Originally the artists painted with ochres.  Ochre, an earth pigment, is a chalky rock  gathered from the countryside, ground to a powder, sometimes very fine and other times left quite coarse or grainy. 

Traditionally ochres were mixed with plant juice.  This included orchid juice, tree resins or kangaroo blood to make a paste which could then be applied to the body, on the walls of caves or on tools or weapons. 

Fingers were dipped in the paint then applied directly onto the body.  Sticks, feathers, hair, anything that was available were also used as painting tools.   Ochre was also  chewed in the mouth and then spat out to make a design.  On cave walls we can see evidence of this where a hand is laid against the wall and ochre is spat around the hand to create a stencil.

In the case of the fine cross-hatching or “raark work” that is typical of Arnhem Land art, a hair would be coated in paint and then dragged along to create a long thin line or alternately the hair was used as a ruler or guide to get the straight line