Twitch Studio Tips

Today we’re going to take a little deeper dive into some Twitch Studio Tips. We got into the basics of Twitch Studio in my previous post about streaming basics, but today we’re going to talk more about some free/low-cost tools that can help make your stream look more professional.

OBS is a very powerful tool, but OBS also has a much larger learning curve than Twitch Studio. Twitch studio only allows you to stream to Twitch, but for getting started the interface is very easy to use. Be sure to use our tips below will make your stream look much more professional!

Note: With the exception of the “Sponsor Spotlight”, this post does not include any affiliate links nor were we paid to promote any of these products. These suggestions are based on products that we try or use in our streaming events.

Stream Deck

Changing between scenes can be difficult when playing, especially if you’re running a dual monitor setup. A company called Elgato developed an awesome product called “Stream Deck” that allows you to program various buttons through a very simple drag and drop interface and have them control your stream through Twitch Studio, OBS, Streamlabs OBS, and your favorite social media platforms. Here are just a few of the many items you can do:

• Start/Stop Stream
• Start/Stop Local Recording
• Change Scenes
• Hide/Display specific items on your scene (webcam, overlay graphics, etc)
• Send a Tweet
• Play Ads on Twitch

The hardware device currently comes in three sizes, 15 button Stream Deck (seen above), a six-button mini Stream Deck, and a 32 button XL Stream Deck. As of now, pricing ranges from about $80 USD for the mini, $149 USD for the regular, and $249 USD for the XL stream deck on Amazon.

If either the Mini Stream Deck is not enough or the other price points are too high for your budget, you can actually use your smartphone or tablet and run the Stream Deck app, available in your App Store! As of this post, the cost is $2.99 USD per month or $24.99 USD for an annual subscription. Make sure you disable your phone’s auto-lock/auto-sleep features otherwise your phone will lock while running your stream.

With both the hardware and phone applications, the Stream Deck application (available for Windows or Mac) will be required to configure and manage your buttons.

Graphics & Overlay Tips

Canva

Our next Twitch Studio tip is Canva. Canva is a very powerful tool with thousands of free templates and photos. The drag and drop interface allows you to create a very professional-looking graphic or video in just a few minutes. Canva offers a premium service for about $12 USD that opens up more features (like template resizing) and thousands of other templates, fonts, and graphics.

First, we searched for a “Starting Soon” overlay and found one we could easily modify to fit our branding. We selected the background image and changed it to our website photo of Phoenix Raceway, added a blur effect, inserted our logo, and called it a day! This template was now “ours” in under five minutes of work. Note that we did add a second page to the video to thank our great sponsors. Click the download button in the corner and you have a video as your “Starting Soon” overlay!

To add your new video to Twitch Studio, click “Add a Scene” and select a blank template. Add a new layer and select “Media”. Find the video you downloaded and then re-size it to fit the screen.

Be sure that “Loop” and “Restart playback when visible” is selected so the video will start and repeat itself while you are waiting to start your stream! Save and you are done!

For our next post in this ongoing series, we’ll go into using your knowledge of Canva and Stream Deck. It’s actually quite easy to add overlays using Canva to really give your stream a TV broadcast-like feel!

Sponsor Spotlight

There are some days where I need that caffeine boost in the middle of the afternoon. As a result, I turn to Rogue Energy to give me that boost with my favorite flavor, Strawberry Limeaid! Rogue Energy sells quality products from energy powders to hydration and shake mixes. Not sure what to try? Order a sample pack and get a free shaker bottle!

Merchandise Store Spotlight

New merchandise is available in the F-R Racing shop! We’re documenting our favorite quotes from Wednesday Night Dash as shirts and motivational posters! With the holiday season coming up very soon, F-R Racing products are a great stocking stuffer!