One of the most commonly used and versatile methods in visual arts is drawing. The choice of paper is as important as the choice of a drawing implement, whether it be pencil, chalk, crayon, or pastel. Paper choices affect the quality and appearance of pencil markings. Another important tool is the eraser, which also has a variety of types to choose from. Often one will also need a sharpening tool. A more modern tool for drawing is using the computer, with the help of a mouse or a tablet. There are also a variety of styles and subjects with which to draw: the sketch, the finished drawing, the observed, the imagined, etc.
While drawing is most often rendered in monochrome, there are other mediums that involve more color, such as painting, printmaking, and assemblage. Often these more "finished" pieces of artwork are considered more valuable. Painting uses a variety of water and oil based paints, with appropriate papers or canvases to suit the paint. Printmaking has a wide variety of methods, including carving wood or linoleum blocks, etching or engraving onto metal or other plates, lithography on stone tablets, mono printing using a piece of glass, and creating stencils with screen printing. Assemblage, or collage, uses fragments of "found" imagery assembled in a new way.
As well as different methods and mediums in creating and conceptualizing art and space, there are different approaches to imagery in different parts of the world; from Africa to India and East Asia and the Western world. Artistic ideas also travel as people travel, each having influences on different parts of the world. Artists can also mix different elements from these different traditions and approaches to viewing art and the world.
