How to Make a Twitch Overlay for Free?

You must have seen a frame-like colorful-looking thing around most streamers’ streams these days. That’s called a Twitch overlay, which you can use to significantly improve your engagement by making your stream look professional, stylish, and fun. You also earn by placing the paid ads or adding donation links to it.

How to make a Twitch overlay? In this article, we’ll teach you how you can do that using tools like Canva, Photopea, Midjourney, and Photoshop.

What Is A Twitch Overlay And Why You Must Create One?

Twitch is one of the fastest-growing streaming apps, with over 7.7 million active streamers on it. So, to stand out, you need to do something to grab the user’s attention by the time they’re scrolling. 

If your stream looks like a small, boring box, then the users will click any stream that they can get their eyes on, not necessarily yours. This is where creating a Twitch overlay comes into play. 

It’s a colorful 1920 x 1080 pixels tiny box that sits on top of your streams, displaying the current viewers count, social media links, game stats, alerts, and webcam frames. 

It makes your stream stand out among the millions out there as it’s unique, grabs attention immediately even when scrolling, and shows you as a professional and reputable Twitch streamer.

Benefits of Making a Twitch Overlay

There are many benefits of creating a Twitch overlay.  Like it:

• Makes your stream look professional and unique
• Helps viewers recognize your brand instantly
• Shows social media links for more follows
• Keeps your stream layout clean and organized
• Highlights, alerts, chat, and webcam neatly
• Grabs attention and makes streams more engaging
• Gives a polished, high-quality vibe to your content
• Helps you stand out from other streamers
• Makes important info easy to see for viewers
• Boosts your credibility as a serious streamer

How To Make A Twitch Overlay? Create One From Scratch

If you want to create a Twitch overlay from scratch, there are four best methods. We’ll start with the easiest one: creating it with Canva.

1. Creating a Twitch Overlay Using Canva

If you’re not experienced with any advanced editing tools, then let’s learn to create a Twitch overlay with Canva.

Step 1: Open Canva and Start a New Project

Head over to canva.com, and there, you’ll get a simple interface with various editing features.

Step 2: Choose a Background or Theme

• There are excellent prebuilt Twitch overlay templates available on Canva for free. Simply click on the search bar and type in “Twitch Overlay”. Click on it, and then you’ll see many excellent and beautifully created free Twitch overlay templates that you can use. 
• If you want to start completely from scratch, click on “Create Design”>” Custom size” and enter 1920×1080 pixels.

Step 3: Customize Your Overlay

• Now, customize your Twitch overlay with ease. Click on “Elements” and you’ll see lots of elements such as Shapes, Gradients, solid colours, etc. 
• Since you’re creating a Twitch Webcam overlay, click on any rounded or rectangular shapes. 
• Once selected, adjust its transparency and then place it wherever your webcam feed will go. To add your stream name and social media handles, click on “Text”>” heading” and then type in your stream’s name, social media handle, and chat alerts. 
• You can also search for and use animated bars, icons, and borders to make your design stand out from others.

Step 4: Save and Download

When you’ve created your Twitch overlay design, click on “Download” >” PNG” and check the “Transparent Background” option before saving. 

2. Creating a Twitch Overlay Using Photopea

The other best and free method to create a Twitch overlay is Photopea. It’s an online tool, which means you won’t even need to download it.

Step 1: Open Photopea and Set Up Your Project

Go to Photopea.com and then click on “New  Project” to start a new project. Select the canvas size to 1920×1080 pixels, which is the ideal size for Twitch Overlay. Don’t forget to enable the “Transparent” option before creating the project.

Step 2: Choose a Background or Color

Then, select the background colour for your overlay. If it’s a solid colour, then simply use the Paint Bucket tool (G) and fill the canvas with the colour. If you want to use any picture, then go to  File > Open & Place and add a background image.

Step 3: Add Webcam Cutout

Create a rectangle where your webcam will go. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) to select a box, then press Delete to cut it out. This ensures your face cam fits neatly into the overlay.

Step 4: Add Shapes and Borders

You can use the Shape tool (U) to draw rectangles, circles, or other shapes. Then, adjust the colors, opacity, and stroke width of your overlay to your liking.

Step 5: Add Text and Social Media Handles

After that, click the Text (T) and type your usernames, social media handles, or just the simple text “Follow me.”  Then, place it where you want it on the overlay and adjust its size and color.

Step 6: Add Stream Labels

If you are also showing labels like recent followers, subscribers, or donations, then make sure you create a separate section for it on the overlay. It could be a rectangular or a circular box.  Then, add the required texts to that.

Step 7: Save and Export Your Overlay

When the Twitch overlay design is ready, you can click on File > Export As > PNG and make sure the background remains transparent.

3. Creating a Twitch Overlay Using Midjourney

If you’re in a hurry, let’s create Twitch overall using Midjourney, a generative AI tool. It’s a paid tool, though.

Step 1: Go To Midjourney

If you don’t already have a Discord account, create one and then go to Midjourney. There, log in with your Discord account.

Step 2: Invite the Bot to Your Server

When you’re on Midjourney, invite the Midjourney bot to your private Discord server so you don’t have to use public channels. To do that, open Midjourney’s Discord, find the bot, click “Add to Server”, choose your server, and hit authorize. 

Step 3: Generate a Background Image

Next, go to any text channel or room in your Discord server, and in the text bar, type “/imagine,” followed by a detailed prompt for the background image you want.

Example Prompts for Overlay Backgrounds

You can also use these best Midjourney prompts for the Twitch overlay.

• “Futuristic cyberpunk gaming background, neon lights, 4K resolution.”
• “Minimalist streamer overlay with clean UI, dark theme, ultra realistic.”
• “Fantasy-themed Twitch background, glowing magic symbols, cinematic lighting.”

Step 4: Choose and Upscale Your Image

After some time, Midjourney will create four images for you: U1, U2, U3, and U4.You can select the one you want. Then, click on the image and download it from the Midjourney dashboard.

Step 5: Add Your Overlay Elements

You’ve got the main part of the Twitch overlay; use Photopea to add the elements like:

• Webcam cutouts
• Social media handles
• Stream labels

Step 6: Export 

When your overlay is ready, export it as a transparent PNG, and then you can use it in your stream.

4. Creating a Twitch Overlay Using Photoshop

The last method to create a Twitch overlay is to use Photoshop. We’ve kept it as the last option because it requires you to be a little aware of Photoshop’s features and how it works. It’s not for complete beginners.

Step 1: Open Photoshop and Create a New Document

Open Photoshop, create a 1920×1080 pixels canvas, and check “Transparent” to keep the background transparent.

Step 2: Choose or Create a Background

Just like Canva, you can select a solid colour or an image to be your background. To choose the image, click on File > Place Embedded and position it as the background.

Step 3: Create a Webcam Frame

Then, select a Rectangle Tool (U) to draw a box for your webcam.  Adjust it and then add the border to it. If you want a cutout in the frame, select the area and click Delete.

Step 4: Add Graphics and Design Elements

Once the Twitch frame is ready, you have plenty of editing options in Photoshop to make it as beautiful and engaging as you want it to be. You can decorate it with shapes, lines, and brushes. You can also use gradients, glowing effects, and neon outlines to make it easily noticeable, even in the scroll.

Step 5: Insert Text for Social Media and Labels

Click on the Text Tool (T) to add the Twitch channel name or social media handles. Then, adjust the font size and position it properly, keeping everything clean.

Step 6: Add Stream Labels and Chat Box

If you also want a space to show your recent followers or chat messages like other streamers, then create a section using text and rectangles.

Step 7: Export as PNG

When the Photoshop Twitch overlay is ready, click  File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) and choose PNG format to keep the transparent background.

How To Add a Twitch Overlay To Your Stream?

After creating the Twitch overlay, add it to your stream by following these methods.

1. Twitch Studio

If you use Twitch Studio for streaming, then follow these steps to add a Twitch overlay to your stream.

• Firstly, open up the Twitch Studio on your system, click on the “+” button, and then under “Layers”, select “Image”.
• Then, click “Add Image”, choose your overlay file, and click “Open”.
• Lastly, adjust the overlay’s placement and size to your stream layout. 

2. OBS Studio

If you’re using the OBS studio, follow these steps:

• Open OBS studio on your system and then head over to the “Sources” panel and click the “+” button> “Image”.
• Name your Overlay, which can be anything that you want.
• After that, click “Browse”, then click on the Twitch Overlay file, and then click “OK”.
• Adjust the Overlay according to your stream layout like you did in the Twitch studio.

Tips To Create The Twitch Overlay That Stands Out!

To make your Twitch overlay stand out from the crowd and improve your engagement, follow these tips.

• Keep It Clean –Keep everything clean. Don’t add too many elements close together to make it cluttered. 
• Make It Your Own—Use the colours, fonts, and designs that represent your brand.
• Stay Consistent—Don’t change the Twitch overlay too often; stick to only one so that it becomes your identity.
• Add Some Life—Don’t make it boring. Add animated alerts and fun graphics to make it interactive.
• Keep Improving—Initially, you can experiment with various Twitch overlay designs and then check the effectiveness after changing each. If one is bringing in more engagement, keep that.

FAQS

Can I make my own Twitch overlay?

Yes, you can create your own Twitch overlay using tools like Canva, Photopea, Photoshop, and Midjourney.

How do I do an overlay on Twitch?

Design your overlay using tools like Canva, Photopea, Midjourney, and also Photopea. Then, add them to your stream in OBS or Twitch studi,o depending on which one you’re using.

How much is a Twitch overlay?

If you create your Twitch overlay yourself, then it’s free for you. However, if you hire a designer for it,  it’ll cost you $50-$200. If you buy a pre-built one, then you may have to pay $5 to $30.

Final Words:

How to make a Twitch overlay? You can use tools like Canva, Photopea, Midjourney, and Photoshop to create the Twitch overlay. Whichever tool you use, keep your overlay clean, use the colours and designs of your brand, and make it engaging by using fun graphics and alerts. 

It’s okay to experiment with different designs initially and then keep the one that brings in more engagement and viewership.