Open Broadcast Software Studio, or OBS for short, is the ‘go to’ software for quick and easy, free (and open-source) broadcasting and streaming. The interface is simple to use and allows you to customise your video with graphics—it’s a great tool to add polish and professionalism to your broadcast. Let’s take a look at a few of the ways you might want to use graphics, and how you can do that within OBS.
Streaming Graphics
Just like in other types of video, graphics are an important part of your broadcast or stream, and they give important extra information to viewers. The key graphics elements for live video are overlays, banners, panels, alerts, and logos. Streaming graphics such as OBS live overlays are key to helping your audience to quickly recognise and, hopefully, connect emotionally with you and your stream.
1. How to Add Overlay Graphics in OBS Studio
An overlay can be a very simple graphic, as uncomplicated as a border that goes around the frame of your video. Wondering how OBS live overlays work? Live streamers on Twitch are big on using overlays because they give you scope to personalise your content. You can also use OBS overlays as placeholders for ‘starting soon’ and ‘thanks for watching,’ so that you aren’t leaving viewers with a blank screen.
Make Your Own Overlay
Learning how to add overlays on OBS is easier than you think. You can create your own overlay, and we’ve got a great guide to how you can do that in Photoshop that’s worth checking out.
If Photoshop seems overwhelming, try Placeit. With Placeit, you can make channel graphics by using interactive templates to customise existing designs in your web browser. This is a great way to get something that looks professional and can be adjusted to suit your brand, whilst not forcing you to create something from scratch or learn another new program.
Get some help from professionals by working with premium templates. You’ll get much more quality than with free overlays for OBS. Check out the step-by-step tutorial on how to make an overlay with Placeit for full details.
Add Your Overlay
To add overlays on OBS (I’ll add this Placeit example which I’ve modified slightly), select the Scene you want to add it to—mine is ‘Test‘—and then go to Sources > Add > Image.
And your OBS overlay image is superimposed above your video source. Now you know how to add overlays on OBS. Use this tutorial to create Twitch overlays. It’s easy!
A Quick Note on Scenes
Scenes in OBS are a way to set up your preferred layout, video sources, and audio settings for a particular type of broadcast or stream. If you make videos across different themes, if you’re a gamer who streams more than one game, or if you have two or more video feeds going (a camera on a host and screen-capture from your gameplay, for example), you’ll find Scenes very handy.
When you set up your Scene, you can then add things like graphics, as above, which will become accessible when you want to stream in that specific way. For more, check out our tutorial on how to use Scenes in OBS to switch between sources.
2. How to Add Text in OBS
Text, of course, doesn’t strictly come under graphics, but there are two ways to add it in OBS. The first is to directly input it through the Source menu (Add > Text), and the second is to create it elsewhere and then import it as an image.
To do this, simply create your desired text in your usual program, like Photoshop.
Save it as a PNG file to preserve the transparent background. Then, in the Sources box, click Add > Image.
It’ll ask you to create a name for your source, so call it something appropriate and then, when prompted, navigate to where your image is saved on your computer and add it. You’ll immediately see it appear on the screen.
When it’s on your screen, you can resize and position it as appropriate, and you even have the option to reduce the opacity.
3. How to Add Motion Graphics in OBS
If you’re able to create video content in a suite like Premiere Pro or After Effects, then you can use those graphics in OBS. While you won’t be able to directly edit or change the content in OBS, you can make things like lower thirds or animated logos and render them out to an MP4 or other video file to include in your Scene.
If you want to go all out and make a user interface for your feed, but you don’t have the design skills or patience to design a full GUI for your stream, check out these heads-up display design kits from Elements.
Here’s a quick example I made, a lower third, and how to add it to your Scene:
Try Adding Graphics in OBS Studio
Adding graphic elements to a video can make it look like a more expensive and expressive production. Quite often, as with most things, less is more, so try to have a few well-made and consistent design elements that you use frequently, rather than a big mix of stuff. It’s wise to use Profiles and Scenes to keep different broadcasts separate and—if you want—to give each its own identity.
The great thing about being able to use animated graphics rather than just images in OBS Studio is that it opens up a world of possibilities about the kinds of graphics you can create. As well as making things from scratch in an editing suite, you can access a wide range of templates that you can adjust and then render out, giving you a bank of graphics to use.
Top Resources From Envato to Help You Make Great Video
Here are more resources from Envato to keep you learning and making awesome streaming video.
Envato Elements: Unlimited Downloads
On Envato Elements, you have access to hundreds of video templates all included in the subscription. This means you can create some branding to go with your broadcast or live stream—an animated logo for example, or a set of lower thirds. Callouts can be useful for things like tutorials or unboxing broadcasts, and there are any number of animated graphics that would fit into most projects, so you can experiment and see what works for you.
Elements offers millions of stock items: photos, music, video clips, fonts, video project templates for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Motion, and creative courses from Envato Tuts+, all with a single subscription.
Download Free Video, Free Music, and Free Templates From Mixkit
Check out Mixkit for free stock videos, free stock music, and free templates for Adobe Premiere Pro.
Make a Motion Graphics Video Online With Placeit
Placeit is an online video maker with professionally designed motion graphics templates.
Read the Envato Video Marketing Guide
Boost your video marketing skills with our comprehensive guide. You’ll learn video marketing from start to finish.
Learn to Stream and Broadcast With Confidence
OBS Quick Start: How to Create Live Video for Free With Open Broadcaster Software Studio
OBS Quick Start: How to Record Your Screen for Free With Open Broadcaster Software
Top 3 Looping Video Backgrounds (Stock Footage) for Live Streaming
How to Build an Audience For Your Live Stream
How to Improve Webcam Video Picture Quality With OBS Studio (Settings, Exposure, LUTs)
How to Stream Video to Multiple Platforms Simultaneously With Restream and OBS
Two Quick Ways to Add Dynamic Text to Your Live Video Stream in OBS
About the Authors
Marie Gardiner wrote the text version of this lesson. Janila Castañeda updated the Learn More section on 21 July 2022. Jackson Couse edited and published it.
