Clipping Layers into Groups in Photoshop

In a clipping group, the bottommost layer, also known as the base layer, acts as a mask for the layers in the group. The layers in the group clip to the opaque areas of the base layer and do not show over the transparent areas of the base layer. At this point, you might be saying, “Huh?” Rather than trying to decipher the definition, a better way to understand a clipping group is to just create one. Follow the steps listed here and I know that instead of “Huh,” you’ll be saying “Yeah, baby,” just like Austin Powers. Creating a clipping group works well if you want to fill type with different images on multiple layers. Using the steps that follow, I created a new document with a white background. I took the Custom Shape tool and, choosing the Fill Region option drew a fish on my second layer.

I then opened an image of some fish and dragged and dropped that image onto my composite. I opened an image of some dolphins, selected a dolphin, and dragged and dropped it onto my composite. And, finally, I created some type and applied a drop shadow and inner bevel layer effect to the type. Follow these steps to create your own clipping group:
1. Open or create an image that has several layers.
2. Press Alt (Option on the Mac) and position your mouse cursor over the line dividing two layers in the Layers palette.
Your cursor changes to two overlapping circles with a small arrow icon. You can also choose Layer➪Create Clipping Mask. Note that in previous versions, Adobe called this command Group with Previous.
3. Click your mouse button.
I did this three times, in between my type and the dolphin layer, in between the dolphin and the fish layer, and in between the fish layer and my fish shape. Notice how all my images and my type clip to the base layer (the fish shape). Nothing outside the boundaries of the fish shape is visible on any of the layers in the clipping group. The down-pointing arrow icon indicates that the layers are clipped. You can also link layers and choose Layer-->Create Clipping Mask from Linked. With either command, Create Clipping Mask from Linked or Create Clipping Mask, the clipping group takes on the opacity and blend mode of the base layer.

Managing clipping groups
Here is some clipping group trivia:
- To remove a single layer from the clipping group, you can simply Alt+click (Option+click) the line between the two layers in the Layers palette. Or you can select the layer and choose Layer-->Release Clipping Mask. Both commands remove the selected layer and any layers above it from the clipping group.
- To ungroup all the layers in the clipping group, select the base layer and choose Layer-->Release Clipping Mask.
- You can also apply clipping groups to adjustment and fill layers. If you clip between a regular layer and an adjustment layer, or a regular layer and a fill layer, the adjustment or fill layer affects only the pixels of the adjacent underlying layer, instead of all the underlying layers.