Having Twitch images for your channel is essential for setting yourself apart from other streamers.
Just as essential however is doing it properly!
Every Twitch image that you can upload requires a specific image size, max file size, and image type. Mess up any of these and your graphics appear blurry, distorted, or flat out not accepted. This guide will save you the frustration and teach you everything you need to know about Twitch images.
Twitch image sizes
Every graphic that you use on Twitch has its specific image size, file size, and image type that it needs to be. You should use the maximum image size (resolution) that Twitch allows so that it has the best quality and doesn’t look blurry because it’s blown up to the proper size.
| Graphic Type | Recommended Image Size | Max File Size | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch Profile Banner | 900 x 480 pixels | 10MB | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Twitch Offline Banner | 1920 x 1080 pixels | 10MB | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Twitch Custom Emote | 28 x 28, 56 x 56, and 112 x 112 pixels | 25KB | PNG |
| Twitch Profile Picture (Logo) | 256 x 256 pixels | 10MB | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Twitch Sub Badge | 18 x 18, 36 x 36, and 72 x 72 pixels | 25KB | PNG |
| Twitch Panel | 320 x 300 pixels | 2.9MB | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Twitch VOD Thumbnail | 1280 x 720 pixels | 10MB | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Twitch Partner Cheermote | 112 x 112 pixels | 512KB | GIF |
Check your file size
Twitch is pretty generous when it comes to the file size of images that you can upload. For most of them, it’s 10 megabytes (MB). If for some unlikely reason you are over the limit then you should optimize it by resizing to the right size, lowering the quality a bit, or by using a service like Kraken that will losslessly compress it for you.
When to use which image type
Avoid GIF when you can as you don’t need it in the vast majority of cases. This image type should only be used for animations like cheermotes. For almost all the graphics that you use on Twitch, you should stick to PNG or JPG. Use PNG when it’s a vector file and JPG when it’s a raster file. If you use the wrong one then you will see an unnecessary decrease in quality or increase in file size.
How to make Twitch graphics
You’ve got a few options when it comes to graphics for Twitch.
You can either make them yourself. This can be time-consuming and frustrating if you want to use traditional programs like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP for digital design.
Luckily though nowadays you can use much simpler apps like Placeit to get the job done quicker and with awesome results. It’s a very good option if you’re just starting and don’t know where you’d like to head with the brand of your channel or commission someone to get yourself something custom. Just take a template and tweak to your liking, save it, upload to Twitch, and you’re set!
If you want a more custom and hands-off approach then we recommend heading over to Fiverr. Here you can commission all the custom Twitch graphics for your channel that you could want. Logos, overlays, alerts, emotes, sub badges… all of it and without breaking the bank. This is the least stressful option as you let the experts take care of it. Just let them know your specs and wait few days.
Twitch profile banner
Ah! The first thing people see when they visit your profile. Set a good first impression by using a 900 x 480 pixels image size, less than 10MB file size, and a PNG, JPG, or GIF image type.
Twitch offline banner
This is the graphic that shows when your channel is offline and isn’t streaming. This is a 16:9 resolution that your monitor is probably using right now and the HD standard these days. For this, you will need a 1920 x 1080 image size, less than 10MB file size, and a PNG, JPG, or GIF image type.
Twitch custom emote
For custom emotes you will need three sizes: 28 x 28, 56 x 56, and 112 x 112 pixels. So you will need three versions of every emote that you plan on using. They all have to be in the PNG format and under 25KB.
Twitch profile picture (logo)
The logo, profile picture, or avatar (whatever you want to call it) is probably the most prominent graphic that you will use on Twitch.
Twitch sub badge
Sub badges appear next to Twitch users that have subbed to your channel. Like custom emotes you’ll need three sizes for each badge as well. They all have to be in the PNG format and under 25KB.
Twitch panel
Twitch panels appear under your actual stream. Now the max size you can use is 320 x 300, but this might be excessive to some people as it’s almost a perfect square. Sodapoppin utilizes this to great effect by having half of it transparent and with his channel mascot.
We recommend you go with 320 x 160 or 320 x 100 so you’re dealing with something more rectangular and that doesn’t push down the content as much. Panels are typically made about, contact, donation, social media, hardware, rules, and subscription sections.
Keep it below 10MB. For this, you should go with PNG.
Twitch partner Cheermote
After you’ve become a partner with Twitch you can use Cheermotes on your channel. You can set 5 different Cheermotes depending on each tier of Bits 1, 100, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000. In simple mode, you just need to upload the 112 x 112 size of your Cheermote. In advanced mode you can upload in 5 different sizes: 28 x 28, 42 x 42, 56 x 56, 84 x 84, and 112 x 112.
For most streamers, the simple mode should suffice. The advanced mode is handy if a Cheermote looks good at higher resolutions, but is harder to distinguish at smaller resolutions because of too many details and needs to be simplified.
