How to Choose a Watercolor Palette - Your First Watercolor Palette 3/3

In this new mini-series, I'm going to guide you through how to put together your first palette (or any other palette). In this final episode, we talk about palettes - different kinds of palettes, the pros and cons of each type and which ones I recommend

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[aliirelan]

Well I just watched all three videos and I just have to say thank you! As someone who is trying to put together my first palette I really appreciate this video series!

[OhJodi]

Beginners should know that the metal palette has metal tabs next to each pan. Press the metal tabs towards the center of the row, then "snap" the pans into it to secure. I've seen people online use glue to secure the pans, which you never want to do.

I also like the large plastic folding palettes, myself. You can even add half pans to it, either directly into a well by using blue tack, or add several to the area next to the thumb hole thing. Be sure the palette will close properly before securing the wells and dividers from the top can interfere with the bottom.

ALSO, some versions of that palette have "gutters" along each large mixing area (as the one in the videos show). These gutters are very useful as additional small mixing areas.

[annettefournier]

Lol. I write on my full pans; brand, color and pigments. Then I make 2 swatch sheets ; one pallet sized and one in my swatch book. So by the time I use my mixed brand pallets, I've written the info 3 times and know exactly what they are without having to look at the info ever again.😉🤗

[PaintinHiding]

even though i'm not trying to put together my first palette, i'm really enjoying this series. thank you Oto! 😆

[LindsayKitson]

I change my palette colours constantly, so the metal tins are great for me. I have no trouble remembering what colours I have in there, though I do have all the pans labelled, because I'm constantly fussing over what pigments I want to include. I'm a pigment nerd, and trying new ones makes me happy :)

[YzabellM]

I actually use a 7 pan "flower" ceramic palette for travel/plein air. It's small and so not very heavy. I have attached a thin metal sticker so it sticks to my magnetic portable easel from Stablo.

[grannieannie]

I use corelle by corningware white plates for mixing. They are light, don't break easily, relatively cheap and plentiful in my studio. Combined with the bit that removes from the metal palettes with Roman szmal watercolours. They are store in a big travel pallette then I select what colours I want to use and put them in the smaller one for the duration of that painting.

[existentialcrisistime]

Really enjoying this series! Pro tip for removing staining from metal palettes though - put a bit of undiluted washing up liquid on it, let sit for a few minutes, and then scrub off with a stiff brush and rinse with water, it works well for me!

[catherinelevison]

Coincidentally, my Jackson’s porcelain palette arrived today (your dream palette) and I had a lot of fun planning, filling, and swatch-mapping in it. I do have a huge desk.

I also have a lot of $4.00 ceramic plates too. For new people…you can rewet and use the paint that dries on palettes, so having a lot of surfaces means not wasting any paint.

(Jackson’s has the palette on sale for $37.00 USD right now—August of 2022)

[VeretenoVids]

Great series! In the US at least you can often get plain white ceramic plates very inexpensively in restaurant supply stores. They turn up in thrift stores and dollar stores as well. I love them! If I break one I just smash it into small pieces and use it when potting up house plants. For a folding palette I prefer metal because they can be recycled as scrap at the end of their lives (once cleaned).

[emmahaslam]

You could use a white bathroom tile as a mixing palette with a non beading surface alongside some other little dishes for when you need to make deeper puddles for washes. You could put your paints in large or small pans, stick some magnetic tape on the bottom of each one so you can easily pop them in and out of any tin for leaving the house with. At home you could just keep your pans in your favourite order in a row attatched to a metal ruler and pop another ruler on top when you want to cover them.

[schuhujin]

My cheapest palette version at home is second hand icecube plates for the fridge for the colors and a secondhand ceramic plate with (fondue plate) or without wells. Plates could be any size. Cheapest and smallest version for travelling or outdoor is an empty blisterpackadging for medication, with you can glue in any smal case that fits and you like.

[grannysmithart]

my favorite palette is plastic, by Mjello (other companies sell similar one). I own two of these with 18 slanted wells, they have a lift out tray to mix on as well as the lid, the lid has a gasket so very little leakage during travel; i also have one of the same style with35 wells. They are currently around $10 (Amazon) so i can have a floral palette, teaching palette and the large one for general use.

[trisha]

My first water color teacher, never talked about palettes. I too prefer porcelain.

[UraniaOfTheGalaxy]

I love your idea of using a flat ceramic plate for mixing, instead of mixing on my regular palette. I'll be doing this from now on, thank you.

[amiefrisch]

I love my metal pallette because I can remove the smaller set of colors I'm going to use for a painting and have them together.

[FaithAnnNB]

I totally relate to your comment about making palettes being one of your favourite things about watercolour. I LOVE creating palettes… for home, for travel, for working from a desk, or working from my lap… I find it so interesting to think about the colours I’ll need and how I’ll be using them. Although they’re very expensive, I do really like the Art Toolkit palettes for my travel palettes, although I take something else with me for mixing space as I don’t care for the mixing options. I just love the little magnetic trays, the simplicity of switching colours and how small they are. I dream of a light, ceramic/porcelain mixing space for travel lol.

[inkonapin]

I second the cheap folding plastic palette as a good place to start. I have a Mijello 18 well which I love(d) but last night my cat knocked it off my drafting table and it broke at the hinges, as well as having multiple paints dislodge. I think I can recover it, but I think if it had been the lighter-weight style it wouldn't have been damaged at all. Probably still would get loose paints. By the way, that might be a discovery, when you want to change your paints in a plastic pallet with wells you fillled, just bang the plastic pallet against the floor. 🙃

[jasminekuo]

I love all your videos! Hope you keep making them nonstop 🎉Definitely going to use your Jackson’s affiliate link to support you❤️

[TarotLadyLissa]

I use superfine sandpaper on my plastic pallets to keep them from beading up. Just lightly buff the surface and then clean with alcohol. Acetone works too, but can degrade the plastic if you’re not careful.