Essential Guide: The Top 10 Inexpensive YouTube Channels for Visual Creators

10 Best Free YouTube Channel Art Makers

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

There are tons of free YouTube channel art makers online, so it’s easy for anyone to make their channel page look great without purchasing an expensive program like Photoshop. Let’s have a look at some of the best free YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio
2. BeFunky
3. Canva
4. Crello
5. Fotojet
6. Fotor
7. Snappa
8. Adobe Spark
9. Picmonkey
10. Adobe PhotoShop

YouTube Channel Art Makers You Should Try This Year

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform provides a wonderful creative design solution for you. Just trough drag and drop templates, and then use photos/text/elements to design. After the simple and fast design, One-Click to download your creations, and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, and YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.

2. BeFunky

This online platform for photo editing features Photo Editor, Design, and Collage Maker modes. Each mode can be used for the production of images you can use on your YouTube channel. The editor’s Design mode contains hundreds of templates that can be used to create banners and other types of visual content.

- The BeFunky online editor also has a Pro version that costs $2.91 per month.

- You can share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest directly from the editor.

- Some YouTube banner templates are only available if you upgrade to the Pro version of the software.

3. Canva

Despite the fact that Canva offers some photo editing tools, it is mostly a platform for graphic designers who need an easy way to collaborate with big teams on different projects. This online image editor enables you to design social media posts, marketing materials, and YouTube channel art.

- In order to use Canva, you must first open an account.

- Saves time on creating YouTube channel art.

- Incredibly easy to use.

4. Crello

With a photo library that contains over 3500 free images and more than 10,000 templates, Crello is one of the best online tools you can use to design your YouTube banners. YouTube channel art can be created with Crello in just 4 simple steps.

- Free, but additional designed elements may cost you as much as $0.99.

- Countless YouTube channel art templates.

- Rich font library.

5. Fotojet

Like most online photo editors, Fotojet has three different modes and its Design mode is frequently used as a tool for things like YouTube channel art and video thumbnails. However, Fotojet isn’t a free platform, even though the free trial period is available (we include it on this list because the trial period would be enough for a lot of people to get their channel art done). The pricing plans vary from $3.33 per month to $6.99, depending on the plan.

- Features a large collection of YouTube banner templates.

- Fast, simple, and easy to use.

- Some options may not be available during the trial period.

6. Fotor

Besides being one of the best online photo editors, Fotor is also a very decent design tool that functions well as a YouTube channel art maker. Fotor’s banner maker feature lets you choose a preset design and insert new text within seconds, and it also allows you to add multiple layers to your images.

- Outstanding photo editing capabilities.

- Functional design.

- Free, but a Pro version is also available.

7 . Snappa

Everyone loves beautiful images, but we often don’t have the time to create them. Snappa is designed to save you time in each step of the process of creating stunning YouTube channel art. Furthermore, this online tool features thousands of high-resolution images, and it allows you to easily add text or graphics to your designs.

- Free and Paid versions of Snappa are available.

- Powerful resizing

- Pro and Team pricing plans provide unlimited downloads.

8. Adobe Spark

Turning your ideas into compelling visual stories is easy with Adobe Spark because it provides all the graphic design tools you’ll ever need to create art for your YouTube channel. With more than 50.000 royalty-free photos, 3500 templates, and over 200 fonts Adobe Spark seems to be the ultimate tool for designing YouTube banners, thumbnails, and even pictures you feature in your videos.

- Free, although a Premium option is available for $9 per month.

- Remarkable sharing capabilities.

- Provides an endless source of inspiration through artwork shared by the Adobe Spark community members.

9. PicMonkey

PicMonkey was once a free online design tool but now you’ll have to pay for it. You’re definitely getting a lot more with this paid online design tool. Unlike most of the online design tools that we have previously mentioned, in PicMonkey, you can toggle between layers like you can in PhotoShop, select from a variety of blending options, and you also have the ability to draw and erase. In this entire list, it’s the closest tool you’ll get to PhotoShop.

10. Adobe PhotoShop

Last and definitely not the least on our list is Adobe PhotoShop, professional design software that you will have to install onto your computer. You can design your own channel art from scratch or customize pre-made templates to fit your brand.

Do you have a free YouTube channel art maker to recommend?

Touch Up Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used YouTube video editing software , Filmora allows YouTubers to create videos with plentiful effects, templates, and presets. Download the free trial version to have a try.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

There are tons of free YouTube channel art makers online, so it’s easy for anyone to make their channel page look great without purchasing an expensive program like Photoshop. Let’s have a look at some of the best free YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio
2. BeFunky
3. Canva
4. Crello
5. Fotojet
6. Fotor
7. Snappa
8. Adobe Spark
9. Picmonkey
10. Adobe PhotoShop

YouTube Channel Art Makers You Should Try This Year

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform provides a wonderful creative design solution for you. Just trough drag and drop templates, and then use photos/text/elements to design. After the simple and fast design, One-Click to download your creations, and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, and YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.

2. BeFunky

This online platform for photo editing features Photo Editor, Design, and Collage Maker modes. Each mode can be used for the production of images you can use on your YouTube channel. The editor’s Design mode contains hundreds of templates that can be used to create banners and other types of visual content.

- The BeFunky online editor also has a Pro version that costs $2.91 per month.

- You can share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest directly from the editor.

- Some YouTube banner templates are only available if you upgrade to the Pro version of the software.

3. Canva

Despite the fact that Canva offers some photo editing tools, it is mostly a platform for graphic designers who need an easy way to collaborate with big teams on different projects. This online image editor enables you to design social media posts, marketing materials, and YouTube channel art.

- In order to use Canva, you must first open an account.

- Saves time on creating YouTube channel art.

- Incredibly easy to use.

4. Crello

With a photo library that contains over 3500 free images and more than 10,000 templates, Crello is one of the best online tools you can use to design your YouTube banners. YouTube channel art can be created with Crello in just 4 simple steps.

- Free, but additional designed elements may cost you as much as $0.99.

- Countless YouTube channel art templates.

- Rich font library.

5. Fotojet

Like most online photo editors, Fotojet has three different modes and its Design mode is frequently used as a tool for things like YouTube channel art and video thumbnails. However, Fotojet isn’t a free platform, even though the free trial period is available (we include it on this list because the trial period would be enough for a lot of people to get their channel art done). The pricing plans vary from $3.33 per month to $6.99, depending on the plan.

- Features a large collection of YouTube banner templates.

- Fast, simple, and easy to use.

- Some options may not be available during the trial period.

6. Fotor

Besides being one of the best online photo editors, Fotor is also a very decent design tool that functions well as a YouTube channel art maker. Fotor’s banner maker feature lets you choose a preset design and insert new text within seconds, and it also allows you to add multiple layers to your images.

- Outstanding photo editing capabilities.

- Functional design.

- Free, but a Pro version is also available.

7 . Snappa

Everyone loves beautiful images, but we often don’t have the time to create them. Snappa is designed to save you time in each step of the process of creating stunning YouTube channel art. Furthermore, this online tool features thousands of high-resolution images, and it allows you to easily add text or graphics to your designs.

- Free and Paid versions of Snappa are available.

- Powerful resizing

- Pro and Team pricing plans provide unlimited downloads.

8. Adobe Spark

Turning your ideas into compelling visual stories is easy with Adobe Spark because it provides all the graphic design tools you’ll ever need to create art for your YouTube channel. With more than 50.000 royalty-free photos, 3500 templates, and over 200 fonts Adobe Spark seems to be the ultimate tool for designing YouTube banners, thumbnails, and even pictures you feature in your videos.

- Free, although a Premium option is available for $9 per month.

- Remarkable sharing capabilities.

- Provides an endless source of inspiration through artwork shared by the Adobe Spark community members.

9. PicMonkey

PicMonkey was once a free online design tool but now you’ll have to pay for it. You’re definitely getting a lot more with this paid online design tool. Unlike most of the online design tools that we have previously mentioned, in PicMonkey, you can toggle between layers like you can in PhotoShop, select from a variety of blending options, and you also have the ability to draw and erase. In this entire list, it’s the closest tool you’ll get to PhotoShop.

10. Adobe PhotoShop

Last and definitely not the least on our list is Adobe PhotoShop, professional design software that you will have to install onto your computer. You can design your own channel art from scratch or customize pre-made templates to fit your brand.

Do you have a free YouTube channel art maker to recommend?

Touch Up Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used YouTube video editing software , Filmora allows YouTubers to create videos with plentiful effects, templates, and presets. Download the free trial version to have a try.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

There are tons of free YouTube channel art makers online, so it’s easy for anyone to make their channel page look great without purchasing an expensive program like Photoshop. Let’s have a look at some of the best free YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio
2. BeFunky
3. Canva
4. Crello
5. Fotojet
6. Fotor
7. Snappa
8. Adobe Spark
9. Picmonkey
10. Adobe PhotoShop

YouTube Channel Art Makers You Should Try This Year

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform provides a wonderful creative design solution for you. Just trough drag and drop templates, and then use photos/text/elements to design. After the simple and fast design, One-Click to download your creations, and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, and YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.

2. BeFunky

This online platform for photo editing features Photo Editor, Design, and Collage Maker modes. Each mode can be used for the production of images you can use on your YouTube channel. The editor’s Design mode contains hundreds of templates that can be used to create banners and other types of visual content.

- The BeFunky online editor also has a Pro version that costs $2.91 per month.

- You can share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest directly from the editor.

- Some YouTube banner templates are only available if you upgrade to the Pro version of the software.

3. Canva

Despite the fact that Canva offers some photo editing tools, it is mostly a platform for graphic designers who need an easy way to collaborate with big teams on different projects. This online image editor enables you to design social media posts, marketing materials, and YouTube channel art.

- In order to use Canva, you must first open an account.

- Saves time on creating YouTube channel art.

- Incredibly easy to use.

4. Crello

With a photo library that contains over 3500 free images and more than 10,000 templates, Crello is one of the best online tools you can use to design your YouTube banners. YouTube channel art can be created with Crello in just 4 simple steps.

- Free, but additional designed elements may cost you as much as $0.99.

- Countless YouTube channel art templates.

- Rich font library.

5. Fotojet

Like most online photo editors, Fotojet has three different modes and its Design mode is frequently used as a tool for things like YouTube channel art and video thumbnails. However, Fotojet isn’t a free platform, even though the free trial period is available (we include it on this list because the trial period would be enough for a lot of people to get their channel art done). The pricing plans vary from $3.33 per month to $6.99, depending on the plan.

- Features a large collection of YouTube banner templates.

- Fast, simple, and easy to use.

- Some options may not be available during the trial period.

6. Fotor

Besides being one of the best online photo editors, Fotor is also a very decent design tool that functions well as a YouTube channel art maker. Fotor’s banner maker feature lets you choose a preset design and insert new text within seconds, and it also allows you to add multiple layers to your images.

- Outstanding photo editing capabilities.

- Functional design.

- Free, but a Pro version is also available.

7 . Snappa

Everyone loves beautiful images, but we often don’t have the time to create them. Snappa is designed to save you time in each step of the process of creating stunning YouTube channel art. Furthermore, this online tool features thousands of high-resolution images, and it allows you to easily add text or graphics to your designs.

- Free and Paid versions of Snappa are available.

- Powerful resizing

- Pro and Team pricing plans provide unlimited downloads.

8. Adobe Spark

Turning your ideas into compelling visual stories is easy with Adobe Spark because it provides all the graphic design tools you’ll ever need to create art for your YouTube channel. With more than 50.000 royalty-free photos, 3500 templates, and over 200 fonts Adobe Spark seems to be the ultimate tool for designing YouTube banners, thumbnails, and even pictures you feature in your videos.

- Free, although a Premium option is available for $9 per month.

- Remarkable sharing capabilities.

- Provides an endless source of inspiration through artwork shared by the Adobe Spark community members.

9. PicMonkey

PicMonkey was once a free online design tool but now you’ll have to pay for it. You’re definitely getting a lot more with this paid online design tool. Unlike most of the online design tools that we have previously mentioned, in PicMonkey, you can toggle between layers like you can in PhotoShop, select from a variety of blending options, and you also have the ability to draw and erase. In this entire list, it’s the closest tool you’ll get to PhotoShop.

10. Adobe PhotoShop

Last and definitely not the least on our list is Adobe PhotoShop, professional design software that you will have to install onto your computer. You can design your own channel art from scratch or customize pre-made templates to fit your brand.

Do you have a free YouTube channel art maker to recommend?

Touch Up Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used YouTube video editing software , Filmora allows YouTubers to create videos with plentiful effects, templates, and presets. Download the free trial version to have a try.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

There are tons of free YouTube channel art makers online, so it’s easy for anyone to make their channel page look great without purchasing an expensive program like Photoshop. Let’s have a look at some of the best free YouTube channel art makers.

1. Wondershare PixStudio
2. BeFunky
3. Canva
4. Crello
5. Fotojet
6. Fotor
7. Snappa
8. Adobe Spark
9. Picmonkey
10. Adobe PhotoShop

YouTube Channel Art Makers You Should Try This Year

1. Wondershare PixStudio

Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. This online platform provides a wonderful creative design solution for you. Just trough drag and drop templates, and then use photos/text/elements to design. After the simple and fast design, One-Click to download your creations, and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, and YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.

2. BeFunky

This online platform for photo editing features Photo Editor, Design, and Collage Maker modes. Each mode can be used for the production of images you can use on your YouTube channel. The editor’s Design mode contains hundreds of templates that can be used to create banners and other types of visual content.

- The BeFunky online editor also has a Pro version that costs $2.91 per month.

- You can share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest directly from the editor.

- Some YouTube banner templates are only available if you upgrade to the Pro version of the software.

3. Canva

Despite the fact that Canva offers some photo editing tools, it is mostly a platform for graphic designers who need an easy way to collaborate with big teams on different projects. This online image editor enables you to design social media posts, marketing materials, and YouTube channel art.

- In order to use Canva, you must first open an account.

- Saves time on creating YouTube channel art.

- Incredibly easy to use.

4. Crello

With a photo library that contains over 3500 free images and more than 10,000 templates, Crello is one of the best online tools you can use to design your YouTube banners. YouTube channel art can be created with Crello in just 4 simple steps.

- Free, but additional designed elements may cost you as much as $0.99.

- Countless YouTube channel art templates.

- Rich font library.

5. Fotojet

Like most online photo editors, Fotojet has three different modes and its Design mode is frequently used as a tool for things like YouTube channel art and video thumbnails. However, Fotojet isn’t a free platform, even though the free trial period is available (we include it on this list because the trial period would be enough for a lot of people to get their channel art done). The pricing plans vary from $3.33 per month to $6.99, depending on the plan.

- Features a large collection of YouTube banner templates.

- Fast, simple, and easy to use.

- Some options may not be available during the trial period.

6. Fotor

Besides being one of the best online photo editors, Fotor is also a very decent design tool that functions well as a YouTube channel art maker. Fotor’s banner maker feature lets you choose a preset design and insert new text within seconds, and it also allows you to add multiple layers to your images.

- Outstanding photo editing capabilities.

- Functional design.

- Free, but a Pro version is also available.

7 . Snappa

Everyone loves beautiful images, but we often don’t have the time to create them. Snappa is designed to save you time in each step of the process of creating stunning YouTube channel art. Furthermore, this online tool features thousands of high-resolution images, and it allows you to easily add text or graphics to your designs.

- Free and Paid versions of Snappa are available.

- Powerful resizing

- Pro and Team pricing plans provide unlimited downloads.

8. Adobe Spark

Turning your ideas into compelling visual stories is easy with Adobe Spark because it provides all the graphic design tools you’ll ever need to create art for your YouTube channel. With more than 50.000 royalty-free photos, 3500 templates, and over 200 fonts Adobe Spark seems to be the ultimate tool for designing YouTube banners, thumbnails, and even pictures you feature in your videos.

- Free, although a Premium option is available for $9 per month.

- Remarkable sharing capabilities.

- Provides an endless source of inspiration through artwork shared by the Adobe Spark community members.

9. PicMonkey

PicMonkey was once a free online design tool but now you’ll have to pay for it. You’re definitely getting a lot more with this paid online design tool. Unlike most of the online design tools that we have previously mentioned, in PicMonkey, you can toggle between layers like you can in PhotoShop, select from a variety of blending options, and you also have the ability to draw and erase. In this entire list, it’s the closest tool you’ll get to PhotoShop.

10. Adobe PhotoShop

Last and definitely not the least on our list is Adobe PhotoShop, professional design software that you will have to install onto your computer. You can design your own channel art from scratch or customize pre-made templates to fit your brand.

Do you have a free YouTube channel art maker to recommend?

Touch Up Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used YouTube video editing software , Filmora allows YouTubers to create videos with plentiful effects, templates, and presets. Download the free trial version to have a try.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Tips for Superior Sound Recordings Without a Microphone

How to Record Good Audio Without a Microphone?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Audio quality is more important than video quality on YouTube. You’ve probably heard that before – viewers might forgive sub-par video quality if they’re interested in what you’re saying, but if it’s hard to understand what you’re saying they’ll click away.

Getting an external mic (even a $10 one-off Amazon ) is one of the best ways to improve your videos. That said, maybe your budget is $0. Or, maybe you just don’t happen to have a mic now and don’t want to wait to make videos. It could even be that you just don’t want to bother with an external mic.

Luckily, there are a lot of easy, free, things you can do to protect the quality of your audio recording even if you’re not using an external mic. Here are a few tips:

• 1. Keep Your Camera Close
• 2. Shoot Somewhere Quiet
• 3. Pick a Good Room
• 4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind
• 5. Use a Free Audio App
• 6. Do a Sound Check

1. Keep Your Camera Close (like, really close)

The biggest problem with the mic built into any camera or phone is just that, since it’s with the camera, it’s usually too far away from you. Built-in mics can record decent audio up close, but usually, your camera will be set up farther away from you than an external mic would be.

For example, your camera’s mic might be just as good as a clip-on LAV, but that LAV is right by your mouth and the camera is a couple of big steps away.

Moving your camera/smartphone physically closer to you will make it hard to include anything besides your head and shoulders in your shot, but it will get you significantly better audio.

2.Shoot Somewhere Quiet

The best way to limit the amount of background noise you pick up in your sound recording is to shoot somewhere where there’s no background noise. That probably seems really basic, but it’s something a lot of people just don’t do. It’s easy to default to recording in your home office, even though it’s right next to the kitchen where your family is bustling around, or in your bedroom even though there’s a busy street right outside your window.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your audio is simply to scout out a quiet room in your house where the sound recording conditions are better. Speaking of recording conditions…

3. Pick a Good Room

There’s more that goes into picking a good room than how quiet it is. If you try to record in a room that’s too big your voice might sound to distant, and if you try to record in a room that’s too small your audio will be too echo-y. You need a room that’s just right.

You should also pay attention to what’s in the room you’re recording in. Avoid hard, reflective, surfaces like appliances and mirrors which your voice will bounce off of. The same conditions that make you sound great when you sing in the shower will – like recording in a small space -make your voiceover unpleasantly echo-y.

Look for a room that has a lot of soft things in it, like beds and sofas.

4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind

If you shoot outside, then the wind passing over your built-in mic will do terrible things to your audio. You can do a lot to counter-act this problem by physically blocking the wind.

There are a few ways to do this. If you’re doing hand-held shots you can partially cover your camera or phone’s mic with your finger. You don’t want to completely cover it/press down or your audio will be muffled. What you’re trying to do is create a barrier blocking out the wind.

On movie sets, they block out wind by covering the microphones with big fuzzy things called ‘dead cats’. You can also block out wind noise by attaching something fuzzy to your microphone. If your camera’s built-in mic is on front of it then you just need something big and fluffy you can loop around the lens. You can use a piece of a boa, a fuzzy novelty scrunchie – you can even murder a fuzzy stuffed animal! Do you have an old coat with a fuzz around the hood? That fuzz would do nicely.

The pompom used in this video cost $2, but you might already have something that would work!

If your built-in mic is on top of your camera you can get something called a ‘micromuff’. A micromuff is essentially a circular or rectangular piece of velcro with long strands of fluff on top. It’s open in the middle so it doesn’t actually cover your mic, but the surrounding fuzz blocks out the wind.

You use the adhesive backing to attach the base velcro to your camera. The other side of the velcro has your fluff attached to the back.

The only thing about a micromuff is that it costs about $30, and if you’re going to spend $30 on audio equipment then you could just buy yourself an inexpensive LAV mic. I only bring up the micromuff because it’s a very simple design you can probably DIY – you just need velcro with adhesive backing and any of the fluff-sources we just discussed.

5. Use a Free Audio App

If you’re recording on a smartphone, you can download a free app that will let you make adjustments to your audio as you record it. With the right app, you can adjust your gain (volume is how you control ‘output’ audio, and gain is for ‘input’ audio. By turning up your gain, you can make your mic more sensitive), tempo, and more. A lot of the time, your audio recording app will also let you edit your audio afterward.

Even if you’re not recording video from your smartphone, it might be a good idea to use your phone as your mic and record a separate audio file. You’ll be able to use an app to fine-tune your recording, and you can set your phone up closer to you the way you would an external mic while keeping your camera back a bit farther.

Free audio apps: Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder (Android), RecForge II (Android), Smart Voice Recorder (Android), Audio Memos (iOS), and Recorder Plus (iOS).

6. Do a Sound Check

Once you think you’ve got good audio set up – test it! You don’t want to do a whole video and find out when you play it back that your audio doesn’t sound good.

Do you have any of your own audio tips to pass on? Leave them in the comments!

This topic was suggested by RS Beauty over in the forums. Thanks for the idea!

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora allows you to record voiceover and edit the recorded audio with mixer, equalizer and provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Audio quality is more important than video quality on YouTube. You’ve probably heard that before – viewers might forgive sub-par video quality if they’re interested in what you’re saying, but if it’s hard to understand what you’re saying they’ll click away.

Getting an external mic (even a $10 one-off Amazon ) is one of the best ways to improve your videos. That said, maybe your budget is $0. Or, maybe you just don’t happen to have a mic now and don’t want to wait to make videos. It could even be that you just don’t want to bother with an external mic.

Luckily, there are a lot of easy, free, things you can do to protect the quality of your audio recording even if you’re not using an external mic. Here are a few tips:

• 1. Keep Your Camera Close
• 2. Shoot Somewhere Quiet
• 3. Pick a Good Room
• 4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind
• 5. Use a Free Audio App
• 6. Do a Sound Check

1. Keep Your Camera Close (like, really close)

The biggest problem with the mic built into any camera or phone is just that, since it’s with the camera, it’s usually too far away from you. Built-in mics can record decent audio up close, but usually, your camera will be set up farther away from you than an external mic would be.

For example, your camera’s mic might be just as good as a clip-on LAV, but that LAV is right by your mouth and the camera is a couple of big steps away.

Moving your camera/smartphone physically closer to you will make it hard to include anything besides your head and shoulders in your shot, but it will get you significantly better audio.

2.Shoot Somewhere Quiet

The best way to limit the amount of background noise you pick up in your sound recording is to shoot somewhere where there’s no background noise. That probably seems really basic, but it’s something a lot of people just don’t do. It’s easy to default to recording in your home office, even though it’s right next to the kitchen where your family is bustling around, or in your bedroom even though there’s a busy street right outside your window.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your audio is simply to scout out a quiet room in your house where the sound recording conditions are better. Speaking of recording conditions…

3. Pick a Good Room

There’s more that goes into picking a good room than how quiet it is. If you try to record in a room that’s too big your voice might sound to distant, and if you try to record in a room that’s too small your audio will be too echo-y. You need a room that’s just right.

You should also pay attention to what’s in the room you’re recording in. Avoid hard, reflective, surfaces like appliances and mirrors which your voice will bounce off of. The same conditions that make you sound great when you sing in the shower will – like recording in a small space -make your voiceover unpleasantly echo-y.

Look for a room that has a lot of soft things in it, like beds and sofas.

4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind

If you shoot outside, then the wind passing over your built-in mic will do terrible things to your audio. You can do a lot to counter-act this problem by physically blocking the wind.

There are a few ways to do this. If you’re doing hand-held shots you can partially cover your camera or phone’s mic with your finger. You don’t want to completely cover it/press down or your audio will be muffled. What you’re trying to do is create a barrier blocking out the wind.

On movie sets, they block out wind by covering the microphones with big fuzzy things called ‘dead cats’. You can also block out wind noise by attaching something fuzzy to your microphone. If your camera’s built-in mic is on front of it then you just need something big and fluffy you can loop around the lens. You can use a piece of a boa, a fuzzy novelty scrunchie – you can even murder a fuzzy stuffed animal! Do you have an old coat with a fuzz around the hood? That fuzz would do nicely.

The pompom used in this video cost $2, but you might already have something that would work!

If your built-in mic is on top of your camera you can get something called a ‘micromuff’. A micromuff is essentially a circular or rectangular piece of velcro with long strands of fluff on top. It’s open in the middle so it doesn’t actually cover your mic, but the surrounding fuzz blocks out the wind.

You use the adhesive backing to attach the base velcro to your camera. The other side of the velcro has your fluff attached to the back.

The only thing about a micromuff is that it costs about $30, and if you’re going to spend $30 on audio equipment then you could just buy yourself an inexpensive LAV mic. I only bring up the micromuff because it’s a very simple design you can probably DIY – you just need velcro with adhesive backing and any of the fluff-sources we just discussed.

5. Use a Free Audio App

If you’re recording on a smartphone, you can download a free app that will let you make adjustments to your audio as you record it. With the right app, you can adjust your gain (volume is how you control ‘output’ audio, and gain is for ‘input’ audio. By turning up your gain, you can make your mic more sensitive), tempo, and more. A lot of the time, your audio recording app will also let you edit your audio afterward.

Even if you’re not recording video from your smartphone, it might be a good idea to use your phone as your mic and record a separate audio file. You’ll be able to use an app to fine-tune your recording, and you can set your phone up closer to you the way you would an external mic while keeping your camera back a bit farther.

Free audio apps: Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder (Android), RecForge II (Android), Smart Voice Recorder (Android), Audio Memos (iOS), and Recorder Plus (iOS).

6. Do a Sound Check

Once you think you’ve got good audio set up – test it! You don’t want to do a whole video and find out when you play it back that your audio doesn’t sound good.

Do you have any of your own audio tips to pass on? Leave them in the comments!

This topic was suggested by RS Beauty over in the forums. Thanks for the idea!

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora allows you to record voiceover and edit the recorded audio with mixer, equalizer and provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Audio quality is more important than video quality on YouTube. You’ve probably heard that before – viewers might forgive sub-par video quality if they’re interested in what you’re saying, but if it’s hard to understand what you’re saying they’ll click away.

Getting an external mic (even a $10 one-off Amazon ) is one of the best ways to improve your videos. That said, maybe your budget is $0. Or, maybe you just don’t happen to have a mic now and don’t want to wait to make videos. It could even be that you just don’t want to bother with an external mic.

Luckily, there are a lot of easy, free, things you can do to protect the quality of your audio recording even if you’re not using an external mic. Here are a few tips:

• 1. Keep Your Camera Close
• 2. Shoot Somewhere Quiet
• 3. Pick a Good Room
• 4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind
• 5. Use a Free Audio App
• 6. Do a Sound Check

1. Keep Your Camera Close (like, really close)

The biggest problem with the mic built into any camera or phone is just that, since it’s with the camera, it’s usually too far away from you. Built-in mics can record decent audio up close, but usually, your camera will be set up farther away from you than an external mic would be.

For example, your camera’s mic might be just as good as a clip-on LAV, but that LAV is right by your mouth and the camera is a couple of big steps away.

Moving your camera/smartphone physically closer to you will make it hard to include anything besides your head and shoulders in your shot, but it will get you significantly better audio.

2.Shoot Somewhere Quiet

The best way to limit the amount of background noise you pick up in your sound recording is to shoot somewhere where there’s no background noise. That probably seems really basic, but it’s something a lot of people just don’t do. It’s easy to default to recording in your home office, even though it’s right next to the kitchen where your family is bustling around, or in your bedroom even though there’s a busy street right outside your window.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your audio is simply to scout out a quiet room in your house where the sound recording conditions are better. Speaking of recording conditions…

3. Pick a Good Room

There’s more that goes into picking a good room than how quiet it is. If you try to record in a room that’s too big your voice might sound to distant, and if you try to record in a room that’s too small your audio will be too echo-y. You need a room that’s just right.

You should also pay attention to what’s in the room you’re recording in. Avoid hard, reflective, surfaces like appliances and mirrors which your voice will bounce off of. The same conditions that make you sound great when you sing in the shower will – like recording in a small space -make your voiceover unpleasantly echo-y.

Look for a room that has a lot of soft things in it, like beds and sofas.

4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind

If you shoot outside, then the wind passing over your built-in mic will do terrible things to your audio. You can do a lot to counter-act this problem by physically blocking the wind.

There are a few ways to do this. If you’re doing hand-held shots you can partially cover your camera or phone’s mic with your finger. You don’t want to completely cover it/press down or your audio will be muffled. What you’re trying to do is create a barrier blocking out the wind.

On movie sets, they block out wind by covering the microphones with big fuzzy things called ‘dead cats’. You can also block out wind noise by attaching something fuzzy to your microphone. If your camera’s built-in mic is on front of it then you just need something big and fluffy you can loop around the lens. You can use a piece of a boa, a fuzzy novelty scrunchie – you can even murder a fuzzy stuffed animal! Do you have an old coat with a fuzz around the hood? That fuzz would do nicely.

The pompom used in this video cost $2, but you might already have something that would work!

If your built-in mic is on top of your camera you can get something called a ‘micromuff’. A micromuff is essentially a circular or rectangular piece of velcro with long strands of fluff on top. It’s open in the middle so it doesn’t actually cover your mic, but the surrounding fuzz blocks out the wind.

You use the adhesive backing to attach the base velcro to your camera. The other side of the velcro has your fluff attached to the back.

The only thing about a micromuff is that it costs about $30, and if you’re going to spend $30 on audio equipment then you could just buy yourself an inexpensive LAV mic. I only bring up the micromuff because it’s a very simple design you can probably DIY – you just need velcro with adhesive backing and any of the fluff-sources we just discussed.

5. Use a Free Audio App

If you’re recording on a smartphone, you can download a free app that will let you make adjustments to your audio as you record it. With the right app, you can adjust your gain (volume is how you control ‘output’ audio, and gain is for ‘input’ audio. By turning up your gain, you can make your mic more sensitive), tempo, and more. A lot of the time, your audio recording app will also let you edit your audio afterward.

Even if you’re not recording video from your smartphone, it might be a good idea to use your phone as your mic and record a separate audio file. You’ll be able to use an app to fine-tune your recording, and you can set your phone up closer to you the way you would an external mic while keeping your camera back a bit farther.

Free audio apps: Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder (Android), RecForge II (Android), Smart Voice Recorder (Android), Audio Memos (iOS), and Recorder Plus (iOS).

6. Do a Sound Check

Once you think you’ve got good audio set up – test it! You don’t want to do a whole video and find out when you play it back that your audio doesn’t sound good.

Do you have any of your own audio tips to pass on? Leave them in the comments!

This topic was suggested by RS Beauty over in the forums. Thanks for the idea!

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora allows you to record voiceover and edit the recorded audio with mixer, equalizer and provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Audio quality is more important than video quality on YouTube. You’ve probably heard that before – viewers might forgive sub-par video quality if they’re interested in what you’re saying, but if it’s hard to understand what you’re saying they’ll click away.

Getting an external mic (even a $10 one-off Amazon ) is one of the best ways to improve your videos. That said, maybe your budget is $0. Or, maybe you just don’t happen to have a mic now and don’t want to wait to make videos. It could even be that you just don’t want to bother with an external mic.

Luckily, there are a lot of easy, free, things you can do to protect the quality of your audio recording even if you’re not using an external mic. Here are a few tips:

• 1. Keep Your Camera Close
• 2. Shoot Somewhere Quiet
• 3. Pick a Good Room
• 4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind
• 5. Use a Free Audio App
• 6. Do a Sound Check

1. Keep Your Camera Close (like, really close)

The biggest problem with the mic built into any camera or phone is just that, since it’s with the camera, it’s usually too far away from you. Built-in mics can record decent audio up close, but usually, your camera will be set up farther away from you than an external mic would be.

For example, your camera’s mic might be just as good as a clip-on LAV, but that LAV is right by your mouth and the camera is a couple of big steps away.

Moving your camera/smartphone physically closer to you will make it hard to include anything besides your head and shoulders in your shot, but it will get you significantly better audio.

2.Shoot Somewhere Quiet

The best way to limit the amount of background noise you pick up in your sound recording is to shoot somewhere where there’s no background noise. That probably seems really basic, but it’s something a lot of people just don’t do. It’s easy to default to recording in your home office, even though it’s right next to the kitchen where your family is bustling around, or in your bedroom even though there’s a busy street right outside your window.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your audio is simply to scout out a quiet room in your house where the sound recording conditions are better. Speaking of recording conditions…

3. Pick a Good Room

There’s more that goes into picking a good room than how quiet it is. If you try to record in a room that’s too big your voice might sound to distant, and if you try to record in a room that’s too small your audio will be too echo-y. You need a room that’s just right.

You should also pay attention to what’s in the room you’re recording in. Avoid hard, reflective, surfaces like appliances and mirrors which your voice will bounce off of. The same conditions that make you sound great when you sing in the shower will – like recording in a small space -make your voiceover unpleasantly echo-y.

Look for a room that has a lot of soft things in it, like beds and sofas.

4. Protect your Built-In Mic from Wind

If you shoot outside, then the wind passing over your built-in mic will do terrible things to your audio. You can do a lot to counter-act this problem by physically blocking the wind.

There are a few ways to do this. If you’re doing hand-held shots you can partially cover your camera or phone’s mic with your finger. You don’t want to completely cover it/press down or your audio will be muffled. What you’re trying to do is create a barrier blocking out the wind.

On movie sets, they block out wind by covering the microphones with big fuzzy things called ‘dead cats’. You can also block out wind noise by attaching something fuzzy to your microphone. If your camera’s built-in mic is on front of it then you just need something big and fluffy you can loop around the lens. You can use a piece of a boa, a fuzzy novelty scrunchie – you can even murder a fuzzy stuffed animal! Do you have an old coat with a fuzz around the hood? That fuzz would do nicely.

The pompom used in this video cost $2, but you might already have something that would work!

If your built-in mic is on top of your camera you can get something called a ‘micromuff’. A micromuff is essentially a circular or rectangular piece of velcro with long strands of fluff on top. It’s open in the middle so it doesn’t actually cover your mic, but the surrounding fuzz blocks out the wind.

You use the adhesive backing to attach the base velcro to your camera. The other side of the velcro has your fluff attached to the back.

The only thing about a micromuff is that it costs about $30, and if you’re going to spend $30 on audio equipment then you could just buy yourself an inexpensive LAV mic. I only bring up the micromuff because it’s a very simple design you can probably DIY – you just need velcro with adhesive backing and any of the fluff-sources we just discussed.

5. Use a Free Audio App

If you’re recording on a smartphone, you can download a free app that will let you make adjustments to your audio as you record it. With the right app, you can adjust your gain (volume is how you control ‘output’ audio, and gain is for ‘input’ audio. By turning up your gain, you can make your mic more sensitive), tempo, and more. A lot of the time, your audio recording app will also let you edit your audio afterward.

Even if you’re not recording video from your smartphone, it might be a good idea to use your phone as your mic and record a separate audio file. You’ll be able to use an app to fine-tune your recording, and you can set your phone up closer to you the way you would an external mic while keeping your camera back a bit farther.

Free audio apps: Hi-Q MP3 Voice Recorder (Android), RecForge II (Android), Smart Voice Recorder (Android), Audio Memos (iOS), and Recorder Plus (iOS).

6. Do a Sound Check

Once you think you’ve got good audio set up – test it! You don’t want to do a whole video and find out when you play it back that your audio doesn’t sound good.

Do you have any of your own audio tips to pass on? Leave them in the comments!

This topic was suggested by RS Beauty over in the forums. Thanks for the idea!

Polish Your YouTube Videos with Filmora

As one of the most widely used video editing software in YouTube video editing, Filmora allows you to record voiceover and edit the recorded audio with mixer, equalizer and provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. Download the free trial version and get started now.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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