Can you 'Draw Inside' Shape With Brush Strokes In Different Layer?

RKosterArt  wrote I would like to be able to use my stipple brush within a shape using the 'draw inside' mode but have the brush strokes on a different layer. ...My ultimate goal is to shade my design using stippling within shapes but need all colors on separate layers

As tromboniator​ said, the Draw Inside mode is one method of creating a clipping mask. A second method is do a Layer Clipping Mask instead, which may work for you since you need separate layers.

To do this, create sublayer for each of your brush strokes. Put the object that will be the clipping path at the very top. Then select the layer itself in the layers panel and click the Make/Release Clipping Mask for the Layer. Anything on the layer will be clipped. Anything on other top level layers will not.

If you already have the layers, you can drag and drop them to be top layers or sublayers. If you are creating them, you can use the buttons at the bottom.

~ Jane

No, the brush strokes cannot be in a separate layer from the shape that defines the Draw Inside zone. This process forms a Clipping Group, in which the clipping shape must be with the masked ones. However, the shape need not have a fill or stroke, and it can be duplicated in as many layers as you need.

Here I drew the pseudo-guitar shape, activated Draw Inside, drew the strokes, and applied the color. I duplicated the layer four times, then deleted all but one color from each layer, and set the defining shape to no fill/no stroke, except in the top layer (which is here invisible) in which I deleted all the interior strokes.

Here is the same document with the outlined (stroked) shape visible, and all the internal stroke except the red turned off

I was also able to Expand Appearance in each layer, release Clipping Mask. and apply Crop in the Pathfinder panel to remove all paths outside of the defining shape.

Peter