Create a Product Mockup With Photoshop

A digital mockup is a great way to showcase an individual's design and also give an idea of how the design will be implemented. This instructable will guide you through the process of creating a Photoshop template that can be used to create a mockup that incorporates your graphic. As an example, I will use the fictional company I created for this tutorial. The purpose of this instructable is to assist individuals involved in the marketing and graphic design realm. But if you are not, that’s totally fine. This instructable is also for people who want to show off their design.

By the end of this instructable, individuals should be able to:

• Use an image to create a template in Photoshop
• Manipulate the template to showcase personal graphic
• Create a professional mockup

Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy

Core Disciplinary Standards:

Standard 7 - Design in Technology and Engineering Education

• Design helps humans solve problems which allows them to extend human capabilities, satisfy their needs and wants, and improve their conditions. Design is a creative and iterative process and through this activity, individuals can use their creativity and develop a mockup to display their work.  

Standard 8 - Applying, Maintaining and Assessing Technological Products and Systems

• Technological products are used by everyone, but not always in the most efficient and effective manner. Through this activity, individuals will be able to gain knowledge and experience in Adobe Photoshop and how to utilize it to make mockups templates.

Practices:

Creativity (TEP-2)

• With this instructable, an individual can build and design a mockup template that suits their needs and style.

Making and Doing (TEP-3) 

• In this instructable, you will find a hands-on activity that allows you to design and build an end-product that displays your creative work.

Communication (TEP-7)

• This instructable will allow you to create a graphic visualization that will assist you in communicating the characteristics of your product.

Contexts:

Information and Communication (TEC-5)

• Design is used to communicate and it is often influenced by its target audience and its message. In this activity, graphic design is the means of communication, and by using it, individuals can create a visual to communicate and advertise their ideas.

• Adobe Photoshop (US$20.99/mo)
• Stock image websites such as Pexels (optional; price varies, some websites are free and some are not)
• Personal graphic
• Digital Device

The best way to showcase your product is by selecting a photo that puts your product front and center, so start off by acquiring an image that displays a scene that you can work with. If you are a talented photographer, go ahead and create a scene that you would like to snap. If you are not a pro photographer, no worries. There are various outlets where you can find stock images, such as Pexels. Once you find the right image, simply download it to use. Make sure to take or use a high-quality photo for your mockup.

Now that we have a scene for our graphic, go ahead and start up Photoshop. Once Photoshop is open, direct yourself over to the left panel and click on Open which will prompt the File Explorer window. In the File Explorer window, locate and open your scene. 

Once the image is open, create a new layer by clicking on the New Layer icon in the bottom right corner. Name this layer "placeholder." Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, located in the left panel, create a selection that covers the object you will be placing your graphic on. Once you have done that, fill the selection with 50% gray. You can do this by clicking on the Foreground Color icon and typing in #808080. Hit OK and then Alt + Backspace. Go ahead deselect by pressing Ctrl + D. 

Before continuing, change this layer into a Smart Object. This will allow you to make replacements easily. Select the Placeholder layer and go to Filter, located on the menu bar, and then click Convert for Smart Filters.

Now we have to make it so that the placeholder is only applied to the object. To do this, we need to create a Mask. Turn off the Placeholder layer and create a proper selection of the object using the Object Selection Tool or whichever selection tool you prefer. Make sure the selection is as accurate as possible. Once you have your selection, turn on the Placeholder layer and click on the Layer Mask icon in the bottom right corner. To finish off this step, change the layer blend mode to Multiply.

The next step is to add lights and shadows. This will help the mockup look more realistic. Start by making two copies of the original image. Select the Background layer and press Ctrl + J twice to make copies. Name one copy “Light” and the other “Shadow.” Now drag and place both copies above the Placeholder layer. 

Now let’s work on the Shadow layer. Go ahead and turn off the Light layer for the time being. Start by desaturating the layer by pressing Ctrl + Shift + U. Once it is desaturated, change the blend mode from Normal to Multiply. Now let’s make the shadows darker by making a Curves Adjustment layer. Click on the Adjustment Layer icon in the bottom right corner and select Curves. In the Curves properties window, bring down the curve a little bit. Before clicking out, make sure to select the Clipping Mask icon, so it only affects the shadow layer. If it is too dark, you can decrease the opacity. (I decreased my shadow layers opacity to 50%)

Now let’s work on the Light layer, go ahead and turn it back on. Desaturate this layer as well and change the blend mode from Normal to Screen. This brightens up the image a lot, so we have to adjust it using Curves. Create a Curves Adjustment layer, place a point in the top right corner and place another point closer to the middle. Bring down the second point a little to enhance the look. Make adjustments as you like, and make sure to switch on the Clipping Mask layer before moving on. If it to bright, you can decrease the opacity. (I decreased my light layers opacity to 30%)

Right now, our shadows and lights are affecting the entire image, but we only need them to affect our object. We can do this by creating a group and placing the Mask over it. Do this by selecting all of the Shadow and Light layers and then press Ctrl + G to make a group. Now, while holding the Alt key, click and drag the Mask over to the group. To finish this step, rename the group “Lights & Shadows.”

Now we can save our work as a template. Go to File and click Save As. Give the file a name and include .psdt at the end of it, and then save it. This will save it as a template file. You can now close out of the file.

Now we can finally add our graphic. Start by opening up the template file and then double-click on the Placeholder. This will open up a new window where you can place your graphic. Go to File and then click on Place Embedded, which will allow you to select the file you want to use. If you are bringing in an Illustrator file, select the artboard you want to use. Adjust the graphic to your liking, and then click the Checkmark at the top. Now go to File and click Save. You can now go back to the template. Your graphic should appear in your Placeholder. Feel free to customize the mock-up until you are satisfied.

Finally, after you are done altering, you can go ahead and save your work.