In various embodiments, methods and systems for generating thumbnail objects are provided. A thumbnail object generation system supports automatic thumbnail generation based on thumbnail anchor points. The thumbnail object generation system accesses thumbnail anchor points for an object. A thumbnail anchor point indicates a point of interest associated with the object for generating a thumbnail object. The object is positioned within a thumbnail window based on thumbnail anchor points. Positioning the object is based on successive thumbnail anchor points that are accessed. Positioning the object within a thumbnail window includes actuating movement of a virtual camera to keep the object within the thumbnail window while maintaining visibility of the thumbnail anchor points. The thumbnail object is generated based on a final object position for the object in the thumbnail window. The final object position is defined based on the thumbnail anchor points.