You’ve learned how to start streaming on Twitch, and your audio is crystal clear. But when you look at your favorite streamers, you see cool webcam borders, smooth transitions, and pop-up alerts for new followers. This isn’t some expensive magic; it’s the power of OBS. This guide will teach you exactly how to set up OBS scenes and overlays to take your stream from a basic screen capture to a professional-looking broadcast.
Think of this as your design studio. By the end of this article, you will understand the core building blocks of OBS and have a set of essential scenes ready to go for your next stream.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Building Blocks: Scenes vs. Sources
Before we build anything, you need to understand two simple concepts. Grasping this is the foundation of learning how to set up OBS scenes and overlays because everything you do revolves around these.
- Scenes: A Scene is a complete layout or screen. For example, your “Starting Soon” screen is one Scene. Your main gameplay screen with your webcam is another Scene. Think of a Scene as a room in your house.
- Sources: Sources are the individual elements inside a Scene. Your webcam, the game itself, an overlay frame, an alert box—each one is a separate Source. Think of Sources as the furniture and decorations inside a room.
Your goal is to create several “rooms” (Scenes) and fill them with the right “furniture” (Sources) to create a dynamic show.
How to Set Up OBS Scenes and Overlays: The 4 Essential Scenes
A core part of how to set up OBS scenes and overlays is knowing which scenes you actually need. You don’t need dozens of complicated layouts; you just need these four to start.
- Starting Soon Scene: A screen to display before you go live. It builds anticipation and gives viewers a place to gather while you do final checks.
- Main Gaming/Content Scene: This is where you’ll spend 95% of your time. It contains your game, your webcam, and any other on-screen elements.
- Be Right Back (BRB) Scene: A simple screen to switch to when you need to step away for a moment without showing an empty chair.
- Stream Ending Scene: A screen to display after you’ve finished your gameplay. It’s a great place to thank your viewers and promote your social media.
How to Set Up OBS Scenes and Overlays: A Step-by-Step Guide
This is the practical part of the guide. Let’s walk through exactly how to set up OBS scenes and overlays right now. Open up OBS and follow along.
Step 1: Create Your Four Scenes
The first practical step in learning how to set up OBS scenes and overlays is creating your blank canvases in the “Scenes” box.
- Click the + icon to add a new scene. Name it Starting Soon.
- Click + again and create Main Gaming.
- Repeat this for BRB and Stream Ending.
You now have four blank canvases to work with.
Step 2: Add Sources to Your Main Gaming Scene
Click on your Main Gaming scene to select it. Now we’ll add the “furniture” to the “Sources” box next to it.
- Add Your Game: Click +, select Game Capture, and name it “My Game.” In the properties window, set the Mode to “Capture specific window” and then select your running game from the dropdown list.
- Add Your Webcam: Click +, select Video Capture Device, and name it “Webcam.” Choose your webcam from the device list. You can click and drag the corners to resize it and place it where you want.
Step 3: Find and Add Your Overlays
An overlay is just a transparent image file (usually a .PNG) that sits on top of your other sources.
- Where to Get Free Overlays: The easiest way to start is with services like StreamElements or Streamlabs. They offer complete “overlay packages” that include webcam frames, alerts, and more, all for free. You can also find free assets on design sites or by searching for “free twitch overlays.”
- How to Add the Overlay:
- Make sure your Main Gaming scene is selected.
- Click + in the Sources box and choose Image. Name it “Webcam Frame.”
- Click “Browse” and locate the overlay image file you downloaded.
- The overlay will now appear. Resize and position it so it frames your webcam source perfectly.
CRITICAL TIP: Layer Order Matters!
The sources in your list act like layers in Photoshop. The source at the top of the list is on top of everything below it. Your list should be ordered like this for your gaming scene:
- Webcam Frame (Image)
- Webcam (Video Capture Device)
- Game Capture
Step 4: Add Your Alerts (New Followers, Subs, etc.)
Alerts are almost always handled through an external service and added to OBS as a special web page.
- Go to a site like StreamElements and log in with your Twitch account.
- Go to their “My Overlays” section and create a new overlay.
- Add an “AlertBox” widget to this overlay. You can customize the look and sound here.
- Save the overlay and copy the overlay URL.
- Back in OBS, in your Main Gaming scene, click + in the Sources box and select Browser. Name it “Alerts.”
- Paste the URL you copied into the “URL” field and set the width and height (e.g., 1920×1080).
Now, whenever someone follows you on Twitch, StreamElements will see it and play the alert animation through that Browser Source in your OBS scene. For more advanced tutorials, the official OBS Project forums are a fantastic resource.
Pro-Tip: Use Studio Mode for Flawless Transitions
A professional touch for how to set up OBS scenes and overlays is using Studio Mode for flawless transitions.. This splits your screen in two. The left side is your “Preview” and the right side is what’s “Live.” You can now click on a different scene (like your BRB scene) on the left, get it ready, and then click the “Transition” button to smoothly switch to it on your live stream. This prevents any accidental or awkward scene changes.
Learning how to set up OBS scenes and overlays is the single biggest step you can take to improve the production quality of your stream. It takes a little practice, but once you master these basics, you’ll be able to create a broadcast that looks just as good as your favorite creators. Now that your stream looks great, you can focus on the strategy of choosing the best games to stream for growth.