User blog comment:Ultimate Mega Gamer/UMG's Weekly Thumbnail Contest 2/@comment-25430354-20171217080753/@comment-26902116-20171217085625

It wasn't entirely the art though that was the base of a number of issues. Namely, lighting & color. It's tough to say this of yours when I gave 1st place in that round to Sentry for almost the exact same reason but the biggest problem with that thumb & even this one is that you're trying to rely on the artistic style of the pictures you're using. It's rare that it works out. There's actually been quite a number of thumbnails like that that have been used in the contest up to this point & you'll notice that they placed low in their respective rounds. The main problem generally is that the need to show off the art itself becomes a bigger factor than things like sizing & spacing. Two of what I would consider to be the biggest factors in making a good thumbnail. I will give you this however, this thumbnail is indeed better than the one you submitted.