In Photoshop, a mockup is a layered PSD with smart objects, warps and masks set by hand for each scene. Muckup is a Mac app made only for placing designs on photos, with folders that update and exports in batches.
Side by side
| Photoshop | Muckup | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A prepared PSD per scene | Any photo, as it is |
| File weight | Often hundreds of MB per scene | The photo itself, setup in its metadata |
| Update a design | Open each smart object | Save the design, every scene updates |
| Same design on many scenes | One file at a time | Tags apply it everywhere |
| Fabric folds | Displacement map by hand | Read from the photo |
| Print finishes | Layer styles to fake | Foil, varnish, embossing with movable light |
| Export | Scene by scene, or scripts | Whole project at once, plus a PDF |
| Price | Creative Cloud subscription | Free beta, then 39 € once |
Keep Photoshop for
Retouching, compositing, and anything that is not a presentation. Muckup does not replace Photoshop. It removes the repetitive step you used to do in it.
Use Muckup for
"Put this design on these photos and show the client." Especially when there are many scenes, many versions, and no PSD ready for the photo you want to use. Your existing PSD mockups can be imported too, when they hold a readable photo layer.
No PSD. No smart object. Just the photo.