Wet Palette

[Kodakai]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the boards but have been reading them and the site for a long time.

I recently decided to get back into mini painting as i wanted to put a lot of the techniques i've been reading about into practice.

I've read it's best to thin the paint before use but my problem is the paint often dries out way too quickly. To combat this i decided to use a wet palette made from damp kitchen towel. The problem i have is that this seems to concentrate the paint again so it looses it's dilution.

Another issue is that using this method i'm unable to mix the paint directly on the palette. The paint has to be mixed prior to placing on the palette.

What tips and techniques would you advise to counteract this?

 

[freakinacage]

if you want a wet pallette, put some paper towel in a tray/plate/something pour water over till it's just about saturated, then put some tracing paper over the top. nice and cheap

 

[devoncodain]

I did about the same thing that freak said except I put sponges down and put tracing paper on top of that really cheap but works really well.

 

[QuietiManes]

Tracing paper, eh? Never thought that'd work, it's so thin?

Common alternative is parchment paper (baking paper, baking parchment, from the saran wrap and tin foil section of the super market) over a thin sponge or paper towels.

 

[Hinton]

Common alternative is parchment paper (baking paper, baking parchment, from the saran wrap and tin foil section of the super market) over a thin sponge or paper towels.

This is what I do and it works pretty well for me.

Another issue is that using this method i'm unable to mix the paint directly on the palette. The paint has to be mixed prior to placing on the palette.

Why can't you mix the paint on the palette?

 

[paulson games]

I picked up one of the wet palettes from privateerpress which has been working awesome.

You can build one very cheaply out of the foam isert that most minis come with and parcement paper, but I prefer the Privateer one as it snaps shut and all of the paper is pre-sized so I don't have to mess around with cutting paper to the right size.

I mix and blend on the paper all the time which works great.

You can also rinse off the paint let the paper dry and reuse it. The only time you need to change the paper is if the fibers start to seperate, which usually takes a long while. I've been on the paper pad that comes with the P3 palette for over year and not run out.

 

[jarhead]

Guess this could help too:
http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-wet-palette.html

 

[freakinacage]

Tracing paper, eh? Never thought that'd work, it's so thin?

Common alternative is parchment paper (baking paper, baking parchment, from the saran wrap and tin foil section of the super market) over a thin sponge or paper towels.

aye that sort of stuff. it wasn;t actually tracing paper i used it was cooking stuff but i got mixed up!! sponge works equally well but i do mine like jar did

 

[Kodakai]

Firstly thanks for all the replies, really helpful information here. I think the baking / tracing paper idea may be the answer.

The problem i was having was the kitchen towel tearing when trying to mix.

The other issue was the kitchen towel absorbing the water and therefore undiluting my paint. I wanted to keep the paint thin and watered down, and this seemed to prevent this.

Has anyone else had problems keeping their paint the right consistency?

 

[DaRat]

The parchment paper is the key. Trying to use paper towels by themselves won't work very well.

I use parchment paper sold for baking in my homemade wet palette. It's really just a sandwich container. The lid shuts seals quite well. I do have to cut the parchment paper and paper towel to fit, but it's all cheap enough that the little bit of time is worth it.

 

[Hinton]

I think the baking / tracing paper idea may be the answer.

The problem i was having was the kitchen towel tearing when trying to mix.

Yeah, you need to have something between the paper towels/sponges/whatever and the paint.

Has anyone else had problems keeping their paint the right consistency?

Not really. After a day or so I might need to add a drop or two of water to thin it down a bit, but for the most part the paints stay thin.

On a related note, if you ever decide to upgrade your wet palette and go with something more "professional", don't use the paper that comes with it. The parchment paper - or baking paper - that has been mentioned is much better.

 

[Tagamoga]

Has anyone else had problems keeping their paint the right consistency?

Well... if you are talking about, that the paint sometime seama thinner, as wanted it dependy on the amount of water you have poured onto the towel. As more water as thinner the paint on the baking paper. As less as thicker...

You have find you own amount of water...

Greetings, Taggi

 

[cleen X]

I have had a few issues with small paint chips drying in the paint therefore making smooth blending impossible. Any way to counter this? Guess more water might work but then the paint starts running all over the place. Also, if the paint seperates after a day or two on the palette, can it be mixed together and used just as fine?

 

[devoncodain]

I actually use tracing paper it works like a champ for me. I have yet to find the parchment /baking paper everyone talks about.

 

[Hinton]

I have had a few issues with small paint chips drying in the paint therefore making smooth blending impossible. Any way to counter this? Guess more water might work but then the paint starts running all over the place. Also, if the paint seperates after a day or two on the palette, can it be mixed together and used just as fine?

Yeah, paint chips or flecks of dried paint can show up. So far, I haven't found a way to prevent this, but I'm usually done with the paint long before it gets to that point.

If the paint separates on the palette, I just add a brushful of water to it and mix it up again.

 

[Radio]

I recently went to the wet pallete, what a difference! My paint stays wet for a good while (last go was 2 weeks and although it was not quite usable, it was still wet enough to get paint on my finger!). I used a sponge and some pallete paper I found at Micheals. You soak the paper for 20 mins, put it on the damp sponge and volia! A few tries to get the mixture/proportions of water correct and it even thins my paint for me. The secret is the air-tight sandwich container. The second version will be alot more shallow.

 

[Tagamoga]

two little suggestion for preventing paitn chips.

In my wett palette I one a rather think layer of towels. Somethinf about half of a inch ( 1cm). when I lay the baking powdwer on it i push yery little mould in it so I can thin the paint much, and it stay in place.

the second is, that I use a lid. If you dont have a lid, use for example an old CD cover as lid. So you paint does not dry during night.

Greetings, Taggi

 

[Kodakai]

So following everyone's advice I went out this morning and bought all the items for my wet pallete.

I bought a small Tupperware container that can be sealed, a pack of surface cleaning sponges, and some baking paper. The whole lot cost less than £3.50 so very cost effective.

I soaked two of the sponges in water and placed them in the bottom of the container. I then soaked the baking paper in water for 20 mins till it was slightly saturated. It's greasy surface seemed to prevent it falling apart and becoming too wet.

I then placed this on top of the sponges for the completed pallete. See my picture below.

The only thing that occurred to me whilst doing this was how wet should I make the sponges? Is damp sufficient or should they be heavy in water?

 

[cleen X]

If I remember right I have heard some people say that grease free baking paper is better? The ones with grease to prevent food sticking to it makes your paint oily or something..

 

[Chrome]

The one I'm using is non-greasy, I never soaked it, just wrapped it around the paper towels (sponge in your case) and started mixing, the towels took care of the rest of the moisturising.