I want to learn thumbnail design and presentation/2d-animation design for youtube content marketing, what do I seek for?

[nordpass]

I learnt programming in Java after 1000+ hours of dedication. Now I can make any stuffs with Java (till so far I have learnt) provided I put my time on. The level of abstraction is there so I would say programming is very easy compared to something like graphic design or 2d animation where creativity plays an important role.
I am a bad at art. But that would be my identity. I am only going to learn open source software like GIMP etc Or anything with one time pay.
I am asking you guys whether the topic that I should pick is called "graphic design" or what? I have 5 subscribers till date. And I don't make any money from my youtube channel. I would like something that is low in starting capital.

 

[Ryuzaki]

I would say that you should learn the basic principles of graphic design. You already know them by being a living human with eyeballs, but you may not have the words and labels to describe them. That's worth gaining, such as an understanding of the color wheel, etc. And of course, master whatever software you choose, whether that's Gimp or Canva. Photoshop will be the best bet but I agree, I hate subscription software.

Beyond that, I'd set some parameters for thumbnails which you can learn from watching YouTube channels about thumbnail design. Try to have only 3 main points of focus in the thumbnail and no more. Remove unnecessary visual noise from the background elements, logos from shirts and things like that... anything that's not essential. If you choose to use words only use as many as 5 and choose their size and placement carefully.

Past this, you don't need to be a design genius. The real game is understanding human psychology, especially regarding your audience demographic. Your goal isn't to design the most pretty thumbnail, but the thumbnail that causes a viewer to click your video. That means you need to be poking and prodding their brain, by implying or outright asking questions they must know the answer to, creating massive curiosity (in combo with the title of the video), promising solutions, unique ways to perceive a topic, or higher quality entertainment than existing alternatives. The psychology side does most of the heavy lifting.