Generate YouTube Thumbnail

Generate a YouTube thumbnail with bold title text, gradient background, and a static image cutout.

Who this is for

Content creators and video platforms use this recipe to generate eye-catching thumbnails at scale. Define a bold gradient canvas, overlay a subject photo with background removal, and add large title text — ready for YouTube uploads, social previews, or content management systems.

Request
curl -X POST https://api.iterationlayer.com/image-generation/v1/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "dimensions": { "width": 1280, "height": 720 },
    "layers": [
      {
        "index": 0,
        "type": "gradient",
        "gradient_type": "linear",
        "angle_in_degrees": 135.0,
        "colors": [
          { "hex_color": "#FF6B00", "position": 0.0 },
          { "hex_color": "#D90429", "position": 100.0 }
        ],
        "position": { "x": 0.0, "y": 0.0 },
        "dimensions": { "width": 1280, "height": 720 }
      },
      {
        "index": 1,
        "type": "image",
        "buffer": "<base64-encoded-subject-photo>",
        "should_remove_background": true,
        "position": { "x": 700.0, "y": 60.0 }
      },
      {
        "index": 2,
        "type": "text",
        "text": "I Built an App in 24 Hours",
        "font_name": "Montserrat",
        "font_size_in_px": 64,
        "text_color": "#FFFFFF",
        "font_weight": "Bold",
        "position": { "x": 50.0, "y": 120.0 },
        "dimensions": { "width": 620, "height": 280 }
      },
      {
        "index": 3,
        "type": "text",
        "text": "Dev With Alex",
        "font_name": "Inter",
        "font_size_in_px": 28,
        "text_color": "#FFF3E0",
        "position": { "x": 50.0, "y": 560.0 },
        "dimensions": { "width": 400, "height": 50 }
      }
    ],
    "output_format": "png"
  }'
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "buffer": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
    "mime_type": "image/png"
  }
}
Request
import { IterationLayer } from "iterationlayer";
const client = new IterationLayer({ apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY" });

const result = await client.generateImage({
  dimensions: { width_in_px: 1280, height_in_px: 720 },
  output_format: "png",
  layers: [
    {
      index: 0,
      type: "gradient",
      gradient_type: "linear",
      angle_in_degrees: 135.0,
      colors: [
        { hex_color: "#FF6B00", position: 0.0 },
        { hex_color: "#D90429", position: 100.0 },
      ],
      position: { x_in_px: 0, y_in_px: 0 },
      dimensions: { width_in_px: 1280, height_in_px: 720 },
    },
    {
      index: 1,
      type: "image",
      buffer: "<base64-encoded-subject-photo>",
      should_remove_background: true,
      position: { x_in_px: 700, y_in_px: 60 },
    },
    {
      index: 2,
      type: "text",
      text: "I Built an App in 24 Hours",
      font_name: "Montserrat",
      font_size_in_px: 64,
      text_color: "#FFFFFF",
      font_weight: "Bold",
      position: { x_in_px: 50, y_in_px: 120 },
      dimensions: { width_in_px: 620, height_in_px: 280 },
    },
    {
      index: 3,
      type: "text",
      text: "Dev With Alex",
      font_name: "Inter",
      font_size_in_px: 28,
      text_color: "#FFF3E0",
      position: { x_in_px: 50, y_in_px: 560 },
      dimensions: { width_in_px: 400, height_in_px: 50 },
    },
  ],
});

const imageBuffer = Buffer.from(result.data.buffer, "base64");
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "buffer": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
    "mime_type": "image/png"
  }
}
Request
import base64

from iterationlayer import IterationLayer
client = IterationLayer(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")

result = client.generate_image(
    dimensions={"width_in_px": 1280, "height_in_px": 720},
    output_format="png",
    layers=[
        {
            "index": 0,
            "type": "gradient",
            "gradient_type": "linear",
            "angle_in_degrees": 135.0,
            "colors": [
                {"hex_color": "#FF6B00", "position": 0.0},
                {"hex_color": "#D90429", "position": 100.0},
            ],
            "position": {"x_in_px": 0, "y_in_px": 0},
            "dimensions": {"width_in_px": 1280, "height_in_px": 720},
        },
        {
            "index": 1,
            "type": "image",
            "buffer": "<base64-encoded-subject-photo>",
            "should_remove_background": True,
            "position": {"x_in_px": 700, "y_in_px": 60},
        },
        {
            "index": 2,
            "type": "text",
            "text": "I Built an App in 24 Hours",
            "font_name": "Montserrat",
            "font_size_in_px": 64,
            "text_color": "#FFFFFF",
            "font_weight": "Bold",
            "position": {"x_in_px": 50, "y_in_px": 120},
            "dimensions": {"width_in_px": 620, "height_in_px": 280},
        },
        {
            "index": 3,
            "type": "text",
            "text": "Dev With Alex",
            "font_name": "Inter",
            "font_size_in_px": 28,
            "text_color": "#FFF3E0",
            "position": {"x_in_px": 50, "y_in_px": 560},
            "dimensions": {"width_in_px": 400, "height_in_px": 50},
        },
    ],
)

with open("result.png", "wb") as f:
    f.write(base64.b64decode(result["data"]["buffer"]))
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "buffer": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
    "mime_type": "image/png"
  }
}
Request
package main

import (
    "encoding/base64"
    "os"

    il "github.com/iterationlayer/sdk-go"
)

func main() {
    client := il.NewClient("YOUR_API_KEY")

    result, err := client.GenerateImage(il.GenerateImageRequest{
        Dimensions:   il.Dimensions{WidthInPx: 1280, HeightInPx: 720},
        OutputFormat: "png",
        Layers: []il.Layer{
            il.NewGradientLayer(0, "linear", []il.GradientColor{
                {HexColor: "#FF6B00", Position: 0.0},
                {HexColor: "#D90429", Position: 100.0},
            }, il.Position{XInPx: 0, YInPx: 0}, il.Dimensions{WidthInPx: 1280, HeightInPx: 720}),
            il.NewStaticImageLayer(1, il.FileInput{Buffer: "<base64-encoded-subject-photo>"},
                il.Position{XInPx: 700, YInPx: 60},
                il.Dimensions{}),
            il.NewTextLayer(2, "I Built an App in 24 Hours", "Montserrat", 64, "#FFFFFF",
                il.Position{XInPx: 50, YInPx: 120},
                il.Dimensions{WidthInPx: 620, HeightInPx: 280}),
            il.NewTextLayer(3, "Dev With Alex", "Inter", 28, "#FFF3E0",
                il.Position{XInPx: 50, YInPx: 560},
                il.Dimensions{WidthInPx: 400, HeightInPx: 50}),
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    decoded, _ := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(result.Data.Buffer)
    os.WriteFile("result.png", decoded, 0644)
}
Response
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "buffer": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA...",
    "mime_type": "image/png"
  }
}

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