Last updated: 2026-01-18

If you’re searching for a “custom overlay tool,” your fastest path is to design simple PNG or GIF graphics, then upload and control them directly inside StreamYard’s browser studio on a paid plan. For heavier design work, you can still create visuals in your favorite graphic app—but StreamYard should remain your central place to store, organize, and trigger overlays live.

Summary

• Treat StreamYard’s Overlays panel as your control center for custom lower thirds, frames, and on-screen branding.
• Use 1280×720 PNGs or GIFs under 20 MB, and rely on transparent backgrounds to frame your camera and screen share cleanly. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Keep your overlays organized with brand folders; you can upload up to 100 overlays per folder and reorder them by drag-and-drop. (StreamYard Help Center)
• For audiences watching vertically on phones and horizontally on desktops, use Dual Assets to serve different overlays to each orientation in one combined asset. (StreamYard Help Center)

What do people really mean by a “custom overlay tool”?

When creators in the United States search for a "custom overlay tool," they’re usually after two things:

1. A way to design graphics like frames, lower thirds, and call-to-action bars.
2. A reliable place to manage and turn those graphics on and off during the show.

Design apps like Canva or Photoshop can handle the first part, but they don’t run your actual broadcast. At StreamYard, we see overlays as part of the production workflow itself, not a separate app: you upload them to the studio, organize them per show, and toggle them live with one click while you’re streaming. (StreamYard)

For most creators, that all-in-one flow—design elsewhere if you like, control overlays in the same browser tab where you host—is far simpler than juggling separate overlay software plus separate streaming software.

How does StreamYard handle custom overlays day to day?

On paid plans, you can upload your own custom overlays directly into the Overlays area inside Media Assets. Custom overlays are specifically flagged as a paid feature. (StreamYard Help Center)

Here’s the basic workflow:

1. Open your StreamYard studio.
2. In the right-hand panel, click Media Assets → Overlays.
3. Upload your PNG, JPG, or GIF overlay.
4. Click the overlay’s thumbnail to show or hide it instantly during your stream. (StreamYard Help Center)

StreamYard only shows one overlay at a time, which keeps things clean and avoids stacking multiple frames or banners that can clutter your show. (StreamYard Help Center)

If you want different “states” (for example, a countdown look, an interview look, and a solo teaching look), you create separate overlay files for each state and switch between them with a click. In practice, this ends up being faster than fiddling with layer visibility inside more complex production software.

What file sizes and dimensions should I use for overlays?

To keep things simple and reliable, use StreamYard’s recommended specs:

• Canvas size: 1280 × 720 pixels (16:9) for overlays and backgrounds. (StreamYard Help Center)
• File types: JPG, PNG, or GIF. PNG is ideal when you need transparent cutouts for cameras or screen shares. (StreamYard Help Center)
• File size: Under 20 MB per overlay to help ensure smooth loading and switching. (StreamYard Help Center)

For animated GIF overlays, there are a couple of extra constraints:

• Keep the GIF under 3 MB.
• Keep it under 108 frames. (StreamYard Help Center)

If you’re coming from desktop tools that let you use very large, high-bitrate motion graphics, those limits might feel conservative. But they’re tuned for a browser-based studio that has to stay stable across a wide range of laptops, connections, and guests—so most creators find the trade-off worthwhile.

How do I create a transparent PNG overlay for StreamYard?

A transparent PNG overlay is basically a 16:9 canvas with “holes” cut out for your camera and screen share.

A simple workflow:

1. Create a 1280×720 canvas in your favorite design tool.
2. Add your frame elements: logo, borders, colors, segment labels.
3. Delete or hide the fill where your cameras will go so that part is fully transparent.
4. Export as PNG with transparency enabled.
5. Upload to StreamYard under Media Assets → Overlays and test it with a dummy broadcast. (StreamYard Help Center)

Once it’s in your brand folder, that same overlay is available every time you spin up a new show from that studio—no need to rebuild scenes from scratch the way you might in more complex software.

How many overlays can I store, and how should I organize them?

If you produce more than one show or podcast, you’ll want a system. StreamYard gives you both capacity and structure:

• You can upload up to 100 overlays per brand folder. (StreamYard Help Center)
• You can create multiple brand folders (up to 10), which effectively lets you separate shows or clients.
• Inside a folder, you can reorder overlays by dragging and dropping them so that your most-used graphics live at the top for quick access. (StreamYard Help Center)

A practical setup for a weekly live show might include:

• A “Starting Soon” overlay.
• A main show frame.
• A guest interview frame.
• A “Q&A Time” frame.
• A “Thanks for Watching” frame.

All of those live in the same folder, and you just tap through them as you move from segment to segment. It feels more like running a slide deck than operating a broadcast truck.

Can I show different overlays to portrait and landscape viewers?

More of your audience is watching vertically on phones, even when the main show is produced in landscape. That’s where StreamYard’s Dual Assets come in.

Dual Assets let you bundle two versions of a background or overlay—one optimized for landscape, one for portrait—into a single asset. When you use that asset during a broadcast, landscape viewers see your horizontal design while portrait viewers see the vertical design, without you having to switch anything mid-show. (StreamYard Help Center)

For creators who don’t want to maintain separate productions for vertical and horizontal, this approach hits a sweet spot: one studio, one set of buttons, but viewers on each device orientation get a layout that feels native.

Are animated GIF overlays worth using?

Animated GIF overlays can add energy—a pulsing “Live” badge, a subtle animated border, or a quick sponsor callout.

Within StreamYard, they work best when you:

• Keep them under 3 MB and under 108 frames to stay within the documented limits.
• Favor short looping animations instead of long, complex motion.
• Use them sparingly so they enhance your content instead of distracting from it. (StreamYard Help Center)

If you need very heavy motion design, you might prefer short video clips triggered from the same Media Assets panel instead of GIF overlays. For most hosts, though, a handful of lightweight animated overlays is plenty to signal “this is a real show” without adding more tools or more complexity.

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard’s built-in overlay workflow on a paid plan as your primary “custom overlay tool” so you can design once and control everything from the same browser-based studio. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Design overlays as 1280×720 transparent PNGs under 20 MB, and keep one overlay per key segment of your show.
• Organize overlays into brand folders by show or client, then drag your most important ones to the top for quick access.
• When you care about both vertical and horizontal viewers, invest in Dual Assets so your overlays feel tailored on every screen without multiplying your workflow. (StreamYard Help Center)