Imagine some very delicious food at a restaurant but served without any garnishing or special serving. Some excellent business points handed over to you in a simple paragraph. The first thought that will come to your mind is: “they could have presented it better…”
Now in todays world even artists have to present their artworks in an eye pleasing way to get the attention of audience. Till now it was mostly done through flat lays and superb photography but now something bigger but easier has entered the market. I am talking about MOCKUPS. The easiest way to get through your audience without wasting any time in photographing or setting up the table.
Before I go further and tell you about different mockup apps and softwares available let me tell you few advantages of this technique over flat lay:
- Saves time:
For me this has been a game changer. As a new mom it was getting impossible for me to setup a table and find out time to photograph my artworks. This technique helped me to save tons of my time by letting me present my artwork without spending time in photography. - No sunlight or studio light restriction:
In some areas of the world the natural light is scarce and thus the artists were able to take pictures only in studio light which many of them could not afford. This method can be used by anyone anywhere, what you need is just internet. - No studio or flat lay items needed:
Some of my best works have been done in a corner of my bedroom or on the dining table of my home. Getting a studio is not for everyone, at least in the beginning leave alone extravagant surroundings. This method helps us to display our artworks in tons of different home or decors not spending a single penny. - Customer is able to visualize the artwork in a real life setting:
In flatlays or general photography the customer can think only to the extent of how the artwork is looking but when we put it on a home framed mockup he or she is easily able to decide how it will look on their drawing room wall. No wonder asian paints and many more companies are coming out with different visualization apps.
Coming to the core of the article, the applications and softwares you can use for mockups:
Two of my favourite paid apps that can be used:
- SMARTIST:
It has been an year or so that I have been using this app and it has done wonders to my social media presentation. It is a paid application with a number of plans available. The most basic one is: INR 469 per month with 3 days free trial. It includes all the features that are needed. The app is super easy to use and you will only need your artworks without any objects around. From frame to interior choice to even objects around those interiors everything can be changed with few clicks.
See how it transformed this artwork:
2. Mockitup application:
Another fantastic paid application is Mockitup. It also has a number of monthly and yearly plans and you can get the look and feel of the app even without paying. The app has an advantage and a disadvantage over smartist. The advantage is that it has a number of product mockups making it ideal for a product person and the disadvantage is it has limited number of interior or framed mockups for an artist.
PHOTOSHOP MOCKUPS:
Another way of mocking up your work is buy or get some free mockups and then place your artworks over them using photoshop. It is slightly tricky for artists who have less or close to no knowledge about the software thus making it a bit difficult option, not to mention the monthly subscription of the software.
CANVA MOCKUPS:
Coming to the last but best option for artists who want free but easy mockup application. Follow this step by step procedure to put your artworks on mockups in canva. Canva is primarily a free application though you can upgrade for better options too.
Step 1:
Type WALL ART MOCKUPS in the search bar and search the one you like from the hundreds available.
Step 2:
Edit the mockup by placing your artwork in the correct place.
Step 3:
Download the image by clicking the Share option and downloading it as a jpg or a png file.
Important note: Each social media platform has its own ratios in which the image should be posted so before you post the downloaded images just check the ratio. Smartist has an inbuilt check for the same.
That’s it. you have your own mockup to display on social media.
For any queries feel free to reach me at my email ayuartwork29@gmail.com or dm me on my instagram account ayu-artwork.
Keep Creating 🙂