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The Twitch/PC streaming guide: Add a logo or an overlay to your stream

Look like a real Twitch streamer with a custom graphic or overlay.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Freelance Writer
Sarah is a freelance writer and CNET How To blogger. Her main focus is Windows, but she also covers everything from mobile tech to video games to DIY hardware projects. She likes to press buttons and see what happens, so don't let her near any control panels.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal
3 min read
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Some streamers have cool overlays. How do they do that?

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Some Twitch streams stand out from the rest with snazzy graphics and overlays that add an air of professionalism. Well, you don't need to be a professional to look professional -- adding an image or an overlay to your stream is easy.

Step 1: Find/make an image

First, you'll need to decide what type of image you want to add to your stream: A logo, or a standalone image that occupies one part of the screen; or an overlay, a border or a frame that covers the entire screen and surrounds your video game, webcam, and other sources.

Logos are a little easier to create from scratch, because you don't need to work within the constraints of whatever game you'll be playing. You can simply make an image using Adobe Photoshop or a free image editor like GIMP, without worrying about sizing or the game's interface. It's best to save your image in PNG format so any blank spots in the image will be transparent.

Overlays get a little complicated because they usually surround and enhance the game's interface and are often tailored to specific games. Overlays occupy the entire screen and thus must have transparent elements (PNG format) so your game and video feed can show through.

If you want to make your own overlay, it's smart to take a screenshot of the game you'll be playing so you can make sure everything lines up correctly. You'll also want to make sure your overlay has the same dimensions as the screen you'll be playing on. SteamPro is a free tool with a drag-and-drop overlay maker, and sites like Twitch Overlay and Strexm offer free overlays.

Step 2: Add the image to your scene

Once you've finished making your logo, overlay, or other image that you want to superimpose on your Twitch stream, open Open Broadcaster Software and select the scene you want to add the image to (learn how to create a scene here).

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Click "Browse" and choose your image.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

Right-click inside the Sources box and click Add > Image. Name your image source and then click Browse... to find the image you want to use on your computer. If you want the entire image to be semi-transparent, set the Opacity to a number lower than 100. When you're done tweaking the image settings, click OK.

Step 3: Move, reorder, and resize the image

Click Preview Stream to see what your stream currently looks like. You should see your image, as well as other sources that have been added to your stream.

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I decided to add a photo of my dog. But it probably makes more sense to add a graphic that contains your Twitter username, or a cool-looking overlay.

Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

There are two ways to move and resize your image. If you right-click the image name in the Sources box, you can change the Order (move the image above or below other sources on the screen) or tweak the Position/Size (fit the image to the screen, center, it, etc).

You can also manually resize and move your image by clicking Edit Scene. Select the image in the Sources box and you will be able to manually drag it around the screen and resize it by dragging the edges. If you resize your image incorrectly and you want to start over, right-click the image in the Sources box and go to Position/Size > Reset Size. To exit the editing feature, click Edit Scene again.