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Celebrate the stunning folk art craft from India with these gorgeous art projects that are perfect for kids & adults alike! Features Warli, Gond & more!

“Folk art is, ……the soil where all great art is rooted.” ~ William Butler Yeats

What does art mean to you? For many of us, the answer may be that its purpose is merely decorative. For some, art may be resistance, a way to make a statement. For others, art may simply be a way of life, a part of their very beings. And that is what folk art is all about.

The people who make folk art don’t have their pieces in museums; their names aren’t in the encyclopedias. But they were the true pioneers of art, creating a way to communicate and celebrate life, even if they couldn’t read or write.

If you ask me, that’s truly worth celebrating! One country with a beautiful diversity of folk art is certainly India, where one nation encompasses so many different cultures and styles. With India’s Republic Day coming up, we think this is a great time to explore various folk art craft from India!

Beautiful Kids Books about Indian Folk Art

• A Brush with Indian Art by Mamta Nainy
• Eye Spy Indian Art by Ritu Khoda and Vanita Pai
• Dancing on Walls by Shamim Padamsee 
• Painting Everything in the World by Gita Wolf
• Bioscope by Mamta Nainy

These books are a very small introduction to the world of Indian folk art – there is so much to explore! If  you don’t want to get overwhelmed, we suggest starting out with these easy ideas for folk art craft from India – perfect for all ages!

20 Ideas for Folk Art Craft from India

Warli Art

Origin: The Warlis or Varlis are an indigenous tribe living in the hilly and coastal areas of western India, in the state of Maharashtra. They are one of India’s largest tribes, and Warli art is believed to be around since the 10th century.

Style: The structure of Warli art makes it the perfect entry point into the world of folk art craft from India. The art is composed of straight lines and simple shapes like triangles and circles. 

Materials: The background for Warli art is generally red ochre or a dark color, since the main paintings are made with white pigment created from rice flour and water. The ends of bamboo sticks are chewed to use as paintbrushes.

Subjects: Warli art usually depicts symbols of nature or scenes from daily life, like farming or dancing.

1. DIY Warli Bookmarks Craft

These Warli art bookmarks are a great way to practice your art skills and also have something leftover as a keepsake! Also makes a great gift for someone visiting from abroad!

2. Step-by-step Warli Art for Kids

This is a handy tutorial for someone who’s absolutely new to Warli art, and even young kids can have a go! It’s a fun way to practice their shapes and see how triangles, circles and lines come together to create art!

3. Warli Art Handpainted Tray

Confident of your Warli art skills to try something a little more serious? Then we recommend getting yourself a dark colored plain tray and decorating it to create a gorgeous, custom decor piece for your home!

4. Potato Stamping Warli Art

Take your Warli art to the next level by trying out some potato printing! Simply carve the basic shape of a figure on a potato and have fun creating your own patterns!

Madhubani Art

Origin: Madhubani art is also known as Mithila art since it originated in the Madhubani district of Bihar in India, previously known as Mithila. 

Style: Madhubani art is characterized by the use of bright colors and geometrical patterns. There is usually little empty space in a painting, as they get filled up by tiny shapes or patterns.

Materials: Madhubani artists use natural dyes and pigments, and when it comes to painting tools, they use a variety – twigs, brushes, matchsticks, nib-pens or fingers.

Subjects: Madhubani paintings traditionally showed scenes from mythology or special occasions like weddings or royal events. Symbols of nature are also a common theme, like the sun, the moon, plants and animals. 

5. Beautiful DIY Madhubani Fish Fridge Magnet

This fish canvas painting is a wonderful example of all the traditional signs of Madhubani art. The geometrical shapes, the bright colors and the nature symbols all blend in beautifully to create something wonderful!

6. Easy Madhubani Elephant Folk Art Bookmark

Isn’t it great when you can explore folk art craft from India and make something useful from it? That’s how we feel about this Madhubani art elephant bookmark, and we know you’ll love it too!

7. Simple Madhubani Fish Painting Tutorial

Here’s a full step-by-step tutorial on how to draw a fish outline and then go on and fill it in – Madhubani style! It’s a great starting point for beginners to folk art craft from India.

8. Madhubani Decor Art Ideas for Kids

You may notice that a fish seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to Madhubani art! This project shows us how to make a piece of art that can be used around your home as decor.

9. DIY Madhubani-style Kite Bookmark and Card

Once you’ve got a handle on creating Madhubani art, put your skills to use by creating a cute kite bookmark and a matching card – perfect for Makar Sankranti!

Gond Art

Origin: Gond art is practiced by one of India’s largest tribes, the Gond tribe which has roots in Madhya Pradesh. Their art is estimated to be 1400 years old and is one of India’s famous art forms.

Style: The elements of Gond art are constructed from dots, lines and other forms, gradually giving shape to the complete picture. The colors used are vibrant, with a dominance of blues, yellows, and oranges.

Materials: The Gondi people use natural colors extracted from plants, flowers, charcoal and even mud. 

Subjects: A lot of Gond art is based on what the Gondi tribe worships, namely trees, animals and other natural elements.

10. DIY Gond Folk Art Parrot Bookmarks

Kids will enjoy making these Gond art parrot bookmarks, and they add a lovely ethnic touch to your reading sessions!

11. Step-by-Step Gond Painting for Kids

Here’s a tutorial that offers a step-by-step tutorial on starting out with Gond art. You can use this as a stepping stone to more complex drawings later. 

12. Gond Style Dragon Art

Did the Gondi people draw dragons? We doubt it, but you certainly can try something new! We think this is a wonderful amalgamation of Oriental art and folk art craft from India, don’t you agree? 

Bhil Art

Origin: This is the traditional art form of the Bhil tribe, the second largest tribal community in India, originating from central and western Indian states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. 

Style: Bhil art is quite unique; the images are painted in sharp contrast to the background and often feature squiggly shapes filled with color and topped with dots in specific patterns.

Materials: Bright colors are characteristic of Bhil art, using natural dyes made from turmeric, vegetables, leaves, flour and oil. The paintings are done using twigs or neem sticks, generally on the walls of houses. 

Subjects: Bhil art talks about everything connected to the Bhil people – daily life, rituals, deities, creatures, stories, births, deaths and special occasions. 

13. Bhil Tribal Painting Tutorial

Milind Misal’s Picasso Art Studio gives us a tutorial for a starter Bhil art project, featuring a jungle scene. You can see a tiger who looks like he’s waiting for his lunch – the birds who are feasting on fruit on the tree!

14. Bhil Art Love Birds

Neeldeep’s Creations creates some cute birds and a few strips in Bhil art style and then puts it all together to create a fun little bird cage!

15. Bhil Art Drawing for Kids

The Bhils enjoy painting about their daily lives, which often include farming activities. Neha Arts has a project that shows one such scene, and we love how the dots add so much interest to the painting.

Cheriyal Art

Origin: Cheriyal Art originates from Cheriyal town in India’s southern state of Telangana and is believed to be over 400 years old. 

Style: Cheriyal art is a form of scroll painting, where the painting consists of several panels depicting a story, like a comic strip. The artists use mostly primary colors, especially red.

Materials: The canvas used for Cheriyal scroll paintings is made of treated Khadi cotton. The colors are made from an array of natural materials – sea shells, turmeric and even lamp soot. Squirrel hair is used to make the brushes.

Subjects: Most Cheriyal art is based on mythology and legends. Popular themes are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Krishna Leela. 

16. Cheriyal Painting for Beginners

If you want your first lesson of Cheriyal painting, BitClass has one for you! It’s a fun way to get your feet wet with folk art craft from India.

17. Step by Step Cheriyal Scroll Painting

Scroll paintings were popular in China, but were mostly associated with royalty. However, Cheriyal scroll painting is all about village life, although this lady from Sassy Art does look rather queenly!

18. Cheriyal Painting Tutorial

Even if the main theme of the painting was a religious epic, Cheriyal painters made things more interesting by adding scenes of regular life – women cooking, men farming, people celebrating etc. Neha Arts has a tutorial for one such scene that shows women busy working and chatting!

Mughal Art

Origin: Mughal art developed in the courts of the Mughal kingdom from the 16th century, and it is believed to have evolved from Persian and Chinese art.

Style: Mughal art featured more realistic images, especially when it came to humans and animals. The art also featured borders, some of which were elaborately decorated. 

Materials: Burnished paper was the paper of choice for Mughal artists, and the paints had multiple sources – metallic pigments, lamp soot, vegetable dyes and even gemstones. 

Subjects: Most Mughal paintings featured scenes from the royal court, as well as battles and hunting expeditions. Some also featured scenes from mythological stories and legends. 

19. Easy Mughal Art for Beginners

If you’ve visited the Taj Mahal, you’ve already got a glimpse into what Mughal art looks like! If you’d like to try your own version, Draw with Mukti has a simple starter tutorial for you.

20. Recycled Decoupage Mughal Art

Nutan’s Handmade Craft features some of the characteristic features of Mughal art – the ‘jharoka’, the miniature panels and the beautiful borders. We love it when you can combine recycling with exploring folk art craft from India!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this journey through the folk art craft from India. Of course, there are so many art forms that we haven’t even touched upon – Tanjore, Kalamkari, Kalighat, Phad, Pattachitra, Kerala mural, Mysore, Rajput and many more! The world of folk art craft from India is really vast, and we hope this list of art projects will encourage you to explore some more!

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