Features › Shorts and other sizes
9:16 Shorts covers, and every other shape
A thumbnail that works on YouTube is the wrong shape almost everywhere else. The builder generates the same idea in six shapes, so the version you post elsewhere is composed for that frame rather than cropped down and ruined. Pick 9:16 and you get a full-height vertical cover for Shorts, Reels or TikTok.
How it works
Pick the shape before you generate
16:9 for a YouTube thumbnail, 9:16 for a Shorts, Reels or TikTok cover, 1:1 square, 4:5 portrait, 4:3 classic, or 21:9 ultrawide.
Describe the image as usual
The composition is built for the frame you chose, so the subject is not cropped out of it.
Run it again in another shape
Feed the first result back in as a reference and ask for the other format, so the set stays consistent.
Things people ask it for
Questions
What size is a YouTube thumbnail?
1920x1080, which is the 16:9 option and the default here. YouTube accepts up to 2MB.
What size is a Shorts cover?
1080x1920, which is the 9:16 option. Keep the subject and any words in the middle of the frame, because the platform puts its own buttons and captions over the top and bottom.
Can I reuse a YouTube thumbnail as a Shorts cover?
Cropping a 16:9 image to 9:16 throws most of it away. Generate the vertical version instead, using the landscape one as a reference so the two match.