Learn Tribal Arts of India: Artventures of Gond and Warli

India’s tribal art is one of the most soulful, vibrant, and storytelling-rich visual languages in the world. Passed down through generations by communities that live close to nature, tribal art forms are rooted in rituals, beliefs, and lived realities. They are not just visual compositions but oral histories, spiritual expressions, and memory keepers of a people who have long been connected to the rhythms of the earth. Across India, you’ll find dozens of such folk and tribal traditions, each with its signature style. There’s the detailed dot and animal pattern work in Gond art, the rhythmic white-on-red storytelling in Warli, the dramatic figurative energy of Bhil, the scroll-styled vibrancy of Pattachitra, and the spiritually disciplined precision of Thangka. While each tribal art form is unique, what they share is a deep connection to community, daily life, and a certain emotional rawness that can’t be imitated. For anyone interested in exploring these living traditions, Rooftop has curated something special. The Artventures Tribal Art Book Combo offers a journey into two of the most celebrated Indian tribal styles: Warli and Gond. With beautifully illustrated art books, step-by-step lessons, and guided exploration, this combo is designed to bring the richness of rural India straight to your home, your sketchbook, and your soul.

Gond art comes from the Gond tribe, one of India’s largest and oldest indigenous communities, primarily found in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The word “Gond” is derived from “Kond,” meaning green mountains, and that’s exactly where these paintings originate from deep within the lush forests of central India. Traditionally painted on mud walls with natural dyes, Gond art is now practiced on paper and canvas using acrylics, allowing it to reach a wider audience. What defines Gond painting is its use of vibrant colours, repetitive patterning, and deeply symbolic storytelling. You’ll see animals like deer, peacocks, tigers, and elephants depicted not in realism, but through imagination and spiritual reverence. Each animal form is filled with intricate dots, stripes, and waves, each line meant to represent movement, breath, and the flow of life. In the Artventures of Gond book, Rooftop walks you through this magical world. You learn how to create forms using basic line structures and then gradually fill them with dots and textures to create rhythm and depth. The book doesn’t just stop at technique. It tells you about the stories behind the motifs. A fish is never just a fish. It’s a symbol of abundance and harmony. A bird isn’t just a decoration. It becomes a spiritual messenger or a reminder of seasons. Many Gond artists, like the legendary Jangarh Singh Shyam and his nephew Venkat Raman Singh Shyam, have transformed this folk tradition into a globally respected contemporary art movement. Yet its heart still beats in rural memory, in forest rhythms, in colours that seem to have soaked up the light of trees. With Rooftop, you are invited into that forest, paintbrushes and colours in tow.

On the opposite coast, tucked into the Sahyadri hills of Maharashtra, lives the Warli tribe. Their art is deceptively simple. At first glance, Warli looks like childlike line work, white chalky figures on an earthen red base. But look closer and you’ll realise you are looking at the world through rhythm. Circles represent the sun and moon. Triangles depict humans and animals. Lines become farmers, dancers, drummers, trees, and huts. Warli is essentially a celebration of community. There’s little space for individualism in the artwork. Scenes show weddings, harvests, festivals, group rituals, and forest life. And that’s what makes Warli painting so moving. It is a collective memory, recorded in a language of repetition and quiet beauty. In Rooftop’s Artventures of Warli book, you begin with the basic vocabulary of the art. How to draw triangles and circles, how to form human figures, and group scenes. The book walks you through ceremonial themes and everyday life. From tribal dances around the tarpa to scenes of rain, harvest, or even contemporary urban landscapes drawn in Warli style. You are guided through storyboards, patterns, border designs, and how to fill a space with balance. More than a technique, what you take away is the philosophy of Warli, where every figure, every tree, every cow or crow drawn is part of a larger whole. Rooftop’s book honours this by not just teaching how to draw Warli art, but why it matters.

The Tribal Arts of India Combo is a beautifully designed learning kit that includes two separate booklets, i.e., one for Gond, one for Warli. Each book is crafted for easy understanding, with full-colour guides, tracing space, art history snippets, and mini challenges for learners of any age. Order an Indian art book online and see it for yourself!

The combo is perfect for:

• Beginners who want a hands-on introduction to Indian tribal styles.
• Parents or educators looking for creative activities rooted in Indian culture.
• Teenagers or hobbyists exploring Indian folk art for school projects or personal expression.
• Artists looking to break creative blocks and dive into mindful art.

With each stroke, you begin to understand how tribal art is not about perfection. It is about rhythm. About breath. About remembering that art, once, was not about galleries but community.

The combo booklets are just one part of Rooftop’s broader Indian art ecosystem. Once you finish your practice drawings, you can carry your learning forward with Rooftop’s online art courses recorded sessions with expert artists who specialise in Warli and Gond. From basic form-building to intermediate colour compositions, Rooftop’s platform offers resources to grow your skill set step by step. Many Rooftop students share how their first tribal combo sparked a deeper interest, leading them to join full-fledged Gond art masterclasses or even make their own art inspired souvenirs. It starts with a simple line, but often turns into a journey.

At Rooftop, the vision has always been simple: to bring traditional Indian art forms closer to the modern learner. Whether it’s through structured online art courses taught by Padma Shri awardees or illustrated books like the Artventures Tribal Combo, Rooftop creates spaces for connection between you and your art, your culture, and your inner stillness. Surf through it here. Continue your journey with curated courses in many traditional art forms, from Pattachitra to Phad, Miniature to Pichwai art. With thousands of learners across the world, Rooftop is building a creative community that celebrates Indian heritage through brush, ink, and heart. So if you’ve ever wanted to experience India’s tribal traditions in a way that’s simple, soulful, and beautifully designed, the Gond and Warli combo is your best first step. Visit rooftopapp.com and let your creative journey begin.