How to create a mock-up from scratch

 To create a mock-up from scratch there are a few things you need, and need to know.

A photo of the object you want to use for your mock-up. For example a coffee mug, billboard or laptop. Doesn't matter if there is already content on the mug or said screen or billboard.

A good quality image of your logo. It needs to at least match the resolution of your photo in “1″ above.

You need to have a clue about smart layers. They allow you to preconfigure transformations and effects which are applied to any content added to that layer.

You need to know how to work with transform tools in photoshop. Tools such as rotate, distort, perspective skew and warp.

The last thing you need is a short tutorial to get you started. The simplest I could find:

The Easiest Way To Create Digital Mockups In Photoshop

Once you can comfortably add your logo to simple shapes like the laptop screen in the tutorial you can start adding it to more obscure shapes using the distort and warp transformations to create more complex grids to mimic shapes and dynamicism for example a T-shirt with all its creases or a flag in the wind with its waves.

After you get the hang of distorts and warp and perspectives, you can now embark on creating the entire image yourself instead of applying the logo to stock photos and your own photos. For example if you want a mock-up of a brochure with a star shape. What are the chances you'll find a photo online? Slim to none. So you'll need to create it from scratch using layers and layer styles and colors and textures with your own lighting.