African tribal masks have influenced many western artists like Pablo Picasso, and Andre Derain. They used African cultural art to refresh and update the drained tradition of figure painting in Western art. There are two important factors that influence the style of the African tribal mask; traditional masks and individual vision of the craver. The traditional style masks are dictated by the social and religious belief of the tribal community. Although some realistic portraits are made, African tribal artist does not make the exact replica of the subjects; instead, they try making more abstract qualities like dignity, grace, humor, mischief, beauty, courage, and much more. African masks come in various shapes like human, animal, oval, circular, rectangular, elongated, heart-shaped, or any combination of these.  It is believed that African masks often represent a spirit of the ancestors which possesses the wearer.