Pick a real moment
Upload the video and scrub to any frame. Drag the framing so your face and hands sit where you want them in the new shape.
Cover and thumbnail maker
Thumbnails with the headline behind you, made from your own video.
Scrub to the frame you want, type a headline, and choose Behind you. The editor cuts you out of that exact frame, draws the headline in your caption style, and puts you back on top. Download a YouTube thumbnail or a vertical cover as a PNG.
Start caption generationMaking covers is free and does not use export minutes. A person needs to be in the frame for Behind you to work.
How the cover maker works
Add the headline
Type up to 80 characters, or use the hook title if the editor already suggested one. It uses the same style as your captions.
Put it behind you
Switch the headline to Behind you, place it top, middle or bottom, and download the PNG at the exact pixel size.
Why start from the video instead of a photo.
Most text-behind tools want a photo. For a video thumbnail that means exporting a still, uploading it somewhere else, and hoping the moment you picked is sharp. Here the frame, the cut-out and the headline all come from the video you are already editing.
The cut-out is the same person mask the behind-the-speaker captions use, built in your browser. So the thumbnail and the captions match: the same typeface, the same colours, the same layering. Nothing in the image is generated, so what the viewer clicks is what the video shows.
Sizes and details
YouTube thumbnail
16:9 at 1280×720, the size YouTube recommends for custom thumbnails.
Reels, Shorts and TikTok covers
9:16 at 1080×1920, for the cover frame you pick when you post.
Feed and square
4:5 at 1080×1350 for the Instagram feed, and 1:1 at 1080×1080.
Front or behind
The headline can sit over you or behind you. Behind works best with big, heavy type that runs wider than your shoulders.
What you download
A PNG at the exact size
One image per download, ready to upload as a thumbnail or cover. No watermark, and no export minutes used.
The captioned video too
Export the video from the same edit when it is ready. The thumbnail and captions share one style.
Thumbnail questions
How do I put text behind a person in a YouTube thumbnail?
You need a cut-out of the person on top of the text. In AutoCaption, open the Cover tab, pick the frame, type the headline, and set it to Behind you. The editor masks the person in that frame and layers them over the headline, then you download a 1280×720 PNG.
Is the thumbnail maker free?
Yes. Making and downloading covers does not use export minutes on any plan, including the free one.
What size is a YouTube thumbnail?
1280×720 pixels, a 16:9 image. That is the size the 16:9 option downloads at. For Shorts, Reels and TikTok covers, use 9:16 at 1080×1920.
Why is the text not going behind me?
Behind you relies on a person mask, so it needs a person clearly in the frame. Pick a frame where you are in focus and not cut off, and use a headline large enough to pass behind your head or shoulders.
Can I use a photo instead of a video frame?
Not in the cover maker. It works from the video you are editing, which is the point: the thumbnail matches a real moment in the video.
Read next
Make the thumbnail from the video you just edited.
Pick the frame, put the headline behind you, and download it free.