Since Chitrakar did not have the opportunity to take up art classes in school, he looked for apprenticeship opportunities and Tej Bahadur Pun, an artist of some fame at the time, took Chitrakar under his wing. Amar Chitrakar also learned traditional techniques and skills through his uncles. Confident about his abilities, he began to put his art on sale. He was commissioned paint movie posters at Ranjit Studio in India with his friend Manohar Man Pun. Later, he worked for well-known artist Bal Krishna Sama for a salary of Rs. 80 per month.

By the time Amar Chitrakar was 26, he had started making stone sculpture, particularly busts and life-sized forms (e.g. the statue of Jung Bahadur Rana). Paintings of the kings of the Shah dynasty he made at the time, from the founder of the Shah His Majesty Prithvi Narayan Shah to the late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, are now housed in the National Museum near Swayambhu. As time passed, he focused his attention on musicians, politicians, and writers. His work was appreciated and demanded from across the nation and he was asked to by the Nepalese Mint to design coins and paper currency.

Amar Chitrakar worked in oil and water color and made stone sculpture. He also took photographs particularly during his years with writer and artist Bal Krishna Sama. He was nominated to the Royal Nepal Academy for three consecutive terms and was later offered a lifetime membership. While in the Academy he published a book on the traditional arts of Nepal. He exhibited on a regular basis in Nepal. National Association of Fine Arts awarded him several times for his work. He also received the Trishakti Pad Doshra, the Gorkha Dacchin Bahu, and the Indra Rajya Laxmi awards among others.

Those who knew him found him polite and kind. After the death of his wife, Chandrawati, and a daughter, Amar Chitrakar is believed to have lost interest in many things. He died a well appreciated artist in 1999 at the age of 79. His eldest son continues the clan's art tradtion.