For Muckup beta 0.9.6 on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Something missing? Click Feedback at the bottom right of the app, or write to [email protected].
Install
Get the beta at muckup.app/beta: confirm your email at Polar and the .dmg downloads. Open it and drag Muckup to Applications. The app is signed and notarized by Apple. On first launch, a short guided tour shows the essentials; Help › Replay the Tour shows it again. Muckup follows your Mac's language (English or French).
A project is a folder
File › New Project… asks for the client and project names, which also name your exports, and creates a folder with three sub-folders: Mockups for your scene photos, Designs for your flat artwork, Exports for the results. Open Project… opens any existing folder; Switch Project… and the left panel list recent projects.
Add files by dropping them on the window, with Add Mockups… and Add Designs…, or by pasting with ⌘V (a copy from Illustrator, Photoshop or Finder works). Photos go to Mockups, artwork to Designs. Photos can be JPG, PNG or HEIC; designs PNG, PDF, SVG or JPEG. Mockup PSD files can be imported when they hold a readable RGB photo layer.
Muckup watches the folders. Add, change or remove a file in Finder and the project follows. Save a new version of a design from your usual app and every scene using it refreshes.
Map a mockup
- Double-click a photo on the board to open it. Surface detection proposes layers; Detect Surfaces Again reruns it, New layer (⇧⌘N) adds one by hand.
- Drag the four corners of a layer onto the surface. The handles in the middle of the edges stretch one side and keep the perspective; with ⌥, both opposite sides. ⌘ + drag slides the layer on the surface. Snap edges to the photo fits the edges to the real borders.
- Pick a format from the Format menu (business card, A4, poster, 16:9…) or create your own with New format…, in millimetres.
- Choose a shape at the top of the layer settings: Standard, Curved, Fabric or Cylinder.
The mapping is saved inside the photo itself. Copy the photo into another project and it arrives ready. Right-click a photo › Add to Favorites to keep it in Favorite Mockups, available in every project.
Place a design
Drag a design from the Designs column onto a layer, or paste it with ⌘V while the layer is selected. Rotate Design 90° turns it. Give the layer a Tag (card front, poster…) and every layer of the project with the same tag receives the same design.
Layers
A mockup can hold several layers: front and back of a card, a stack, a poster and a flyer. Right-click a layer to Bring to Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward or Send to Back, hide it, or delete it (⌫).
Shapes
- Curved: the edges follow a bent surface, such as curling paper or a sleeve, and snap to the photo.
- Fabric: raise Folds and the design follows the folds read in the photo (t-shirts, totes).
- Cylinder: set Curvature, then match Top view and Bottom view to the camera angle. ⌘ + drag, or Rotation, turns the design around the object.
Light and masks
Light levels has three handles: how much the hollows darken and the highlights lift the design. Ink lets the light brighten dark inks. Erase original print cleans text or a logo already printed on the photo's surface.
Masks hide the design where something passes in front of it: a pen, a finger, a coffee cup. Tools: Brush, Eraser ([ and ] change the size), Rectangle (⌥ on release to subtract) and Pen, whose paths stay editable. Feather softens the mask's edge.
Finishes
Click the sparkles at the right of a layer to add a finish; hold to choose the type, ⌥-click to remove the last one. Or hold ⌥ while dropping an image on a layer: it becomes its finish, and its white areas get the finish. Types: Gold, Silver, Copper (flat or raised), Spot varnish (flat or raised), Emboss, Deboss. Sheen adds a ripple to metals. The eye on the thumbnail hides the print and keeps only the finishes, for blind embossing or varnish alone.
Drag the light to move the reflections, or click Match the Photo. Same Light Everywhere copies the light to every mockup of the project.
Effects
The FX tab, next to Layer, adds Thickness (two edge lines in colours you choose, for cards and boards), Inner shadow (bus shelters, light boxes) and Glass reflection (a street or your own image, mirrored on the poster, with position and blur).
Export
⌘E exports every mockup of the project to Exports, named after the client and project. The arrow next to the button sets the format (WebP, JPEG, PNG, HEIC), the quality and the size of the longest side. Press C in a mockup to draw its export frame; Remove Crop goes back to the full photo. File › Export Presentation PDF… makes a 16:9 PDF of the whole project for the client.
Shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘V | Paste an image into the project, or onto the selected layer |
| ⌘E | Export all mockups |
| ⇧⌘N | New layer |
| C | Frame the export of this mockup |
| ⌘ + drag | Slide a layer on its surface; on a cylinder, turn the design |
| ⌥ + edge handle | Stretch both opposite sides |
| ⌥ + drop | Use the image as a finish |
| ⇧ + slider | Ten times finer adjustment |
| [ ] | Brush and eraser size |
| ⌘0 ⌘+ ⌘− | Fit, zoom in, zoom out |
| Esc | Back to the board |
| ⌘, | Settings |
Updates
New versions are offered inside the app, with what changed. Muckup › Check for Updates… looks right away; Automatically check for updates in Settings turns the check off.
Privacy settings
Muckup asks once whether you want to help improve it. Settings › Privacy holds the two switches: Send crash reports and Share anonymous usage statistics. Your images and files never leave your Mac. Details in the privacy policy.
Feedback and problems
Feedback, at the bottom right or in the Help menu, prepares an email with your Muckup version, macOS version and Mac model. Say what you were doing and what you expected; a screenshot helps a lot. You see the email before you send it.
Requirements
A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel.