In spite of the many similarities the pattachitra has many distinctive features of its own.

• The base material canvas is prepared by hand with used cotton cloth, tamarind seeds gum and chalk powder.
• T he indigenous colors are used in pattachitra which are prepared buys the artisans themselves.
• The style of painting mostly has a lyrical sensitiveness.
• All figures are drawn to side aces and some extent in proportion to one other and to the back ground.
• In Odisha faces the chin is elongated and there is no protuberance of the further eye in to space .The pupils inheres of Odishan faces are also not small as in the case of western India.
• There are only limited primary colors are used in patta painting and the linear conception and its workmanship is with fine brushes which are made of smooth hair of rats and squirrels.

TECHNIQUIES

The base materials is called hand made canvas is prepared by pasting layers of old and used cloth with the help of tamarind glue, khadi (chalk powder)coats and after the coats are applied and polished the patis are trimmed on the sides and are cut in to required sizes with the help of scissors.

PREPARES COLOURS/PIGMENTS

All earth, stone and mineral colors are used to paint the patas. Now a days powder colors are being introduced which give a very destructive result .Basically primary colure are used in patta painting like sankha(white), Hingula(yellow), Deepa kala(black), Dhau(brown), Neela(indigo)the other mixed colors are being prepared from the above pigments the gum is used with colors which obtained From Kapitha tree (wood apple) and mixed with a coconut shell.


STAGES OF PAINTING

The chitrakars of Puri and other areas follow a different procedure which is based and several color applications following one after the other such as:-
1. Tipana 2. Hingula banaka 3. Ranga banaka 4. Alankar lagi 5.Motakala 6. Sarukala 7.Ranga lekha 8.Sankhapatqa 9.Bageiba & Dhadikama 10.Jausala (lacquering)

TOOLS

1. Brushes are used to apply paint in past brushes of fine quality are prepared out of rat hair and the coarse quality are made out of buffalo hair.
2. A bamboo tube container is used to keep the brushes
3. Sadhei (coconut shell), are generally used for mixing colors.

The other tools are ghasa pathar (pebble stone) grinding stone, pestal stone etc.

THEMES

Having originated in the seva of the Jagannath temple as the patta of Odisha can be referred to has naturally always had the triad as its main subject. Besides the veshas later however Jagannath was treated not as Krishna or the Buddha. The another popular subject dasavtar is painted with Sri Krishna leela ,stories from the Bhagabat, Ramayana and Mahabharata are generally included in the vaishnav themes .Patta paintings are absolutely traditional in the thematic content and have essentially religious overtones .The themes may be classified into following categories

1. Vaishnav Paintings:- A-Bhagabat paintings B- Ramayana paintings C-Jagannath paintings
2. Saiva paintings:
3. Shakta paintings
4. Paintings as legends
5. Ragachitras
6. Bandhachitra
Yamapati and yatripatas – (sketches of puri temple) Ganjapa playing card paintings and other socials themes on paintings.