The first run is a starting point. Studio is built for the second and third run: keep what worked, say what to change, generate again.
Pick the Right Start From
Most weak results come from the wrong Start from, not a weak prompt.
- You do not know what the thumbnail should be → Brainstorm. Each variation takes after a different proven format, so one run shows you several directions instead of one.
- You know the look you want and it is the look you already have → My channel. It remixes your own proven thumbnails, so the result sits naturally beside your catalogue.
- Another creator's format is the one you want → Another channel. Enter their handle.
- You are already looking at the image you want to build on → Selected thumbnails, or Use as starting point on a single selected tile.
Write Directions That Change the Picture
Directions is free text, and specific beats long. Say what is in the frame, what mood it has, and what to leave out:
- "Me on the left pointing at a collapsing chart on the right. Dark background, one red accent."
- "Keep the layout, change the subject to a espresso machine."
- "No arrows, no circles, no border."
When you use Selected thumbnails, Directions is also where you say how the references combine: "Take the first one's layout and the second one's colours."
If a reference on the board has a text overlay, you can point at it in plain language: "Take the image that says GO FIGURE and make the background a server room." Studio knows what the overlay says even though the words are not part of the image file.
Edit Instead of Regenerating
A generation makes a new picture. An edit changes the one you already like, and it is usually the faster way to close the gap.
Open the thumbnail with Edit thumbnail and ask for one change at a time in Edit with AI. Click Apply edit. The result arrives as a new version beside the original, so nothing you liked is lost.
- Ask for one change per edit. "Make the sky stormy" lands more reliably than a list of five changes.
- Use Select an area for a local fix — a face, a badge, one corner. The pixels outside the box you drew are kept from the original.
- Use Add a reference image when the change is easier to show than to describe: a product, a jacket, a colour treatment. Take it from Upload, Images, or Board.
- Keep the right person in the picture with the People chips.
Some thumbnails carry a suggested edit from Studio's own check of the image. Studio shows it as a card above the edit box. Click Apply suggestion to submit it directly for one credit, or click Edit first to change the wording before you submit it.
Fix the Words for Free
Choose Headline text → Editable text before generating to keep the headline separate from the image. Changing the wording, colour, outline, or highlight costs nothing and never touches the picture underneath.
Try several headlines on duplicates of the same image (select it and duplicate), then Merge text into image on the winner.
Baked into image is the default. In this mode, the AI draws the words into the picture; changing those words requires an AI edit or a new generation.
Work in Small Steps
Generate a few variations, keep the best one, and make it the input to the next run:
- Select the best tile and click Use as starting point.
- Say what to change in Directions.
- Generate.
Because each result lands next to what it came from, you can follow an idea across the board and go back to any earlier branch. Inside one thumbnail, the Versions strip does the same for edits.
Borrow From What Already Works
The strongest signal you can give is a visual example.
- Put the thumbnail whose look you want on the board — from Add references, or from the viral formats gallery.
- Select it, choose Selected thumbnails, and describe your content in Directions: "Same style, but the topic is my home studio tour."
Your saved style instructions still apply on top, so rules like "never use red arrows" survive the borrow.
When a Generation Fails
While a tile generates, it shows which step is running: planning, rendering, checking, improving when the first result needs a correction, and adding the headline. A corrective pass can add a minute or two.
If a render fails, the tile shows the failure and your credit returns automatically. Failed tiles clean themselves up after a day. If failures repeat, shorten the directions or use fewer references.
When Studio adds editable text to a generated thumbnail, it first checks that the background has no old writing left underneath. If the picture kept the reference's words and Studio could not correct that, the tile fails and the credit returns, because a headline cannot sit on other words. Studio then fits the headline into its planned space, adjusts contrast against the actual background, and checks the finished composition. If that check has doubts, Studio first tries moving and resizing the headline itself, then checks the composition again. If the second check passes, the thumbnail appears with no notice. If doubts remain, the thumbnail appears with a short notice on the tile saying what to look at. Move or restyle the text, or retry. Dismiss the notice once you have checked it. Existing thumbnails are not changed automatically: remove old writing with Edit with AI, then add the headline you want.
Next Steps
- Set persistent style instructions so every run starts closer to your brand.
- Review Credits & Usage to make the most of your allowance.