always keep experimenting and trying different ideas in life.
At that point my mind was full of many ideas, some felt great, some felt boring, and I honestly felt pretty confused switching between them. In the end, I moved on from this one, and now let's get to the thumbnail whose workflow you all wanted to see, so let's move forward.
Main concept
After dropping my first idea, I couldn't really think of anything new. So I just kept scrolling on Pinterest for almost 2 days, and that's when my eyes landed on this image.
The Pinterest image the main concept came from, a yellow crewmate holding a knife in the foreground while a pink crewmate stands at a lit console.
And obviously, the moment I saw it, my heart just skipped a beat, and in my head, I literally started singing that old Salman Khan movie song. "Ooooo... pehle pehal tujhe, dekha toh dil mera, dhadka haaye dhadka dhadka haaye." (The first time I saw you, my heart started beating; oh, it beat, it beat...)
Then I checked the date, it was July 6th, and I suddenly remembered that today was the last day of the challenge. I checked the time and only had 1.5 hours left. So I switched into full designing mode.
My sketch was already made; I just needed the images now. The main thing I loved about this composition was the "scroll-stopping" emotion it had, and this is the masterpiece I look for. So since faces weren't visible in it, I didn't have to put in that much effort on face detailing.
Editing
So with the help of Gemini, Claude, and Flow, I started generating the images. First, I generated the background, then the yellow player, then the pink player, and then I blended them all into one image, and after that I did some correction on it with adjustment layers.
Then I realized the thumbnail only had two people in it, so I quickly generated one more player and placed it in. And then finally I applied the Camera Raw filter to it.
Step by step editing process
Unlayered
Workstation
Hardware
Dell Inspiron 3593 (bought in 2020)
Intel Core i3-1005G1 @ 1.20GHz
8GB RAM (upgraded from 4GB)
1.14TB HDD (originally) + 233GB SSD (NVMe, added later as an upgrade)
Intel UHD Graphics (integrated)
Windows 11
Dell Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
Tools
How did you get into thumbnail design?
I finished high school in 2024, and I wanted to get into content creation online, mainly to make some money. That's when I found out about freelancing through YouTube, video editing and thumbnail design. I was 15 that time and didn't know much, and my laptop wasn't great either. I started with video editing, but after an accident, I switched to thumbnail design, making thumbnails on Picsart (mobile) and Canva (PC), since Photoshop couldn't run on my laptop back then.
In Nov 2024, I met my friend Ace on Discord, and he introduced me to the Thumbnails 101 community, taught me about the international market, and helped me start landing better clients. Before that, I was only working with Indian clients for very little money. Slowly I started understanding fundamentals like composition and lighting, instead of just making thumbnails randomly.
In Aug 2025, I upgraded my PC and started using Photoshop. And 2026 has honestly been my best year yet, not in terms of clients, but in how much I've learned through self-practice. Around November 2025, Ace told me to rely on my own judgment instead of asking for feedback on every step, which helped me develop stronger design instincts.
I just wanted to say because I really believe that God always helps you. When you start something new and you feel like you can't do it anymore, God sends someone in your life, a mentor, a friend, or someone who is there to guide you.
For this journey, I want to thank you, God, first, and then all my friends who supported and guided me whenever I felt low. Thank you, guys. And that's it for what I want to tell you. Just at last I say, no matter where you are in life, enjoy it, keep growing every day; keep improving yourself; and help other people whenever you can. That's all. See ya!
What's on your wishlist to learn or get better at?
Every day I want to get better at my design skills. Along with that, I really want to learn YouTube packaging properly and work on my own branding too. I also feel my soft skills need some work, especially my communication skills. That's something I really want to improve.
One tip for someone just starting out?
Honestly, I would just say to just keep designing every day. The more you make, the better you get, day by day. Trust yourself and post your work on social media, today nothing beats social media. Look at everything around you and ask "What can I learn from this?" And when you think your brain is stuck, just take a break, go for a walk, or do whatever makes you feel calm.
Nothing beats self-practice. You don't need to buy any course. Follow really good designers; learn from their works and analyze how they do things. YouTube has so much content now; you will learn a ton from it. "People can show you the way, but until you do things yourself, no one can really help you." And that's it, thank you!
Best thumbnail you've ever made?
This one holds a special place for me. It was client work that got rejected, so this thumbnail I made entirely on Picsart, on mobile. I love the colors and composition in it. Only I know how much time it took to pull this off on Picsart back then; that time was just different, and I really loved the thumbnails I made in my starting days.
Merry Christmas! Alexa Chenn in GTAV Valorant Done
And second, this one is one of my favorite designs I made for a weekly challenge. I really liked the concept behind it, and the process of making it was genuinely fun.
I Built a Time Machine, and THIS Happened...
Best thumbnail you've ever seen?
2 weeks to discover Japan! (I take out my Manga) Ft. Amine, MangaWorkout
How Dangerous Is A Lightsaber?
If you found this edition of Unlayered helpful, please consider sharing it with someone who might benefit from this workflow too! 💙