You already saw some mockups here and there, but you’re not really sure what’s going on with these mysterious small buddies which are living in the outer corners of the internet? Or maybe they look nice and you already have some on your computer but still not in use? Probably you didn’t even know you saw a mockup because they looked so real… Well, let me tell you something: These small (well, they are quite big as a psd) and underestimated beetles are actual design superheroes. They are the Mystique under the pre-made design helpings. They transform as you like them to be, they change their style and they present your work in the best possible way!
You don’t need to be a designer to use the advantages of a mockup! Maybe you have an Etsy shop where you sell print templates? Or a blogger who wants to give his flatlay images that little extra? Maybe you’re an online educator who makes beautiful and helpful worksheets? Or maybe you’re selling your artwork online? Probably you just want to make cool hand lettering quotes for Pinterest and build in elements to make it stand up from the others. Guess what? Everyone has a need for mockups IF she or he knows how to use the right one for the right purpose. No matter who you are and what you do. As long as you create visual content: This will be game changing.
If you’re a native speaker you already know the meaning, but in design terms it’s already a very own category. A mockup simulates and visualizes the future product. That’s it! Easy, right? So for us designers and creatives it gives us the opportunity to show or present our from scratch work on a “real” product without even owning a sheet of paper.
The best way to explain it is to show you an example:
As you can see, you can put your own creative ideas into it and it’s (mostly) completely changeable.
There are two popular kinds of mockups for designers
To be honest, I cannot really tell which one is my personal favorite. Both have their advantages and sometimes it’s super cool to try new styled surroundings made by someone else with another design taste. The customizable versions on the other hand give me the possibility to scale, move and rotate products as I want to.
What are your thoughts? Static or moveable? And why? Have you already tried one or both?
]]>A huge trend which came in the last two years all over Pinterest, Instagram and Social Media is to hide text behind things. Composing text and font into photos and images is a trend which literally took over the internet. It’s super easy to make and gives your image a 3 dimensional look. This small Photoshop tutorial shows you how to make this effective but super easy compositions so your social media posts can stand out!
And for those who want to learn a bit more about Photoshop, we add some quick tips which will speed up your Photoshop workflow.
Step no. 1: Choose your image. Try to use images and photos which contain different dimensions where we can hide the text behind. We used a part of a flatlay from our Pink Party styled stock & mockup.
Step no. 2: Add your text by writing with the usual text tool in Photoshop or paste your handwriting as an image on a new layer.
Step no. 3: On the very bottom of your small layer window are seven different icons you can choose from. You need to focus on the third one – the masking button. Select your text layer and than click the masking button. Now a white mask layer should appear next to your text layer as you can see it in 4.
Step no. 4: Now you have a mask over your layer. You can’t see it because the mask is filled. Imagine the mask is a black sheet of paper and you cannot see through the black parts. If there are white parts, it’s like cutting holes into your imagined paper where you can see through. So let’s keep in mind: white mask = the things are visible, black mask = the things are invisible.
Step no. 5: Now that we understand how the mask feature works (black = invisible / white = visible) we can customize our mask as we like. Choose your brush tool. Try to use a brush sharpness that fits your object edges.
Step no. 6: Now select your mask (Not the layer itself. The selection will look like in image 4 where there is a white border around the mask) and simply paint “away” the parts of your text you want to hide. Try to be as precise as you can. If you overpainted by accident simply choose white as brush color and “bring the layer visibility back”.
Step no. 7: Play around with the objects you have in your image. As you can see the “E” is hidden so much, that it’s probably not readable. Try to take care of the readability, less is more 😉
Have you tried our tutorial? Do you have any questions? Was this tutorial helpful for you? Was it easy to follow or are some things too complicated? Please write us in the comments your opinion so we can make better work for you and your needs! Thank you!
Or did everything worked well and you’ve made an amazing piece of art? Show us your results by tagging us on instagram in your story or post so we can see it!
We did a resume for you! You can pin it on your Pinterest Pinboard or save on your computer to follow along.
]]>Hi. It’s me, Ana. I’m a graphic designer and the Shar-Pei cuddler behind ana & yvy. I’m also the creator of the mockups you’re probably using already and if not, you should try it. It will change your whole creative workflow. But first things first.
The very first time I stumbled over mockups I didn’t even know what it was. My journey started over 6 years ago when I took part at a design pitch and I tried to present my logo probably to the potential customer.
I put so much effort into the pitch and after hours of work i had my on point design. So here I was, my ready designed logo and no clear idea how to present it. Usually I would put it on a white background and show it in different color situations, so I did.
The deadline passed by and I didn’t win. After that the designs were published for all competitors and then my chin fell down: All these designers around there showed their ready made logo work in beautiful images with ready printed looking business cards and stationery products. I was overwhelmed. How did they managed to produce this so fast? How could they make a print and such a high quality image in this short amount of time?
Looking at my black/white and colored presentation I was so angry and sad. No matter how good my work was, the others showed their work in the use! As a customer you could directly see how the design will look on real paper. But me in my home office with only a usual printer and not that amount of money to make a whole printed version for a pitch, I couldn’t afford this kind of production and print neither then letterpress.
After checking all the designs speechless I recognized, that some images where literally the same but had another design on the business card. This needed to be a digital work and no produced product although it looked like real stationery. I tried to copy the style, I used filters and adjustment layers but no matter how much effort I’ve put into it, nothing looked as good as the ones I saw at the pitch presentation.
I started to search all over the internet and there I’ve found it, the magical word “MOCKUP”. A whole new world with new possibilities opened in front of my creative eye. All kinds of mockups for every occasion and look. Business cards, flyers, magazines, books! Even boxes! This was crazy! Till this time I didn’t even know the precise description neither what a mockup actually was and then I’ve found this whole pool of pre-made products ready to put my own design on them. This possibility to see my very own design on a real looking ready produced product was mind blowing.
To be honest: At that time mockups still looked kind of rendered. The quality and realistic look came later when people in the industry started to ask for more, better and more authentic. But back then it was already mind blowing for me
You don’t need to be a graphic designer or have amazing photoshop skills. You can be a beginner in this area. But with mockups you can let it look super professional and high end. Give it a try! We made mockups just for you as freebies. Every month you will get another unique mockup made by myself for you.
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Fun fact: I already saw an illustrator made mockup in my very first design agency when we designed a chips snack bag. I didn’t even thought about this small image at the time but later it came back to my mind. So funny how my brain saved this short impression and brought it back years later.
]]>Have you ever struggled with adding grain to your illustration or gradient composition? Adding just the right amount of grain to each and every layer? Sounds like a lot of work steps right? And it’s completely useless! There is a super convenient, quick and non destroying way to add grain to every image with a few clicks only. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to make it! And as a small bonus you will be able to download the animated grain overlays for free.
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