The Process of Thangka Painting

The outline of the deity is first drawn on the prepared canvas in pencil or charcoal.

The drawing needs to be exactly as per iconographic grids. Students of the art form start with simpler forms, learning the basic proportions of the Buddha’s head and body.

As they become more skilled, they go on to more complex forms. Shown here is the grid for Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rimpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim.

Besides the main deity, there are also rules for the rest of the composition. There is symbolism and significance in what goes into a thangka.

Once the pencil drawing is done, the outline is painted using a fine brush.

Traditionally, the colours used in thangkas were made by the artists from naturally occurring vegetable and mineral pigments. Nowadays, artists largely use acrylic colours.

The painting process is very detailed. The artist uses a fine brush to combine different hues to give depth to the image.

While some monasteries still train a few lamas in the art form, nowadays most thangka painters are lay persons who have undergone training.

Once trained, they make both commercial and religious thangkas. When painting a commissioned religious thangka, artists are guided by practising lamas on the subject and attributes to be painted.

The painted thangka is given a border of rich silk brocade. This is usually of red, yellow and blue fabrics. Additionally, a thangka has a finer silk fabric, usually of yellow colour, stitched on to act like a protective curtain.