It differs from the volumetric art of the West. Western art attempts a three - dimensional art through the employment of planes of colour. Bagan art portrays by means of the line.
Western art uses light and shade to create a sense of depth.
Bagan art brings out the mood through modulation of the line. Bagan art has a limited palette of colours. The palette contains black, dark red, light red, deep cream, light cream, yellow and white. Black is obtained from soot, red from earth and oxides, white from clak and yellow from ochre. The latex of the neem tree is used as a fixative and liver is employed to add sheen to colour.