Almost every object depicted in a thangka required outlining or linear detail. Outlining proper (bead) served to set off most objects from their surroundings, and it was used to demarcate the main subdivisions within them. Tibetan painters also used line drawings to develop the form or texture inside a given area, for instance within a swirling mass of flames or within the hair of a deity. Furthermore, fine linear drawings were the main way of .