Arpan Roy is a 20-year-old freelance thumbnail designer who also works on the concepts, sketches and overall visual direction behind his thumbnails. He's been using Photoshop and making thumbnails for about two years now, and it all started as a side gig while he was trying out different things.
He's always been into drawing and painting, and that interest in the creative side eventually led him to thumbnails, where he found something he really enjoyed. Since then he's focused on getting better with every project. Arpan is available for hire.
Twitter (X) → x.com/ArpanCreates
Thumbnail Portfolio → avely.me/ArpanCreates
Featured design
We Found The 5 Deadliest Ancient Weapons
Overview
This thumbnail was made for a Thumbnails 101 Weekly Challenge.
Challenge brief
The references were mainly taken from Pinterest, along with the already provided assets.
References from Pinterest and the provided assets
The main visual direction was inspired by Jake Carlini's and Mike Shake's channel thumbnails, particularly the way he uses the chain weapon to communicate power and the posing of the character. I used these references to understand the overall feel, pose and presentation of the weapon. And I'm a huge fan of the thumbnails on their channels.
The rough sketch of the layout
Process
My process usually starts pretty simple: I grab my iPad, put on some music, and just start sketching.
I'll throw down some rough lines to figure out the composition, pose and overall idea before touching the final thumbnail. Most of the time I keep these sketches pretty rough... but I got way too locked in on this one and tried to make it a full illustration 😛
Unlayered
Workstation
Apple 11-inch iPad Pro M5 / Apple Pencil Pro
Maono mic, Aula F75 keyboard (Greywood switches), Logitech G502 mouse
Dual monitors, 5060 GPU, Ryzen 5700X processor, 32 GB of RAM
Quntis backlight monitor light bar
Tools
Communication: Discord / WhatsApp
Editing: Photoshop / Procreate
Image assets: Weekly Challenge / Pinterest
How did you get into thumbnail design?
I have always been into artistic things like painting, drawing and design, but I first got into thumbnails as a side gig just to try something new. I started with gaming thumbnails, mainly 3D Valorant stuff and 3D documentary, and got hooked pretty quickly. That got me into Blender, and from there I just kept trying different things and slowly moved into IRL thumbnails. I really enjoyed the process, so I just kept going with it.
What do you enjoy most about making thumbnails?
What I enjoy the most is definitely the concepting and sketching stage. I love thinking through different ideas, compositions and what could actually work for the video, then sketching those ideas out as a guide. Seeing that rough concept slowly turn into a finished thumbnail is probably the most satisfying part for me. I really enjoy taking an idea from that initial sketch all the way to bringing it to life as the final piece.
Your favorite thumbnail style to work in, and one you avoid?
My personal favorite style to work on would be IRL and 3D, as they're the type of genre that pulls my interest more. I don't really avoid a specific style, but I'm not a huge fan of overly cluttered thumbnails where too much is happening at once.
Best thumbnail you've ever made?
I Tried Skating for the First Time
Best thumbnail you've ever seen?
I Tested 5 Levels of Amusement Parks
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