The tradition of painting in Assam began to grow in the 17th century, mainly because the kings supported artists. At the same time, the satras made special picture books similar to the small illustrated books found in North India. Some famous picture books made on Sanchipat (a special type of bark paper) were: Hastibidyarnava, Ananda Lahari, Chitra Bhagawat, Geet Govinda, Kumor Haran, Sankhachur Badh, Lava Kushar Yuddha.
These books were painted using natural colours. First, artists coloured the Sanchipat paper, and then they drew pictures of kings, palaces, gods, animals, and other scenes. To fill empty spaces, they added flowers and designs. The main colours used were red, green, yellow, and black. A famous book, Hastibidyarnava, made by Sukumar Borkaith, had many pictures of elephants of different sizes and colours. Two artists, Dilbar and Dosai, drew the illustrations. Later, many of these books were also printed as regular books.