FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is this? What are you selling?
A: This is a bigcartel shop selling apparel mockups great for graphic designers, band managers, clothing company owners, and anyone else who wants them!

I am no longer selling them and instead are offering them for free here, but you may purchase a mockup if you'd like to donate.

Q: So you're selling clothes?
A: No, actually these are digital Photoshop files (.psd) that are made to look like real clothes so that you can make your design look like it's really printed on a shirt, sweatshirt, etc.

Q: How long does it take for me to recieve my files?
A: They're free to download at the link above, so instantly.

Q: Then what all do I get if I buy one of your mockups?
A: You'll receive two Photoshop files, one of the front and one of the back of the piece of apparel. It'll have a white layer on top (to save space) and if you have the old mockups of a hoodie or sweatshirt, possibly tag, zipper, or strings layers. This is so you can add or remove the strings or tag, etc.

Then you'll have the Light group, which is what makes the mockups so realistic. You can adjust the opacity of the highlights, midtones, and shadows depending on the apparel color. Highlights should stay in the 0%-15% range, midtones in the 80%-100% range, and shadows in the 0%-50% range for best results.

The Artwork layer is a blank layer to put your artwork on. You can adjust, move, rotate your artwork and the layer mask will hide anything not on the shirt for you. I've also reduced the opacity a hair for added realism.

Then you come to the Color group. Depending on which product you purchased, you could have up to 91 different color and texture choices! Just pick a color, whether a plain red or a tri-orchid and the apparel will change to that color. Of course, you can create a new layer and fill it with whatever color or texture you want.

Lastly, you have the original layer. This is the original, extracted image of the piece of apparel in case you wish to edit it or start over or make you own better mockup!

Q: So how do these work?
A: They're really easy to use, actually! First, extract the files (I recommend WinRAR or IZArc if your computer cannot automatically extract them), then open it/them in Photoshop or a similar program. Turn off the white layer and either paste or place your artwork onto the Artwork layer, adjusting it wherever and however you'd like it to look when printed. Choose a color and if you'd like, adjust the opacity of the layers in the Light group. Then you're done! You now know what your design would look like if printed on a shirt, hoodie, raglan, etc. You can now send it to a client, put it on your website, or show it to your mom.

Q: You said I can move my artwork around and the "mask" would hide everything that's not on the shirt, but it's not. What gives?
A: Your artwork is probably on a separate layer from the artwork layer. Simply click on the layer mask (the black and white icon on the layer) and drag it to your design layer. I would suggest dropping the opacity down to 90%-95% for added realism. If it is on the correct layer, then check and see if there is a chain-link icon on that layer between the thumbnail and layer mask. If so, click it to turn it off and adjust the layer mask if necessary.

Q: So are you selling clothes?
A: No. This shop does not sell clothes, just digital mockups based on the American Apparel fit and color options.

Q: What happened to the sweaters and hoodies mockups?
A: You can download them at them for free here.

Q: Why can't I open my files?
A: Two options. You have not extracted them (I recommend WinRAR or IZArc if your computer cannot automatically extract them) or you do not have a program that can open the .psd extension. Again, these files are made in Adobe Photoshop for Adobe Photoshop users. Some other programs do recognize the .psd extension, but not many.

Q: I use an old version of Photoshop, will these still open?
A: These files are straight up layers with pixels and layer masks, no other fancy junk, so most versions are compatible.

Q: Can I buy clothes from here?
A: Nope.

Q: I have another question, where can I contact you?
A: Right here.