1. gos-thang

According to the different kinds of silk, gos-thang can be divided into five classes:

(1) tshem-drub-ma is made of different kinds of silk woven by hand.

(2) lhan-dr-ub-ma or dras-drub-ma: To make this kind of Thangka, different kinds of silk are first cut into different shapes and then connected with needles.

(3) lhan-thabs-ma: This kind is a little similar to the second , but to make this kind of Thangka, different shapes of silk are agglutinated by the glue water.

(4) thag-drub-ma: This is a Thangka woven by hand.

(5) dpar-ma: To make this kind of Thangka, moulding board is necessary to print the pictures into the silk.

The largest Thangka of gos-thang kind is called gos-sku which is too big to be put on. In fact, it is only used at some special religious rituals. In the Potala Palace, there is a gos-sku with a length of 55.8 meters and a width of about 46.81 meters, made during the 5th Dalai Lama period.

2. bris-thang

According to the color of the background, bris-thang can be divided into five classes:

(1) tsho-thang: The background is multi-colorful.

(2) gser-thang: The background is yellow.

(3) mtshal-thang: The background is vermilion.

(4) dpar-thang : The background is black.

(5) dpar-thang: The method making this kind of Thangka is the same as that of water printed.

The largest bris-thang is 3 meters long and 2 meters wide while the smallest one is about 30 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide.

 Genre

Different styles of Thangka represent different schools of paintings in Tibet:

1. Karzhi School

Karzhi is one of the schools of Tibetan paintings and sculptures styles. It is said this school follows the painting style which had been used by Karma Mikye Dorje in the Figure Measurement composed by himself and was famous for painting calm and kind-hearted personal figures.

2. ChenZher School

ChenZher School is founded by ChenZher ChanMou of KhongKarLdo in Tibet. This school was born out of ManThangPa painting style and prolongs this style.

3. Mansale School

The founder of Mansale School was Qiangpa-Quyang Gyel-tshap. Their painting style is close to the ManNiang School with characteristics of boorish lines, powerful faces, taller figures, dense color and fine painting techniques.

4. Karlri School

Karlri School was founded by the Living Buddha LanMuKar ZhaXi who combined the technique of measurement in Tibetan painting style with those of coloring and arrangement in Chinese painting. It has characteristics of large picture and various contents. The personage painted usually with a comeliness and pretty face and implicit smile.