A t-shirt mockup is a picture of your design on a shirt, made so you can list it, pitch it or post it before you print a batch. What you start with decides the tool. A design file goes onto a template or your print partner's generator. A printed sample can go into new scenes with Toybox AI's Product Mockup, which places the shirt you photographed into a setting you pick. Below are the routes, scene notes you can paste, and the limits of each.
Pick a t-shirt mockup route by what you have
The right tool depends on whether you hold a design file or a shirt that's already printed. An AI mockup generator for clothing, like Product Mockup, starts from a photo of the actual garment. Template tools and supplier generators work from your artwork. The prices in this table are as of September 2026.
| Your starting point | How the mockup gets made | Tool to try | Price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artwork, printed by a POD partner | Add the file to the partner's product template | Printful or Printify | Free with an account | Your art on the partner's blank; their catalog only |
| Artwork and a downloaded PSD | Replace the smart object's contents | Photopea, in any browser | Free editor; template licenses vary | The print lands where the template's designer set it |
| Artwork and a Canva account | Drop the design onto a Canva mockup | Canva | Free generator | Canva's models and settings |
| A shirt you've had printed | Photograph it and choose a scene | Toybox Product Mockup | Currently 75 credits per image | That shirt in a new setting; compare the print |
| Artwork, nothing printed yet | Describe a scene and attach the design | Toybox Image Generator | Currently 50 credits per image | A rough concept; colors and lettering can drift |
| A printed shirt plus a photo of a willing model | Dress that person in the shirt | Toybox Clothing Try-On | Currently 75 credits per image | Your model in the shirt; check fit and print |
For a print-on-demand t-shirt mockup, the supplier generator is the accurate choice, because it shows the blank that will ship. Printify's generator offers front views, back views, flat lays, collar close-ups and shirts on hangers, plus lifestyle shots of men, women and couples. Printful's covers everything in its catalog, with studio backdrops, lifestyle shots and, for apparel, models. To make a t-shirt mockup from a design file alone, use one of the first three rows. Template libraries get a fuller treatment in the Placeit alternatives comparison, and the guide to print-on-demand mockups walks through every image a listing needs.
What you can make with a t-shirt mockup
Send one printed sample through Product Mockup and you can get every shot below, one image per run. Each part names the Scene to choose; its notes go in the "Anything else?" box under More options.
T-shirt mockup front and back views
A shirt with a back print needs both sides in the listing. Shoot the sample twice, front up and then back up, flat on a plain surface. Run both photos through Flat lay with identical notes so the pair matches:
The shirt lies flat and centered, sleeves folded slightly in, collar at the top of the frame. Pale gray linen underneath, with folded jeans and white sneakers cropped at the lower corners. Soft daylight from the left. Straight top-down camera. Keep the printed design facing up, square to the camera and free of creases.On-model t-shirt shots
Pick On a model ("Worn or held"). The model is AI-made, so describe a pose that leaves the whole print in view:
Worn by an adult model standing against a plain warm-white wall, arms relaxed at the sides. Frame from mid-thigh to just above the head so the whole print shows. Soft window light from the right with gentle shadows. Keep the print centered on the chest and uncovered by hands, hair or bag straps.For the back view, upload the photo of the back and start the notes with "Worn by an adult model facing away from the camera, hair tied up so the back print shows."
Hanging and shop scenes
Choose Custom, enter "on a wooden hanger against a white brick wall" as the scene, and add:
A light wooden hanger holds the shirt flat against painted white brick. A small potted plant sits on a shelf to the right, out of focus. Even, soft light with no harsh shadows. Camera straight on at chest height, the shirt filling the middle two thirds of the frame.Your shirt on a person you choose
Clothing Try-On takes two photos, "Person" and "Clothing". Upload the printed shirt as the clothing and a clear photo of yourself or a friend as the person, then tap "Try it on". Use photos only of people who agreed to it: Toybox's Terms list "Generating images of real people without their explicit consent" among prohibited uses. For more scenes with models, see product photos with models.
Tips for better t-shirt mockup results
- Iron the sample and shoot it flat. Creases in your photo stay in every scene. Lay the shirt on a sheet or poster board near a window and photograph it from directly above, phone held level.
- Keep the print square to the camera. Line the collar up with the top edge of the frame. A tilted photo gives a tilted print.
- Shoot heather colors in daylight. Printful lists polyester in the heather colors of its Bella+Canvas 3001 tee, so a heather sample can look different from a solid-color mockup. Warm indoor bulbs push gray toward beige in a photo.
- Don't hide a sheer shirt. Printful notes the 3001 is slightly sheer in light colors. If the label shows through a white sample, a mockup that hides it sets the wrong expectation.
- Use one scene for a whole drop. Keep the Scene, Size and notes the same for every design in a collection and change only the photo, so the shop grid reads as a set.
- Pick the shape for the first photo. Etsy asks for a horizontal or square first listing photo, and its thumbnail advice favors horizontal. Choose Landscape 3:2 for that one, and Portrait 4:5 ("Feed post") for Instagram.
Free t-shirt mockup templates (PSD and Canva)
Many free t-shirt mockup templates come as PSD files, the Photoshop format. The design area is a smart object: edit it once, and the shirt in the photo updates to show your artwork. Photopea, a free editor that runs in the browser, opens these files without Photoshop:
- Load the PSD into Photopea.
- In the layers list, look for the thumbnail with a small badge in its bottom-right corner. That's the smart object.
- Double-click the thumbnail, and the design area opens as a separate document.
- Drop in your artwork, scale it, then choose File, then Save.
- Switch back to the mockup, where the shirt now carries your design.
- Export the result as a JPG or PNG to upload.
Canva's t-shirt mockup maker works in the browser too: finish the design, pick one of Canva's mockups, upload the design, then position and scale it. Read the license on each template before a shop listing uses it.
Limits to know
- Product Mockup won't print your file onto a blank. It works from a photo of an actual item and keeps that item as it was shot. Give it a flat design file and the file itself becomes the product, a flat printed sheet, instead of a print on a shirt.
- The design-file route in Toybox is a concept. In Image Generator, add the design under "Reference photos" (up to 3) and describe the shot, such as "this design printed on the front of a heather gray t-shirt, worn by a model against a plain wall". Colors, lettering and size can drift from your file. Treat the result as a test of an idea, not as the photo buyers order from.
- Print placement isn't measured. An AI scene doesn't know that your print sits, for example, 3 inches below the collar. When exact placement matters, the supplier generator or a template is the better tool.
- Small text can change. Compare every letter of a slogan and any fine linework with your file. On Pro plans, type a fix into "Want to change something?" (currently 85 credits); on the Free plan, adjust your notes and run it again.
- You get a background every time. No Toybox tool makes transparent images, so each mockup comes with its scene. Studio ("Clean white background") is the plainest, an AI-made white backdrop that may not be pure white.
How to make your t-shirt mockup in Product Mockup
The input is one photo of the printed shirt in JPG or PNG format, under the 10 MB upload limit. HEIC photos from an iPhone aren't supported; save a JPG copy before you upload.
- Iron the shirt, lay it on a plain sheet near a window, and shoot it from above with the print facing up.
- Open Product Mockup and log in (a free account works), then upload the shot in "Product photo".
- Under Scene, pick Flat lay for front and back, On a model for worn shots, Studio for a white backdrop, or Custom for a setting you write (180 characters max).
- Expand More options, set the Size you need, and enter staging notes in "Anything else?" (it holds up to 500 characters).
- Press Create mockup. A result typically arrives in about 30 seconds.
- Put the result beside your design file and check the lettering, the colors and where the print sits.
- Save the keepers to your gallery or download them as PNG files. Anything unsaved is kept for 24 hours.
Each Product Mockup image currently costs 75 credits, and the tool works on the Free plan; that's roughly 75 cents when you buy credits in a top-up. New accounts start with 20 free credits, fewer than one image needs, and current pricing lists the plans and top-ups. For the matching pullover or zip-up, the hoodie mockup page covers pockets, zippers and embroidery. If the chest print is your brand mark, start with the clothing brand logo ideas.