Warli Art: Village Scenes, Tarpa Dance and Tribal Designs
24 designs Warli art Updated 9 Oct 2026
Warli art is the white stick-figure painting of the Warli tribe, who live in the Sahyadri hills of Maharashtra around Thane and Palghar. Each picture here is our own design, listed with its paint, motifs, best use and a tip.
About warli art in one line: it is daily life drawn with a circle, a triangle and a line. Huts, farmers, harvests and weddings all grow from these shapes.
Use these warli art pictures as ideas to copy. New to the style? Start with easy warli art figures, then move to walls, pots and cloth on our warli art painting page.
Traditional Warli Art Village Scenes
Traditional warli art begins at home: the hut, the well, the hens and the path to the fields. These village pictures are the best place to learn how a warli scene is planned.
A whole village on one board: huts, a well, a plough and hens. A calm first big scene.
Artist tip Paint the huts first, then fill gaps with small figures for a balanced scene.
Figures walk in a line with pots on their heads, leading the eye along. Nice for a school chart.
Artist tip Keep every figure in the line the same height, or it looks like a mistake.
Triangle hills hold tiny huts and stepped fields between the sun and moon. Suits a study corner.
Artist tip Use a size 0 round brush for the huts and a size 2 for hills.
A cloth scroll that reads like a story, swing to dance. Suits a corridor or a long wall.
Artist tip Work from one end and let each part dry before rolling the cloth.
Tarpa Dance Circles in Warli Folk Art
The tarpa dance is the favourite theme in warli folk art: a horn player in the centre, dancers turning around him.
The round canvas echoes the round dance, so the whole design seems to turn.
Artist tip Mark the centre with a compass and pencil the rings before painting any figure.
An open spiral, as on many village walls, gives a big wall real movement.
Artist tip Sketch the spiral with chalk on a string tied to a central nail.
A modern twist under a starry indigo sky, still built from the old shapes.
Artist tip A 0.8 mm white gel pen keeps lines bright on dark paper.
Just the player and four dancers, sized for a shelf. Done in one evening.
Artist tip Wipe the tile with spirit first so the acrylic grips the glaze.
What Is Warli Art? Origin and History
Warli art is the painting tradition of the Warli tribe, who live in the Sahyadri region of Maharashtra, mostly around Thane and Palghar. That is why it is called warli art of Maharashtra. The warli art history is a village history: paintings were made on the mud walls of huts for weddings, harvests and other big days.
The classic warli art form is white on red ochre or mud brown. Village walls used rice paste for the white; today acrylic, poster colour or fabric paint works just as well.
| Detail | Warli art |
|---|---|
| Community | Warli tribe |
| Region | Sahyadri hills, Thane and Palghar, Maharashtra |
| Colours | White on red ochre or mud brown |
| Shapes | Circle, triangle, line, square |
| Favourite theme | Tarpa dance circle |
Harvest and Farming Scenes
Warli tribal art grew out of farming life, so harvest, ploughing and fishing fill these scenes.
Rice rows and bending reapers fill the canvas edge to edge. Warm for a dining room.
Artist tip Draw rice plants as short V strokes in rows. Fast and neat.
Bullocks pull a plough with birds following. It teaches animals from triangles.
Artist tip A bullock is two triangles turned sideways, with four leg lines.
Grain goes into tall woven baskets, whose lattice adds texture without breaking the style.
Artist tip Fill the baskets with lattice lines using a 0.5 mm white paint marker.
Boats, nets and fish along a winding river. Good for a blue themed room.
Artist tip Paint the wavy river lines first, then tuck fish between them.
Warli Wedding Scenes
Weddings are an old warli theme, often a square frame ringed by music and dancing.
A horse leads drummers and dancers. A cheerful gift for newlyweds.
Artist tip Give the horse a longer neck than a bullock so they read differently.
A creeper-filled square ringed by musicians. Strong as the main piece on a wall.
Artist tip Rule the frame with a set square, then paint the creepers freehand.
Guests in rows, cooks at big pots. Full of small scenes worth a close look.
Artist tip Leave space between groups so a busy scene still reads clearly.
A neat line of figures carrying gift trays. Small enough for a mantel.
Artist tip Seal small MDF panels with matt varnish so they wipe clean.
Animals, Birds and Trees in Warli Tribal Art
Warli artists draw the animals and forest around them. A tree full of birds is a loved motif.
A huge tree with birds on every branch and monkeys climbing. Brings the forest indoors.
Artist tip Paint trunk and branches first, then leaves as small fishbone strokes.
Deer graze while a tiger watches. The story keeps young viewers looking.
Artist tip Stripe only the tiger. Plain deer bodies keep the two distinct.
Two peacocks face each other under a flowering tree. Balanced for a bedroom.
Artist tip Draw each tail as a fan of lines ending in small circles.
Cows and calves on a gentle hill with a flute player. Peaceful for a calm room.
Artist tip Make calves two thirds the size of cows so they stay easy to read.
Warli Art Black and White, and White on Red Ochre
The classic look is white on red ochre. Warli art black and white is a modern choice for files, bookmarks and cards.
Crisp white lines on black make every shape pop. An easy evening project.
Artist tip Go over each line twice, letting the first pass dry a minute.
Four bookmarks, one theme each. A fast craft for school fairs and return gifts.
Artist tip Cut the card first, then draw. A 0.3 mm pen suits tiny figures.
The look most people picture, with a dance circle at its heart. Fits any room.
Artist tip Mix red oxide with a little brown and white for a soft ochre ground.
Old shapes, new subject: buses, cycles and buildings. A fun office wall talking point.
Artist tip Keep buildings as stacked squares and wheels as plain circles.
The Basic Shapes and the Tarpa Dance
Every warli figure comes from a few shapes. Circles are the sun and moon, triangles are hills and trees, and a square marks a field or frame. For a person, join two triangles at the tips and add a round head and line limbs. Turn them sideways for a cow.
For the tarpa dance, mark the centre for the horn player, pencil two or three guide rings, then place dancers on each ring with arms touching. Our warli art drawing page breaks this into steps, and the shapes are much like the guide rings you use for a mandala art design.
10 Lines About Warli Art for School
- Warli is a folk painting from Maharashtra.
- It is made by the Warli tribe.
- The art is found around Thane and Palghar.
- It was first painted on mud hut walls.
- The figures are white on a red ochre or mud brown ground.
- Artists use circles, triangles, squares and lines.
- A human figure is two triangles joined at the tips.
- Common scenes are farming, harvest, weddings and village life.
- The tarpa dance circle is the most loved theme.
- Today warli art is painted on paper, canvas, pots and cloth.
Questions about these designs
What is warli art?
Warli art is the wall painting of the Warli community, a tribe from Maharashtra. It shows village life, farming, weddings and dance with white circles, triangles and lines on a red ochre or mud brown background.
Which state does warli art belong to?
Warli art belongs to Maharashtra. The Warli tribe live in the Sahyadri hills, mainly around Thane and Palghar districts.
Is warli folk art of Madhya Pradesh or Maharashtra?
It is from Maharashtra, not Madhya Pradesh. People often mix it up with Gond art, which is the well known tribal art of Madhya Pradesh. See our gond art gallery to compare the two.
What colours are used in traditional warli art?
White on a red ochre or mud brown ground. Colourful warli art is a modern variation; the classic look stays two toned.
How do I make creative beautiful warli art at home?
Paint thick paper red ochre, let it dry, pencil a simple scene and go over it in white with a fine brush. For walls, pots and bottles, see warli art painting ideas.
Can warli art be done in black and white?
Yes. White pen on black paper, or black on white, is popular for school files and cards. Keep the classic shapes and spacing.
