Live streaming has become a pop culture career. From gaming to education and everything in between, there are millions of live stream channels on video-sharing platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, etc. Of all these live stream channels, some look cool and creatively different than others. Because they use stream overlays, some of these channels have jaw-dropping subscribers too. Read on to know the secrets of stream overlay, how to use it, and the best tools to get eye-catching stream overlays online.
What Are Stream Overlays?
Stream overlays are a combination of graphical elements like widgets, chat boxes, calls to action (CTAs), picture-in-picture frames, camera borders, and more. These elements, if organized artistically, enhance the look of your live streams on YouTube, Facebook Gaming, etc. Stream overlays, like other graphical overlays, float on top of the live video that you broadcast. For the best experience and visuals, you need to use a live broadcasting tool like OBS Studio, Restream, XSplit Broadcaster, etc. As the craze for stream overlay content is increasing rapidly, graphic content designers have now come up with animated overlays. Some popular stream overlay content is:
Stinger transitions Advertisement or video promoter’s banner “Live stream is offline” banner Upcoming live streaming alerts Stream screens Webcam border Stream label Header overlay
Why May You Want to Use Stream Overlays?
Overlay graphics show that you are a tech-savvy streamer and stay updated with the latest happenings in the game live streaming world. Stream overlays sometimes function like a hook that keeps your audience on the live stream. Such floating graphics are a great way to display sponsor content, logo, message, and so on. The sponsor will get a message that you take the sponsorship seriously. Your stream overlay functions as brand-awareness content on top of the video content. Advanced stream overlays help you to increase engagement with the subscribers and premium members by showing a horizontal or vertical ticker when the stream is live.
How Do Stream Overlays Improve Streaming Experience?
Stream overlays add a sense of creativity and technology to your live stream. The young population that loves gaming and pop culture, particularly like such overlays. Most streamers and subscribers say that overlays increase the stream-viewing experience. Here are some reasons:
Overlays differentiate the actual content from distractions like ads, brand promotion, online-gaming chats, CTAs, subscribe buttons, etc. On Twitch, it is a mandatory culture to use an overlay to brand your channel differently than the others. When multiple channels are streaming the same game, you can identify some unique channels by their stream overlays. The subscribers can effortlessly understand channel status by seeing the “Live stream is offline” overlay. You can announce any upcoming stream on the notifications area of the overlay so that most subscribers can join the live stream when you go live.
How to Find and Use the Best Stream Overlays
First off, check out some top Twitch or YouTube streamers who use stream overlays. For inspiration, check out the Twitch channels of Night Blue 3, Tfue, Shroud, Ninja, etc. In most of the streaming overlay portals mentioned in this article, you will find filters to narrow your search to specific designs of overlays. Once you sign up for any stream overlay editor, follow these steps to use the overlay:
On the overlay editor, choose the game, and add other elements like CTA boxes, chat boxes, picture-in-picture, etc. Add your streaming nickname or YouTube/Twitch brand name. The editor will create an overlay URL. Copy the link. Go to your streaming app, like OBS, and enter the URL as the browser source plugin. The broadcasting app will then create an overlay widget that you can drop on the stream screen to finish the setup process.
Now, find below some stream overlay websites where you can easily get hundreds of overlay graphics to choose from:
Streamlabs
The all-in-one live streaming software Streamlabs come with various streaming designs including a vast library of stream overlays. Streamlabs desktop themes and overlays are suitable for Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. The stream design library makes it super easy to explore its content via filter groups. You can choose from options like Trending, Most Installed, and Newly Added. While most stream overlay platforms focus on gaming-related themes, Streamlabs hosts all kinds of overlays ranging from IRL events to generic and everything in between.
Visuals By Impulse
If you have been using overlays on your live stream from the OBS Studio for a long time and not getting enough eyeballs, you can try Visuals By Impulse. Its smart overlay design engine helps you to produce studio-grade overlays in a few minutes. Here, you can choose a basic overlay theme and customize it on Visuals By Impulse’s overlay editor. The editor contains ready-to-use graphical elements, borders, CTAs, animations, and artwork that you can simply drag and drop on the basic design. Some of the top-selling overlays on this platform are:
Animated stream package ChatID chat box widget Hype meter Valor essentials stream package Slate stream package
Currently, you can only recruit overlay editors from this platform for overlay customization. Hence, you need to pay separately for the customization service.
Canva
Sometimes, you may want to design your Twitch overlay from scratch or use some basic templates and customize those. For these purposes, you must try Canva. The Twitch overlay library of Canva contains both static and animated design templates. Simply pick the one you like and start editing in the Canva editor. If you are choosing any Twitch overlay template tagged Pro or the crown icon, you need to pay to download the final design. Other than the Pro designs, the rest are free and you can download them in different formats like JPEG, PNG, GIF, and MP4. There is another download restriction for free Canva users. You can not download an SVG format of the Twitch overlay unless you are a Pro user or pay a one-time download fee. Additional content that you can add in your Twitch overlay from the Canva editor are shapes, lines, stickers, frames, grids, etc.
StreamElements
StreamElements is an overlay solution that lets you store graphic elements and other assets in the cloud. Hence, it only takes a few seconds for the streamers to set up before going live. Also, you can use the same overlay from different devices with ease. By choosing to use an overlay form here, you can customize it as your brand identity. Both newbies and seasoned streamers use this service. This free platform lets you choose from a wide range of themes for overlay creation. It has an editor where you can effortlessly create, edit, manage, copy, and personalize your overlays. You can use these overlays of YouTube, Trovo, twitch, and Facebook Gaming. If you want, selecting a universal theme is the best idea as it helps you with branding and comes in handy creating or updating your social profile. However, users can also select their overlays, panels, alerts, etc., for streaming.
FairlyOddStreamers
In case you are wondering how to present yourself to your audience during live streaming, FairlyOddStreamers has the perfect solution. On this aggregation platform, you can find an overlay design that represents your persona and brand. It has both free and premium resources, but the platform claims that the premium graphics are definitely better than the free ones and also showcase you as a serious streamer to your followers. On this platform, you get nine websites from which you can download the overlay for your channel or page. While some only provide you with overlays, others offer streaming packages that contain multiple elements. You can use these elements on YouTube, Twitch, Trovo, and Facebook Gaming. While the designs are nicely organized to help you find your favorite overlay easily, you can also sort them differently to quickly find something that suits your needs.
StreamSpell
StreamSpell store is a cool place to get hold of free and paid overlays. From here, you can download premium overlays optimized for Twitch, Facebook Gaming, and Youtube. Above all, these are compatible with various streaming software applications such as StreamLabs Desktop, OBS Studio, and StreamElements. Here, you get an array of overlay themes like anime, cute, dark, Esports, sci-fi, retro, holidays, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, MMORPG, Genshin Impact, horror, etc. You can also sort the overlays available on this website by best-selling, highest and lowest price, alphabetically ascending and descending, and most recent. As you select a streaming package, you can check out all necessary information about it, including supported tools, supported platforms, the content of the package, and available versions.
Tracker Network
Being an active social media streamer means you already have to deal with a lot of pressure every day. If you do not want your shabby and dull overlays to get the attention of online trollers, you should go for Tracker Network. Here, you can find streaming widgets for popular games including Call of Duty, Battlefield V, Valorant, Fortnite, Rainbow Six: Siege, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Rocket League, and many more. Also, users can customize the overlays with colors and layouts matching their brand. The overlays you will find on Tracker Network are not only free but also easy to use for anyone. After you configure the overlay, you can immediately start streaming and the viewers will get updated stats on it.
Stream Maker
Gamers and social media influencers who want to create customized graphic elements for streaming should go for Stream Maker. Using this tool, you can easily generate bespoke overlays. For that, users do not need to have excellent graphic design skills. Just choose any theme, pick your favorite colors, enter your username and attach social media accounts. This software will automatically create a custom overlay for your stream. Furthermore, you do not have to go through the setup process of any kind as this tool can be accessed straight from your browser. It offers overlay themes for types such as in-game and lobby. There is also an option to display your social media accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by attaching them to the overlays.
WDFLAT
Do you stream on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming? It is time to make your streams all more attractive and interesting to your followers with the free WDFLAT overlays. While choosing your favorite overlay, you can select the design type from PNG, PSD, animation, and online editable to quickly find the ones you need. Downloading these overlays takes seconds without any wait time. As a result, you can start streaming with these overlays in a minute. When it comes to quantity, WDFLAT offers you more than 150 overlays that you can customize as you deem necessary. This platform also offers an online editor where you can personalize the overlays with color, text, font style, font size, streaming icon, social media name, and data.
StreamShift
If you are a content creator, StreamShift is the platform where you can get a variety of stream assets, including stream overlays. It offers a large number of customizable stream overlays that you can use as seamless stream design in many live-streaming platforms. When streamers choose to use these overlays, they can personalize the overlays depending on their unique personality and the color scheme of the brand. Here, you can get free and paid overlays, designed by expert professionals, Hence, you can stay assured of the quality of products you get on this platform. Also, there is no need to spend time on mockups and revisions. It only takes a few seconds to download and install these overlays that support YouTube and Facebook Gaming.
Wrapping Up
Now you know where to get some extraordinary stream overlays for your live streams on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Gaming, and more. The article outlines both the free and paid platforms. You can try out the one that suits your live stream channel budget and creative style. You may also be interested in the best live-streaming software and the best live-game streaming platforms to set up a successful YouTube or Twitch channel.
