How to Make a Clipping Path in Illustrator

1. First, launch an Illustrator project and select the layer that you want to edit. For our hypothetical example, we’ll continue with the floral wallpaper and crescent moon project. 
2. The floral wallpaper should be your background layer, and the crescent moon can be a separate black-and-white image, or you can draw it by yourself. Either way, your moon shape needs to be placed in its layer, and it needs to be located above the floral wallpaper in the Layers. 
3. Now, you’re going to use the moon shape to create a clipping path. Click on the “Make/Release Clipping Mask” button at the bottom of the Layers palette (the icon looks like a tiny rectangle and circle). Illustrator will cut a moon-shaped path into your floral wallpaper layer, leaving the rest of the canvas blank. 
4. The beauty of this approach is that you can change it whenever you like! For example, you can adjust your moon path’s position, and it will still clip the background layer. If you drew the moon, it’s also possible to photoshop the shape itself by tweaking the control points. Finally, if you want to undo the clipping path, select the path layer in the Layers palette, and click the “Make/Release Clipping Mask” button again.