What kinds of pigments do Thangka paintings need?

All pigments needed for Thangka painting can be divided into nine or ten categories. These categories are mainly distinguished according to the properties and uses of pigments.

Coloring is usually divided into dry method and wet method. Dry painting is rich and dignified, while wet painting is fresh and bright, which generally depends on the theme and modeling. In the long-term artistic practice, the painter explored and summed up a set of blooming principles and theoretical system of color application and collocation of "showing the bright side with dark side and highlighting the concave part". If line drawing is to grasp the outline of human body and shape the bones of human body, then color halo is to fill the flesh and blood of human body.

The usage of colors is very particular, and different colors have different aesthetic connotations, especially the symbolic meanings expressed by red, yellow, blue and white have certain nationality: white represents auspiciousness, purity, compassion and peace; Blue represents anger, seriousness and ferocity, but it does not lose its beauty; Red symbolizes power; Yellow represents great achievements and profound knowledge. Yellow is especially suitable for depicting gentle and slightly serious characters.

Gold is widely used in Thangka. It can not only unify the high-purity contrast color, make the color of the picture uniform, harmonious and seamless, but also improve the brightness, highlight the layering and three-dimensional sense, and make the picture achieve brilliant results.

The treatment and application of color is a basic skill in Thangka painting. When coloring, different contents have different methods and steps, pay attention to the depth of color. An exquisite Thangka often takes months or even years to complete. There are traditional dyeing methods, such as "dyeing from outside to inside, deep roots and shallow edges, and gradual shallow dyeing method is widely used. The brush strokes of high-gloss dyeing should be uniform, the handwriting of spot dyeing should be consistent, the brush strokes should not be left for flat dyeing, and the brush strokes should not be seen for rough dyeing. "