To clip a layer in Procreate, place the layer you want to clip directly above your base layer, tap the upper layer's thumbnail, and choose Clipping Mask. A small downward arrow appears on the layer, and its content now shows only where the base layer has pixels. Clipped layers stay separate, so you can move, recolor, or change the blend mode of the clipped art without touching the base. To undo it, tap the layer again and choose Clipping Mask to toggle it off.

Step-by-Step: Clip a Layer in Procreate

1. Create or select your base layer. This is the layer whose shape defines the visible area: a lettering layer, a flat color silhouette, a circle, a character fill.
2. Add a new layer directly above it. Order matters. A clipping mask only attaches to the layer immediately beneath it.
3. Paint, paste, or place content on the upper layer. Texture, shading, gradients, or a photo all work. You can paint past the edges of the base shape, because the overflow will be hidden.
4. Tap the upper layer to open its menu and select Clipping Mask. The layer shows the down arrow.
5. Check the result. Hide the base layer temporarily if you want to confirm the clipped layer has its own content.

The overflow isn't deleted. Unclip the layer and all the paint outside the boundary is still there, which is why clipping is considered non-destructive.

How Clipping Masks Actually Work

Think of the base layer as a stencil made of its own opacity. Wherever the base has opaque pixels, clipped layers above it are visible. Wherever the base is transparent, they're hidden.

Some practical consequences:

• Multiple layers can clip to one base. Every clipped layer in the run above the base is tied to that same base. A character's skin tone layer might carry separate clipped layers for blush, shadows, and highlights.
• Edits to the base propagate upward. Erase part of the base and the clipped layers lose that area. Draw new shapes on the base and clipped content appears there, which is a handy trick for revealing a texture or lettering inside a shape you paint afterward.
• Each clipped layer keeps its own controls. Opacity, blend mode, visibility, and transform all work independently.

Stacking, Reordering, and Blend Modes

Once you have one clipped layer, adding more is quick. Add another layer above the clipped one, paint on it, and confirm the arrow icon is present. If it isn't, tap the layer and enable Clipping Mask. Layers added on top of an existing clipped layer are often clipped automatically, but verify rather than assume.

To reorder, drag a clipped layer above or below another within the same clipped run. Order affects the look because layers composite from the bottom up, exactly as in any layer stack.

Blend modes are where clipping earns its keep. A typical illustration setup looks like this:

• Base: flat color fill for the object
• Clipped layer 1: Multiply for shadow shapes
• Clipped layer 2: Screen or Add for highlights
• Clipped layer 3: Overlay for color shifts or texture

Because every one of those layers is confined to the base shape, you can paint loosely with big brushes and never worry about edges.

Clipping Artwork to a Shape

Clipping works in reverse of how many people first imagine it: the shape sits below, and the content sits above. To crop lettering, a photo texture, or a pattern into a circle:

1. Draw the circle on its own layer (tap with one finger to snap it to a perfect circle, then fill it).
2. Put the circle layer below the layer you want to crop.
3. Tap the upper layer and choose Clipping Mask.

Now move or rotate the upper layer, and it slides around inside the circle. Reposition or resize the circle and the crop follows. You can even clear the base layer and draw new shapes on it, and the clipped content will appear wherever you paint.

Clipping Mask vs. Alpha Lock vs. Layer Mask

These three tools overlap, and choosing the wrong one is the most common source of confusion.

Use a clipping mask when you want shading, texture, or color adjustments you can revise later on their own layers.

Use Alpha Lock for quick, simple recolors or fills where redoing the work would be trivial. It's fast and costs no layers, but you're painting directly on the original pixels. Swipe right with two fingers on a layer to toggle it.

Use a layer mask when you need to hide parts of a layer with soft or reversible control. Paint black to hide, white to reveal, and gray for partial opacity. Unlike erasing, you can always bring the content back.

Clipping Inside a Clipping Mask

A frequent snag: you want a layer clipped to one particular clipped layer rather than to the whole base. For example, adding a darker shadow only to a patch of color that sits on a clipped layer, without it affecting other clipped layers.

Procreate has no single built-in answer, but these workarounds are reliable:

• Select, then paint. Two-finger tap-and-hold the layer thumbnail to select its content, switch to the layer you want to paint on, and paint. Strokes are limited to the selection. This is fast and costs no extra layers.
• Convert the selection to a layer mask. If the stroke is hard to redo, or the base might change later, make a mask from the selection so the original stroke stays intact.
• Duplicate and flatten. Group the layers that behave how you want, duplicate the group as a backup, flatten the copy, and use the flattened layer as a new base for further clipping.
• Rely on blend modes. Paint big and rough on Screen or Overlay layers and let the blend mode and clipping do the refinement.

Be careful with groups. Moving a clipped layer out of its run, or separating it from its base with a group boundary, can break the clipping. If clipping suddenly stops working, check that the clipped layer still sits directly above its base.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

• The Clipping Mask option does nothing visible. The base layer may be empty or hidden at that spot. Clipped content only appears over opaque base pixels.
• Clipped art disappeared. Confirm the base layer is visible and hasn't been erased where your art sits.
• Wrong layer is being clipped. Clipping always targets the layer directly below. Reorder, then reapply.
• You're running out of layers. Every clipped layer counts toward Procreate's layer limit. Merge finished clipped layers down, or use Alpha Lock or selections for simple edits.
• Can't adjust the shape afterward. If you merged the clipped layer into the base, the effect is baked in. Duplicate the layers before merging if you may need to revise.

Taking Clipped Procreate Art Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers and animators, Procreate is often a quick place to build style frames, character parts, or texture studies before the work moves into After Effects, Blender, or Nuke. A few habits make the handoff smoother:

• Keep clipping for iteration, then decide what to export. How clipping masks translate depends on the app that opens the file, so open a test export early. If the clipping doesn't hold, merge each clipped group into a single layer or export flattened images.
• Name layers as you go. Clean names like char_skin_shadow save time once the layers land in a compositing timeline.
• Export separated elements. Merge clipped shading with its base into one layer per animatable part, so each piece can be rigged or keyframed independently.

Quick Reference

• Clip a layer: tap the upper layer, then Clipping Mask.
• Base layer: always the layer directly below.
• Unclip: tap the layer and toggle Clipping Mask off.
• Multiple clips: stack as many as you need above the same base.
• Non-destructive alternatives: layer masks for hide/reveal, selections for quick limits.
• Destructive shortcut: Alpha Lock, best for simple recolors.

Once clipping becomes a reflex, you'll paint faster and revise with less risk. Treat every clipped layer as a separate, editable decision, and you'll have clean, adjustable art that's ready for whatever comes next in your pipeline.

To clip a layer in Procreate, place the layer you want to clip directly above your base layer, tap the upper layer's thumbnail, and choose Clipping Mask. A small downward arrow appears on the layer, and its content now shows only where the base layer has pixels. Clipped layers stay separate, so you can move, recolor, or change the blend mode of the clipped art without touching the base. To undo it, tap the layer again and choose Clipping Mask to toggle it off.

Step-by-Step: Clip a Layer in Procreate

1. Create or select your base layer. This is the layer whose shape defines the visible area: a lettering layer, a flat color silhouette, a circle, a character fill.
2. Add a new layer directly above it. Order matters. A clipping mask only attaches to the layer immediately beneath it.
3. Paint, paste, or place content on the upper layer. Texture, shading, gradients, or a photo all work. You can paint past the edges of the base shape, because the overflow will be hidden.
4. Tap the upper layer to open its menu and select Clipping Mask. The layer shows the down arrow.
5. Check the result. Hide the base layer temporarily if you want to confirm the clipped layer has its own content.

The overflow isn't deleted. Unclip the layer and all the paint outside the boundary is still there, which is why clipping is considered non-destructive.

How Clipping Masks Actually Work

Think of the base layer as a stencil made of its own opacity. Wherever the base has opaque pixels, clipped layers above it are visible. Wherever the base is transparent, they're hidden.

Some practical consequences:

• Multiple layers can clip to one base. Every clipped layer in the run above the base is tied to that same base. A character's skin tone layer might carry separate clipped layers for blush, shadows, and highlights.
• Edits to the base propagate upward. Erase part of the base and the clipped layers lose that area. Draw new shapes on the base and clipped content appears there, which is a handy trick for revealing a texture or lettering inside a shape you paint afterward.
• Each clipped layer keeps its own controls. Opacity, blend mode, visibility, and transform all work independently.

Stacking, Reordering, and Blend Modes

Once you have one clipped layer, adding more is quick. Add another layer above the clipped one, paint on it, and confirm the arrow icon is present. If it isn't, tap the layer and enable Clipping Mask. Layers added on top of an existing clipped layer are often clipped automatically, but verify rather than assume.

To reorder, drag a clipped layer above or below another within the same clipped run. Order affects the look because layers composite from the bottom up, exactly as in any layer stack.

Blend modes are where clipping earns its keep. A typical illustration setup looks like this:

• Base: flat color fill for the object
• Clipped layer 1: Multiply for shadow shapes
• Clipped layer 2: Screen or Add for highlights
• Clipped layer 3: Overlay for color shifts or texture

Because every one of those layers is confined to the base shape, you can paint loosely with big brushes and never worry about edges.

Clipping Artwork to a Shape

Clipping works in reverse of how many people first imagine it: the shape sits below, and the content sits above. To crop lettering, a photo texture, or a pattern into a circle:

1. Draw the circle on its own layer (tap with one finger to snap it to a perfect circle, then fill it).
2. Put the circle layer below the layer you want to crop.
3. Tap the upper layer and choose Clipping Mask.

Now move or rotate the upper layer, and it slides around inside the circle. Reposition or resize the circle and the crop follows. You can even clear the base layer and draw new shapes on it, and the clipped content will appear wherever you paint.

Clipping Mask vs. Alpha Lock vs. Layer Mask

These three tools overlap, and choosing the wrong one is the most common source of confusion.

Use a clipping mask when you want shading, texture, or color adjustments you can revise later on their own layers.

Use Alpha Lock for quick, simple recolors or fills where redoing the work would be trivial. It's fast and costs no layers, but you're painting directly on the original pixels. Swipe right with two fingers on a layer to toggle it.

Use a layer mask when you need to hide parts of a layer with soft or reversible control. Paint black to hide, white to reveal, and gray for partial opacity. Unlike erasing, you can always bring the content back.

Clipping Inside a Clipping Mask

A frequent snag: you want a layer clipped to one particular clipped layer rather than to the whole base. For example, adding a darker shadow only to a patch of color that sits on a clipped layer, without it affecting other clipped layers.

Procreate has no single built-in answer, but these workarounds are reliable:

• Select, then paint. Two-finger tap-and-hold the layer thumbnail to select its content, switch to the layer you want to paint on, and paint. Strokes are limited to the selection. This is fast and costs no extra layers.
• Convert the selection to a layer mask. If the stroke is hard to redo, or the base might change later, make a mask from the selection so the original stroke stays intact.
• Duplicate and flatten. Group the layers that behave how you want, duplicate the group as a backup, flatten the copy, and use the flattened layer as a new base for further clipping.
• Rely on blend modes. Paint big and rough on Screen or Overlay layers and let the blend mode and clipping do the refinement.

Be careful with groups. Moving a clipped layer out of its run, or separating it from its base with a group boundary, can break the clipping. If clipping suddenly stops working, check that the clipped layer still sits directly above its base.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

• The Clipping Mask option does nothing visible. The base layer may be empty or hidden at that spot. Clipped content only appears over opaque base pixels.
• Clipped art disappeared. Confirm the base layer is visible and hasn't been erased where your art sits.
• Wrong layer is being clipped. Clipping always targets the layer directly below. Reorder, then reapply.
• You're running out of layers. Every clipped layer counts toward Procreate's layer limit. Merge finished clipped layers down, or use Alpha Lock or selections for simple edits.
• Can't adjust the shape afterward. If you merged the clipped layer into the base, the effect is baked in. Duplicate the layers before merging if you may need to revise.

Taking Clipped Procreate Art Into a Motion Pipeline

For motion designers and animators, Procreate is often a quick place to build style frames, character parts, or texture studies before the work moves into After Effects, Blender, or Nuke. A few habits make the handoff smoother:

• Keep clipping for iteration, then decide what to export. How clipping masks translate depends on the app that opens the file, so open a test export early. If the clipping doesn't hold, merge each clipped group into a single layer or export flattened images.
• Name layers as you go. Clean names like char_skin_shadow save time once the layers land in a compositing timeline.
• Export separated elements. Merge clipped shading with its base into one layer per animatable part, so each piece can be rigged or keyframed independently.

Quick Reference

• Clip a layer: tap the upper layer, then Clipping Mask.
• Base layer: always the layer directly below.
• Unclip: tap the layer and toggle Clipping Mask off.
• Multiple clips: stack as many as you need above the same base.
• Non-destructive alternatives: layer masks for hide/reveal, selections for quick limits.
• Destructive shortcut: Alpha Lock, best for simple recolors.

Once clipping becomes a reflex, you'll paint faster and revise with less risk. Treat every clipped layer as a separate, editable decision, and you'll have clean, adjustable art that's ready for whatever comes next in your pipeline.