Fine Art has been primarily developed for beauty and aesthetics in European academic traditions distinguishing it from Applied Arts. Visual Arts are primarily rooted in drawing (charcoal, pencil, caricature, pastel) and painting (oil, tempera, watercolour, acrylics), sculpture (wood-carving, stone, bronze) and printmaking (engraving, woodcuts, lithography) which are design-based.

It originated around the 18th century wherein an artisan and artist were considered to be a skilled people and art was widely appreciated and they were considered to be creating value for the rest of their lives.

Sculpture, painting, music, poetry, and architecture were historically considered to be the five main arts while dance and theatre were considered performing arts. Photography, theatre, graphic designing, film, video production/editing, culinary arts, and fashion/apparel design are now included in modern fine arts.

Students can pursue a 3 year or 4 year Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA) / Visual Arts undergraduate degree after completing their 12th grade preferably from the Humanities or Arts stream. A mix of theory and practical subjects are included in the course curriculum. Theory subjects include Aesthetics, Human values, and professional ethics, visual graphics, Cultural History, Basics of Computer Fundamentals while practical subjects such as Painting, Computer Graphics, Communication Design, and Visual Arts Processes and Practices. The subjects depend upon the specialisation chosen.

A Fine Arts degree is ideally suited for creativity-inclined students. Sketching, artistic, creative problem solving, visualisation, drawing, imaginative skills, and the ability to take criticism need to be nurtured by students intending to pursue this course.

Art teacher, multimedia artist, art director, painter, animator, graphic designer, art conservator/restorer, film and theatre, interior designer, and photographer are a few career options that a fine arts graduate could consider.