1. envato-tuts+
  2. Home
  3. Design & Illustration
  4. Add-Ons

How to Merge Layers in Photoshop

Scroll to top
Abbey Esparza
• 2 min read
Add-Ons Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop layers are fundamental to editing images. Fortunately, learning how to merge and combine layers in Photoshop is quick and simple. Let’s go!

What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Tutorial 

  • How to merge layers in Photoshop
  • How to merge all layers in Photoshop
  • The keyboard shortcut to merge layers
  • How to select multiple layers at once in Photoshop 

How to Merge Layers in Photoshop

Step 1

To start off, it’ll be helpful to create a layer stack in Photoshop. For the purposes of this tutorial, I'll create a simple three-layer stack consisting of three graphics. Right now, we can see on the left that each hand graphic is on its own layer. 

create multiple layers create multiple layers create multiple layers
Hand Illustrations

Step 2

Let's select the layers we want to merge. To do this, Shift-click the layer thumbnails in the Layers panel.

If you want to know how to merge all layers in Photoshop, click the top layer, and then hold Shift and click the bottom-most layer. I want to select everything but the background. 

However, if you only want to merge certain layers, hold Control/Command and click the desired layers.  

select the layers you want to mergeselect the layers you want to mergeselect the layers you want to merge

Step 3

Once you’ve selected the layers to be merged, it’s time to actually merge them together. You can do this in one of three ways: 

  1. Go to Layer > Merge Layers.
  2. Use the keyboard shortcut Control/Command-E.
  3. Right-click the selected layers and choose Merge Layers.
right click merge layers right click merge layers right click merge layers

The selected layers will be merged into a single layer. You can verify this by checking the Layers panel; the layer stack should now be reduced to a single layer.

the three layers will now appear as one layer in the layers panelthe three layers will now appear as one layer in the layers panelthe three layers will now appear as one layer in the layers panel

That's It! 

That's how to combine layers in Photoshop! Merging layers is a basic but important task to understand, since layers are an integral part of digital art. Photoshop and combining layers go hand in hand after all. You’ve now successfully learned how to merge layers in Photoshop. With your new skills in tow, you’re free to move on to more advanced projects. Good luck!

Want to learn more? Check out some more tutorials: 

Note: This tutorial was written with the aid of an artificial intelligence tool. It has been thoroughly edited and checked for accuracy by the Envato Tuts+ editorial team.

Add-Ons Adobe Photoshop
Abbey Esparza By