As creative people, we're accustomed to visualizing an end result even when we're in the early stages of a project. Our clients are another story. :-) And so, to help those more literal-minded people, we use mockups.
Adobe Create commissioned five highly customizable mockups from industrial designer Sushant Vohra. Each is an Adobe Photoshop file that is a breeze to edit, thanks to Smart Objects, clearly labeled groups and layers, and tool tips. The files and their contents are copyright-free, and you can use them in commercial as well as personal projects. We only ask that you not re-distribute them.
How to Use the Mockups
To put your own design in the placeholder areas, open Photoshop's Layers panel and double-click on one of the labeled Smart Objects. That opens a new .PSD file, and you either create your design in that second file, or drop an existing design into the second .PSD file. Save the file to see your changes in the mockup.
Apart from the base layers, you can customize almost everything in each mockup; for example, to change the foreground, background, or fabric color, find the respective group in the Layers panel, double-click on the color thumbnail, and choose another color. In some mockups, you can go even deeper; for instance, in 3D-Photoshop-Tags_Mockup-Create.psd, you can change the thread and stamped loop color.
Sushant Vohra constructed the files in Photoshop CC 2020, and the files work best with 2020 and above. (At the time of publication, the current version is 21.0.1.) One of the files, 3D-Photoshop-Tape_Mockup-Create.psd, uses a warp transform feature that was introduced in Photoshop CC 2020 and may not render correctly if you're running prior versions of the software.
What's This About "3D"?
Vohra rendered out the mockup shapes from Blender 3D and crafted the materials from scratch in Adobe Substance Designer using native substance nodes, textures, and effects. This project marked Vohra's first time using Substance Designer. "It allowed me to create realistic materials with so much control," he says, "and it is non-destructive. The best features for me are auto-export 2D maps and the ability to visually see what is happening to your materials at every step."
