Have you been streaming on Twitch and noticed that some streams have beautiful graphics around them? Those are called Twitch or stream overlays.
An overlay can be anything like a border around a webcam or a high-definition image of your favorite video game.

Essentially, it is a transparent PNG graphic that you place around or above your webcam or game capture window. It is like masking your stream and positioning graphics below it to make everything look decent and professional.
To use it, you first need to know how to make a Twitch overlay. Also, you also need to know how to get it on top of your game or stream.
How to make an overlay for Twitch
You can add a Twitch stream overlay in various ways. Two of these include:
1. Using a template
You will have to download a template online and add it to your stream. To make things easier, use an OBS overlay template.
The option will work if you are using the OBS Studio software. Follow these steps to add the overlay.
- Download the template from any online source
- Select the scene on the OBS software where you want to add the overlay. OBS will create the scene by default.
- At the sources box, right-click, then select Add, then select Image. Name the image and click OK.
- Click on Browse to locate the overlay you want to add to the stream. Select it and click OK.
Clicking OK will add the stream overlay template to your scene. From this point, you can do many things like resizing and moving the overlay to the right position.
Read: Best OBS settings for streaming on Twitch
2. Designing it
If you need a free customized overlay, then the best way is to design it yourself. For this article, we will use Adobe Photoshop.
To get started, follow the steps below.
- Open Photoshop, File, then New.
- Set the width and height of your image as 1920 and 1080 pixels respectively. Press OK.
- Click on Edit and select Fill. Choose any background color you want for your overlay. Press OK.
- Add an invincible layer to the background you have selected. Click on Layer on top of your screen, then New, and select Layer. It is on this layer that you can add, edit, or draw your designs.
- Move the mouse to the workspace. Start creating your designs by typing words. Or, you can start by clicking and dragging the rectangle tool to create shapes. When you get your desired shape, select Edit, then Fill. Choose a color for your shapes and press OK.
- Continue designing your graphics by creating more content. You can add things like a subscriber list or chatbox.
- After creating the designs, select File, then Save As. The best format to choose should be JPEG or PNG.
You do not need to use Adobe Photoshop to make your live stream overlay. Any editor will do fine.
The most important step is to add it to your OBS Studio as shown in section one above.
Conclusion
While it is crucial to know how to make a Twitch overlay, you can still use a template and add it to your stream. Also, you have the option of adding an animated file to your stream overlay.
Generally, there are no rules for making a Twitch overlay. You only need professional-looking graphics that your viewers will love.
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