The ever hyped wet palette. Will using one magically make you a better miniature painter? Well, maybe, they certainly help. I’ll discuss what they are, why you should use on, if one is right for you, and how you can make your own to test them out. If you want to pick up the one I use, you can do so here (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases): amzn.to/2Jr8Sd8
Black Magic Craft Is there any sort of a system (plastic 'grid' perhaps?) that would hold it all down tight to help keep the paints from running together, from the wetness or even from the palette being moved around? I am new to some of this, so forgive me if this is a silly worry. I also live with 2 kids and 4 dogs so...well, you get the picture. BTW, great channel, I really enjoy watching 😊.
I made my own for just a few bucks. I got a sandwich container and a roll of Betty Crocker parchment paper at Dollarama, and folded three paper napkins to size, interleaved. Cost: about $5-6.
I was confused by the term 'parchment paper' which in Britain means something else. I think in Britain this is called 'grease-proof' paper. Find it in the baking section of a food shop.
Lindybeige!....just make sure what you find isn’t “wax paper”, this is different and won’t work. I believe parchment is silicone infused, but unlike wax paper it still allows water to pass through which is crucial.
Aha! I think I might give this a go. One idea that occurs to me is to get a not-so shallow tupperware box, and insert something to raise its floor - perhaps a block of polystyrene foam. While I have you here, is there a big difference between Modge Podge and the very-much-cheaper PVA glue? Could not PVA glue do much the same job?
If using a tupperware box and you want to raise your paint surface the best thing to do is get a nice thick kitchen sponge to use below the paper. You can probably find something (or cut something) to the perfect thickness for your container. So the big question about Mod Podge vs PVA glue....is it the same? Yes and no. Mod Podge IS a PVA based sealer but it contains a few extra ingredients that make it better suited for sealing things like foam for terrain. It contains a flow aid that allows it to be applied more evenly and easily without diluting. Not diluting it means you dont sacrifice any strength. It also contains varnish to make it more water resistant. That is important on terrain where you may later soak the piece in a wash, the varnish stops the water in the wash from rehydrating the Mod Podge and creating a mess. PVA glue can have adverse affects at this step. One other difference is that the Mod Podge is far less likely to yellow over time than PVA (only an issue if you use as a topcoat). So you CAN use diluted PVA in place of Mod Podge if you have to (in some countries it is impossible to find) it's just not as good for my purposes. I am also able to get Mod Podge for a pretty comparable price to PVA so there is no reason for me not to use it. Be wary of "home made Mod Podge" recipes you find online. They often contain organic materials that will mold over time. If you have to use PVA just dilute it with water.
A quick tip for those using baker's parchment: When you replace the parchment, put the dry parchment under the sponge/paper towel, then add water. Go away for 10 minutes or so (say, while you're setting up for painting). When you get back, flip the sponge and parchment and the parchment will not curl up at the edges. FWIW, I don't use the Masterson sponges. This is for two reasons: 1) The sponge is yellow and shows through the parchment too much for me. It can make determining the actual color of your paint harder than it needs to be. 2) If you use paper towel, throw it away whenever you change the parchment. This prevents mold far better than any of the other tricks you'll hear about (copper pennies, for instance).
good call with that flip.. also if you just want to get straight to it, place your parchment on the wet paper, then immediately flip it over to get the other dry side wet. The curl is from one side being wet and one side dry after all.
@Lemon First Copper is naturally anti-microbial, so will reduce the growth of a lot of bacteria that would otherwise thrive. What it does to the plant-based growths like moulds I don't know.
I started painting minis about 8 months ago & didn't start using wet pallets until a few weeks ago. I can not stress enough how much it's improved my painting. I typically only have about 2 hours a day to paint during my work week & it can take a few days to get through a mini. Being able to essentially save my progress and my supplies has been invaluable.
The best part about your channel is you're Canadian lol I keep going to US channels they are like, "hey you can buy this stuff" I look it up, expensive shipping or super overpriced for Canadians >.< but you know and you help both the Americans and the Canadians
I had a plastic container that I got with lunch meat. It had a tight, snap-on lid. I used some paper toweling I cut to size and made it about a half-dozen sheets thick. I cut parchment paper also to size. Added water into the container to dampen, not soak, the paper towel. It worked wonderfully and improved my miniature painting by 100%. I close the container after a painting session and the paint stays well moistened for days and even after WEEKS, the paint is still damp, but starting to thicken up and not usable. The wet pallet device is the single greatest aid to painting miniatures I have ever found and used. No hype. No BS. It's a great help.
You're such a natural at explaining in a detailed and encouraging way. Your style is something to be proud of and your videos are a tremendous help. God bless I wish you much success.
Some ideas for really shallow containers. Go to the dollar store and get a cheap makeup pallet for eye shadow or something similar. Or for a small wet pallet, an Altoids tin or multiple Altoids tins. The case for a precision screwdriver set would work too. Hardware stores also have those small "nuts and bolts" containers that you can cut the sections out of with a box cutter. You could also use a semi deep lid and then cover it with the Press 'n Seal plastic wrap in between uses.
I converted to these about ten years ago. When actively painting I often have three of them (one for metallics only) at hand when I'm working multiple miniatures. I started using the rather spendy but awesome sandwich containers with a silicone seal. I've come back to viable paint over a week after sealing it with those.
Been painting minis for a decade but only started using a wet palette about six months ago. It has changed my world and I cannot believe I didn't start using one sooner.
So far I have made three, so far, using sandwich holders. The depth encourages me to use the tip of the brush. Works nicely to separate my pallets for different projects. Cheap and easy way to add organization to my painting.
I made my own recently, I love it! It lets me paint, then if i mess up with a next color, i can come back to the previous and touch up. Even a few days later. :-> In using a container like you showed, I flipped it over. I put the paper on what would be the inside of the lid (Much thinner), and use the 'container' as the lid for my palette. Works great without the 'dipping' or reaching down into the container to get my paint. Cheers!
I thought about that too, but wasn't sure if when it's closed if the moisture from more water in a bigger sponge would effect the paint on the paper. Dunno. But anyhoo, recently found your channel, great stuff. Not playing D&D at the moment, but really enjoying the craft side of things. Keep up the awesome work! Cheers!
David, I did the same - came here to make the sponge comment. I had a leftover pack of uber cheap sponges from a kid art project that never happened. I think they were 98 cents, and maybe a half inch thick. We use that sponge, parchment paper, and the sandwich sized container. Love it!!!
I have been considering one of these since I got back into painting a few weeks ago. I have not painted D&D minis for 34 years. We are all coming back, it's true. Back in the day I had an extra cup of water on my desk to always add a drop of water from my brush whenever the paint would start to dry and create brush strokes. It took a lot of on hand experimenting to know how much and when to add a little drop of water. I see now I have to get one of these. I like to use multiple thin layers of paint instead of one heavy coat and always have. I love having the internet and channels to further my paint knowledge, something we did not have years ago.
Total game changer and the best thing I ever did to improve the quality of my mini painting. I prefer the homemade version since parchment paper is cheap and you can just pick it up and throw it away when your done. I use a couple layers of paper towel on a pie plate. I never had much of a need for a lid since I paint in sessions and don't mix a lot of custom colors that I need to keep around for days.
So I wish I saw this earlier. I bought the pallet and the 100 sheets of paper and was having a hard time with the paper. So thanks, cause now I understand what a pain they are and why I can throw them out lol You let me know I can just use parchment paper and made this totally worthwhile. So thanks! Very helpful!
It is worth noting, that having a nice well pallet (or a few) is still useful when you use a wet pallet. They're great for doing test schemes because you can take a photo of the wells and color match to that, and they're good for building washes and texture pastes in.
hey uncle, thx. good tip. i use the shallow plastic, sponge-rag baking paper version, cheap, accesible and a huge difference to just mixing with water. good stuff
Made one at home, worked amazing. That being said, the thinner the tray the less air would get trapped and the better the paint will be preserved. Just try to find the thinnest "sealed" plastic container you can find.
For the hight of the box I found ideal solution, I use folded silicon lunch box (In Poland you can find it in every mall ) . You can fold it to ~1,5cm (~0,5 inch) you can close it and everything as normal. It sticks to the table cause it is silicon (the weight is decent too) . For me it was a jackpot :). In folded version you can even pour the clean water to the extra "slot" around the sponge/pap. towel area for paint thinning (2 in 1 :) ). I really recommend this if you want to make it yourself.
When making your own, use the lid as your pallete not the deeper...box. So yes, your own home made pallete will sit on its lid, the lid is your pallete, nice and thin so you can get that nice tip on your brush. 👏👏
Love the wet pallet. I made a homemade one a few months ago. I don't do a ton of mini painting but I noticed a huge improvement when I started using the wet pallet. Totally worth the $3.50 I spent to make one. $1 dollar Tupperware $1 paper towels (I happened to be all out that day) and $1.5 for parchment paper.
I'm surprised I haven't seen it here anywhere (but this is an old video so I could have easily missed it. With all the foam you must have laying around and chunks sitting around, it should take about 60 seconds to cut a piece to fit inside your tupperware container and raise the bottom another inch or two (whatever you need), and THEN put your foam and paper on it. I don't think I could find a shallow enough tupperware, but just doing that and voila! You have the perfect depth again!
If your DIY wet palette container is too deep, you can use layers of kitchen sponges (depending on the depth of the container) to make the palette more shallow. I currently use a sandwich container and one layer of sponges. Works great, but I might make another with a larger container to provide more palette "real estate".
I use Grocery store parchment paper on folded wet paper towels on a plastic plate. Costs almost nothing and was the best thing I've done for my painting.
Nice vid, and great info in the comments. I usually use bottle water but I will still put a penny. Another TIP: cut the corner of you pallete paper to make easy to add water. If I don't paint for a few days I will open and add couple caps of water.
I have the exact palette, and also bought the paper. I failed to see the hype and haven't used it in years. I will try it again with the parchment paper. Thanks Jeremy!!
Excellent info, I also made the mistake of buying an extra pack of paper. I recommend buying the sheets of parchment paper instead of the rolls. If you cut the sheets on the fold lines then cut each piece in half they will fit perfectly in the palette. Also, if you soak the parchment paper in hot water for a few minutes, it will stop the paper from curling and will lay perfectly flat.
Yea, I used to have a supply of the individual sheets of parchment paper and it works way better, once I use up my current roll I'm definitely switching back.
If you can find one of those clamshell things for storing baby wipes in a diaper bag, that would work for a wet palette. Currently I'm using a Dollarama container intended as a king of pencil case. It is 1.5 inches high and has a lid with a closure. There is a divider inside so I can store brushes in the one part and use the other part as a wet palette.
Suggestion. Goes for thinning your paints and hydrating your wet palette. Use distilled water. Many times you can get a lot of metals and other chemicals in your tap water. Using distilled water helps slow down mold growth in your palette, and might also prevent color changes in your paint over time. Totally agree with using a wet palette. That, combined with upgrading my brushes, helped me a long ways in my mini painting efforts.
Yea, there is a huge variance in tap water across various places. I've been lucky and had mine sit for a month at a time without mold, but others may encounter issues and distilled water is an easy fix.
A good way to create a wet palette is to use a plastic box or similar designed for cheese. They have some sort of inlay with gaps to let the cheese breath. Put paper towel on the floor and the inlay on top of it, so it creates a flat surface to put the baking paper on it.
I use parchment over 2 layers of felt in a shallow Tupperware. The felt works wonderfully, is super cheap and lasts forever. It's barely stained since it never really dries before I wash it out but you can make quick disposable ones too. When painting with my game group I'll bring plastic disposable plates lined with a circle of felt and parchment paper and use the "press and seal" style of cling wrap to save them between sessions. I use gray felt since it matches my primary and doesn't mess with my perception of colors when mixing but it comes in any other color. If your plan to use it permanently, I recommend washing it out between projects and you can avoid any mold or mildew by using distilled water (or you can boil and cool your water beforehand).
I am new to minature painting (well trying again after a 30 year gap). Instead of trying a wet palette I have brought 10 empty minature paint pots from ebay and I will put thinned acryllic paint in them.
Just a tip on the homemade version. If you get a container that has a deep lid, you can flip it and put the sponge in the lid. That'll save the hassle of having to reach over the container to get to your paint.
I have an old metal thin case that used to hold my charcoal pencils and charcoal sticks. Its thin enough to cut a few paper towel stacked in size and parchment paper and I'm good to go. It works well for me. 😁👌
I made my own wetpallet from a "tupperware" box. It is indead deep, but I just filled it all up with cotton (cottonballs). So it is not so deep anymore. Works perfect. And for people who do sometimes paint once a week: put a copper penny/cent in between the cotton. It will keep the smell fresh (the moisture will make it smell moldy).
I like the homemade and the store bought wet pallet. I do not have a problem with either paper. The store wet pallet paper allows you to use more water in the sponge and you can scrub them to remove paint and use them again.
i made mine from a low, wide tupperware container and used a trimmed down sheet of cellulose foam then a sheet of paper towel to wick moisture from the sponge to the baking parchment i use as my palette surface. It keeps my paint and usable up to two weeks later. cost me nothing other then the old tupperware container and the sponge was from a big bulk bag i picked up for workshop clean-up stuff.
Started using a wet pallet after 4 or so months of painting minis. I just use a 2 inch deep zip-loc container (dept doesn't bother me), and the increased longevity of my paints really helped. I had low brush control so I tended to brush over the same spot multiple times to cover accidental brush strokes. In a situation where you can just pour more paint, it isn't a big deal, but when you had previously mixed paint to get the desired colour it really is a life saver. The only problem I have with a wet pallet is when I over-add water, waiting for paint to thicken can take a while. When this happens though, you can solve it fairly easily by letting a paper towel do a capillary effect from the brush.
Happy are those who live in Merica for they have something EU does not...parchment paper!:-) Like the kind useful for a wet pallet (one side covered). Now, where I live (Poland) we only have baking paper that is covered with a silicon layer on both sides, so it kinda suck ...What I found works best are the leftovers form stickers...the paper you got left when the sticker comes off of it. It is slickly on one side and natural on the other. You just stick it to the sponge or soaked paper towel with the natural side touching the sponge and you go to town from there:-)
get a paint caddie from dollarama it comes with a nice built-in one only 3 or 4 bucks just need paper towels and parchment paper I love mine paint caddie
While the paper in a wet palette made for 'Artists' doesn't work well for mini painting; the ones marketed for mini painters (Army Painter and the like) are fine.
Great video. Why do people give a thumbs down? I've thumbed up. But I promise if I ever thumbs down a video I'd also have the moral character explain why.
I made my own and agree, they do make a difference. Even my thinnest container was a bit tall. I used kitchen roll as the base layer, I tried a sponge and it didn't seem to work as well.
Im making my first minis (orruks from warhammer age of sigmar) these videos are helping me so much and i really appreciate them. Time to get painting 😄
I will make a wet palette and see if that helps me because right now, painting is so frustrating, and I'm just trying to paint table ready not pr0. Thanks for the vid!
This was a very helpful video. I went out and bought that "special paper." Was too afraid to ask people in the store how to use it. Because pride. So I tried it out with no instructions and was dissatisfied. Now I know it needs a sponge or paper towel beneath it. Lol. Thanks for the tips.
Great video. Very informative and kept me from having to read the directions on the Sta-Wet pallet I recently purchased. And since I have a huge roll of parchment paper in the pantry... I can go that route as well.
Thanks for this. I've considered several times whether or not to try a wet pallet and I'm also one to stock up on things so it's good to know about the special paper. I think I'll give your homemade one a try first (not something I've considered as possible until your video).
The paper that the Masterson’s wet pallet comes with was designed for artists acrylic the ones that comes in tubes and yes your best bet is to cut out parchment paper, great video 👍🏼
Thanks for the info, from the future. As a video game developer, I didn’t have any experience with miniatures. Instead of Masterson’s wet palette, went with Army Painter’s wet palette and its sheets didn’t have prep work. But, the parchment paper idea worked as well. Thanks, again!
I just bought the same pallet from Dick Blick. And I too got 3 packs of the paper. Once again a video comes out about wet pallets, a week later. And I wast money on the paper. LOL the story of my life. I will have to try the parchment paper and see how that compares to the regular paper. thanks for the info dude.
Ever think on doing a video on brushes? I just bought a Windsor Newton series 7 and honestly not too impressed and still use the cheap ones from hobby lobby and Walmart. The citadel drybrush however is well worth it.
I honestly just use cheap craft brushes for everything. The only exception is that I bought some high end art brushes that were super super tiny to do eyes.
Black Magic Craft I know im late, but i have 2 questions and i think you are the best person to ask around. I have bought size 3/0 AK interactive brush, 2/0 round brush, and 5 smaller sizes Dsler Rowney brushes. Good enough for basic start ? And local store has 5 brushes for 0.50$ , quality is subpar, but will be good enough for permanent lacquer, right? As those will be literally proly be one-time use. Edit : actually the brush hairs are exactly the same as my expensive brushes, just not held as strong and spaced wrong, with less hairs.
I wish I had seen this video when I first bought my wet palette. I came to the same conclusion: the paper is *not* helpful. Thanks for the tip on using parchment paper!
I actually have a really shallow, pink sandwich lock box I use. I'm going to get some sponge though and upgrade it from using paper. I'm just not sure on the exact type of sponge to get. That one you use the best, cheaper one as well. been recommended it a few times now. I will probably pick one of these up as well, even if just to get a good look and the sponge, and then make my own and sell them to kids at games workshop for 10 quid a pop. ha ha.
A chamois sponge is pretty good and basically what this one is. But to be honest I've since thrown it out (let it get too moldy too many times). Now I just use a few sheets of paper towel so I can refresh it when needed.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial cool. i may just stick to the paper then. is the only benefit of the pre-made you bought the depth, or is the seal really good or something as well?
Considering I swapped out the included paper for parchment, and now have swapped the sponge for paper towel, the only thing I'm actually using from it is the tray. It really is the perfect size and depth, and if you can buy it for $10 or less I think it's worth it. Or if you can find something else that depth then there is no reason to really.
I was hoping he was going to chuck the wet pallet over the shoulder after the into! Still, excellent info/tip. I use distilled water to help prevent mold/smell build up.
I've got a question that doesnt seem to be covered in the video details....is this type of water based wet pallette used only for acrylic/water based paints? Aka, you wouldnt use this method on oil based enamel paints?
Now that you mention it I've seen paint sets sold in containers like this too. Would be a good purchase if you could find a good case that would work that also had paint you wanted anyway.
Wish I would have found this months ago. I bought the exact same pallet, and the extra paper, just as you did, and set them aside after I decided I didn't like them.
Where do you guys find parchment paper that works for this? Every single grocery store I've been to only has non-stick parchment paper that seems to repel basically all water.
It will appear to repel water a bit. Any parchment should work, but avoid wax paper. That’s different and actually does totally repel water. Personally I buy Betty Crocker brand from dollar store because it comes in flat sheets instead of rolls making it easier to cut and use like this.
Why didn't you do this video a couple months ago? I made the exact same mistake and TOTALLY AGREE with you:) Come on Black Magic, stop eating and sleeping and get these videos out faster....LOL Seriously, the tray & sponge are great and just use generic parchment paper:) Great video:)
I tried a wet pallet once and I felt like I immediately lost control over the consistency of my paint. Maybe there's a learning process I wasn't willing to undertake. I might give it another shot.
I feel like this must indicate your palette was far too wet. It shouldn't affect the consistency THAT much, just enough to let it not dry out and add a slight bit of thinning. When thinning your paints you should still need to add some water with your brush.
I like the size and lower depth of the wet pallet you can buy. I usually paint about 2 or 3 times a week, so it doesn't sit for long, then my sponge started to mold from the bottom, has anyone else had this problem? I just switched to paper towels and parchment paper.
Hey Bmc, Just thought I'd drop an experience bomb. Place a penny (copper based) in your palette to make sure mould doesn't build up. I've made my own using a sponge cloth, plastic tomato tray from supermarket, parchment and cling film :)
Pennies are copper and zinc, both of which will leech into the water of the pallette... it disturbs the processes of most kinds of life in high quantities. Some people put a penny in their bird bath for the same reason.
Not for me, the paint i use if really watered down and the wet pallet diesn´t help with that. Once I used it it just made me misjudge the water to colour ratio
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The ever hyped wet palette. Will using one magically make you a better miniature painter? Well, maybe, they certainly help. I’ll discuss what they are, why you should use on, if one is right for you, and how you can make your own to test them out.
If you want to pick up the one I use, you can do so here (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases): amzn.to/2Jr8Sd8
Black Magic Craft Is there any sort of a system (plastic 'grid' perhaps?) that would hold it all down tight to help keep the paints from running together, from the wetness or even from the palette being moved around? I am new to some of this, so forgive me if this is a silly worry. I also live with 2 kids and 4 dogs so...well, you get the picture.
BTW, great channel, I really enjoy watching 😊.
#TwoThinCoats
I have that same wet pallet!
I made my own for just a few bucks. I got a sandwich container and a roll of Betty Crocker parchment paper at Dollarama, and folded three paper napkins to size, interleaved. Cost: about $5-6.
Will this work for humbrol enamels, which I think are oil based, or only water-based acrylics?
Took an old dvd case, with a little tape and glue to seal the edges, it is a nice little wet pallet container. Thought you should have the tip.
I was confused by the term 'parchment paper' which in Britain means something else. I think in Britain this is called 'grease-proof' paper. Find it in the baking section of a food shop.
Lindybeige!....just make sure what you find isn’t “wax paper”, this is different and won’t work. I believe parchment is silicone infused, but unlike wax paper it still allows water to pass through which is crucial.
Aha! I think I might give this a go. One idea that occurs to me is to get a not-so shallow tupperware box, and insert something to raise its floor - perhaps a block of polystyrene foam.
While I have you here, is there a big difference between Modge Podge and the very-much-cheaper PVA glue? Could not PVA glue do much the same job?
If using a tupperware box and you want to raise your paint surface the best thing to do is get a nice thick kitchen sponge to use below the paper. You can probably find something (or cut something) to the perfect thickness for your container.
So the big question about Mod Podge vs PVA glue....is it the same? Yes and no. Mod Podge IS a PVA based sealer but it contains a few extra ingredients that make it better suited for sealing things like foam for terrain. It contains a flow aid that allows it to be applied more evenly and easily without diluting. Not diluting it means you dont sacrifice any strength. It also contains varnish to make it more water resistant. That is important on terrain where you may later soak the piece in a wash, the varnish stops the water in the wash from rehydrating the Mod Podge and creating a mess. PVA glue can have adverse affects at this step. One other difference is that the Mod Podge is far less likely to yellow over time than PVA (only an issue if you use as a topcoat).
So you CAN use diluted PVA in place of Mod Podge if you have to (in some countries it is impossible to find) it's just not as good for my purposes. I am also able to get Mod Podge for a pretty comparable price to PVA so there is no reason for me not to use it.
Be wary of "home made Mod Podge" recipes you find online. They often contain organic materials that will mold over time. If you have to use PVA just dilute it with water.
Thanks! Over here I can get five litres of PVA glue for almost the same price as a quarter of a litre of Modge Podge.
My suspicion is that with a very thick sponge, the water will tend to sink to the bottom of it by sheer virtue of its weight.
A quick tip for those using baker's parchment: When you replace the parchment, put the dry parchment under the sponge/paper towel, then add water. Go away for 10 minutes or so (say, while you're setting up for painting). When you get back, flip the sponge and parchment and the parchment will not curl up at the edges.
FWIW, I don't use the Masterson sponges. This is for two reasons:
1) The sponge is yellow and shows through the parchment too much for me. It can make determining the actual color of your paint harder than it needs to be.
2) If you use paper towel, throw it away whenever you change the parchment. This prevents mold far better than any of the other tricks you'll hear about (copper pennies, for instance).
I've been struggling with that for a while - my interim solution has been to fold the edges under the sponge. Cheers
good call with that flip.. also if you just want to get straight to it, place your parchment on the wet paper, then immediately flip it over to get the other dry side wet. The curl is from one side being wet and one side dry after all.
Thanks for the tip, Doug.
@Lemon First Copper is naturally anti-microbial, so will reduce the growth of a lot of bacteria that would otherwise thrive.
What it does to the plant-based growths like moulds I don't know.
I started painting minis about 8 months ago & didn't start using wet pallets until a few weeks ago. I can not stress enough how much it's improved my painting. I typically only have about 2 hours a day to paint during my work week & it can take a few days to get through a mini. Being able to essentially save my progress and my supplies has been invaluable.
I live in the desert, a wet palette is essential when I'm painting minis!
The best part about your channel is you're Canadian lol I keep going to US channels they are like, "hey you can buy this stuff" I look it up, expensive shipping or super overpriced for Canadians >.< but you know and you help both the Americans and the Canadians
I had a plastic container that I got with lunch meat. It had a tight, snap-on lid. I used some paper toweling I cut to size and made it about a half-dozen sheets thick. I cut parchment paper also to size. Added water into the container to dampen, not soak, the paper towel. It worked wonderfully and improved my miniature painting by 100%. I close the container after a painting session and the paint stays well moistened for days and even after WEEKS, the paint is still damp, but starting to thicken up and not usable.
The wet pallet device is the single greatest aid to painting miniatures I have ever found and used. No hype. No BS. It's a great help.
You're such a natural at explaining in a detailed and encouraging way. Your style is something to be proud of and your videos are a tremendous help. God bless I wish you much success.
Some ideas for really shallow containers. Go to the dollar store and get a cheap makeup pallet for eye shadow or something similar. Or for a small wet pallet, an Altoids tin or multiple Altoids tins. The case for a precision screwdriver set would work too. Hardware stores also have those small "nuts and bolts" containers that you can cut the sections out of with a box cutter. You could also use a semi deep lid and then cover it with the Press 'n Seal plastic wrap in between uses.
I converted to these about ten years ago. When actively painting I often have three of them (one for metallics only) at hand when I'm working multiple miniatures. I started using the rather spendy but awesome sandwich containers with a silicone seal. I've come back to viable paint over a week after sealing it with those.
Been painting minis for a decade but only started using a wet palette about six months ago. It has changed my world and I cannot believe I didn't start using one sooner.
So far I have made three, so far, using sandwich holders. The depth encourages me to use the tip of the brush. Works nicely to separate my pallets for different projects. Cheap and easy way to add organization to my painting.
I made my own recently, I love it! It lets me paint, then if i mess up with a next color, i can come back to the previous and touch up. Even a few days later. :->
In using a container like you showed, I flipped it over. I put the paper on what would be the inside of the lid (Much thinner), and use the 'container' as the lid for my palette. Works great without the 'dipping' or reaching down into the container to get my paint.
Cheers!
Another way to use a deep container which I didn't think of while filming is just to use a thicker sponge.
Exactly what I did and what I came here to type. I use a lunch "sandwich" container with a snap-close lid, upside down!
I thought about that too, but wasn't sure if when it's closed if the moisture from more water in a bigger sponge would effect the paint on the paper. Dunno.
But anyhoo, recently found your channel, great stuff. Not playing D&D at the moment, but really enjoying the craft side of things. Keep up the awesome work!
Cheers!
Ferris928 it does separate the paint a little but a quick mix and you're good to go again I find.
David, I did the same - came here to make the sponge comment. I had a leftover pack of uber cheap sponges from a kid art project that never happened. I think they were 98 cents, and maybe a half inch thick. We use that sponge, parchment paper, and the sandwich sized container. Love it!!!
Your videos make me believe, I can actually do this! Thank you
You can 💪
I have been considering one of these since I got back into painting a few weeks ago. I have not painted D&D minis for 34 years. We are all coming back, it's true. Back in the day I had an extra cup of water on my desk to always add a drop of water from my brush whenever the paint would start to dry and create brush strokes. It took a lot of on hand experimenting to know how much and when to add a little drop of water. I see now I have to get one of these. I like to use multiple thin layers of paint instead of one heavy coat and always have. I love having the internet and channels to further my paint knowledge, something we did not have years ago.
Total game changer and the best thing I ever did to improve the quality of my mini painting. I prefer the homemade version since parchment paper is cheap and you can just pick it up and throw it away when your done. I use a couple layers of paper towel on a pie plate. I never had much of a need for a lid since I paint in sessions and don't mix a lot of custom colors that I need to keep around for days.
So I wish I saw this earlier. I bought the pallet and the 100 sheets of paper and was having a hard time with the paper. So thanks, cause now I understand what a pain they are and why I can throw them out lol
You let me know I can just use parchment paper and made this totally worthwhile. So thanks! Very helpful!
It is worth noting, that having a nice well pallet (or a few) is still useful when you use a wet pallet. They're great for doing test schemes because you can take a photo of the wells and color match to that, and they're good for building washes and texture pastes in.
hey uncle, thx. good tip. i use the shallow plastic, sponge-rag baking paper version, cheap, accesible and a huge difference to just mixing with water. good stuff
Made one at home, worked amazing.
That being said, the thinner the tray the less air would get trapped and the better the paint will be preserved. Just try to find the thinnest "sealed" plastic container you can find.
For the hight of the box I found ideal solution, I use folded silicon lunch box (In Poland you can find it in every mall ) . You can fold it to ~1,5cm (~0,5 inch) you can close it and everything as normal. It sticks to the table cause it is silicon (the weight is decent too) . For me it was a jackpot :). In folded version you can even pour the clean water to the extra "slot" around the sponge/pap. towel area for paint thinning (2 in 1 :) ). I really recommend this if you want to make it yourself.
When making your own, use the lid as your pallete not the deeper...box. So yes, your own home made pallete will sit on its lid, the lid is your pallete, nice and thin so you can get that nice tip on your brush. 👏👏
Love the wet pallet. I made a homemade one a few months ago. I don't do a ton of mini painting but I noticed a huge improvement when I started using the wet pallet. Totally worth the $3.50 I spent to make one. $1 dollar Tupperware $1 paper towels (I happened to be all out that day) and $1.5 for parchment paper.
I'm surprised I haven't seen it here anywhere (but this is an old video so I could have easily missed it. With all the foam you must have laying around and chunks sitting around, it should take about 60 seconds to cut a piece to fit inside your tupperware container and raise the bottom another inch or two (whatever you need), and THEN put your foam and paper on it. I don't think I could find a shallow enough tupperware, but just doing that and voila! You have the perfect depth again!
If your DIY wet palette container is too deep, you can use layers of kitchen sponges (depending on the depth of the container) to make the palette more shallow. I currently use a sandwich container and one layer of sponges. Works great, but I might make another with a larger container to provide more palette "real estate".
I found also a tupper made for sandwiches works great as a wet palette because it's air tight and pretty shallow and the size is pretty good
I use Grocery store parchment paper on folded wet paper towels on a plastic plate. Costs almost nothing and was the best thing I've done for my painting.
Yea, that's all you need really...but if you want to save colours for multi session painting, using a container with a lid is the way to go.
Nice vid, and great info in the comments. I usually use bottle water but I will still put a penny. Another TIP: cut the corner of you pallete paper to make easy to add water. If I don't paint for a few days I will open and add couple caps of water.
I have the exact palette, and also bought the paper. I failed to see the hype and haven't used it in years. I will try it again with the parchment paper. Thanks Jeremy!!
Excellent info, I also made the mistake of buying an extra pack of paper. I recommend buying the sheets of parchment paper instead of the rolls. If you cut the sheets on the fold lines then cut each piece in half they will fit perfectly in the palette. Also, if you soak the parchment paper in hot water for a few minutes, it will stop the paper from curling and will lay perfectly flat.
Yea, I used to have a supply of the individual sheets of parchment paper and it works way better, once I use up my current roll I'm definitely switching back.
If you can find one of those clamshell things for storing baby wipes in a diaper bag, that would work for a wet palette. Currently I'm using a Dollarama container intended as a king of pencil case. It is 1.5 inches high and has a lid with a closure. There is a divider inside so I can store brushes in the one part and use the other part as a wet palette.
Suggestion. Goes for thinning your paints and hydrating your wet palette. Use distilled water. Many times you can get a lot of metals and other chemicals in your tap water. Using distilled water helps slow down mold growth in your palette, and might also prevent color changes in your paint over time. Totally agree with using a wet palette. That, combined with upgrading my brushes, helped me a long ways in my mini painting efforts.
Yea, there is a huge variance in tap water across various places. I've been lucky and had mine sit for a month at a time without mold, but others may encounter issues and distilled water is an easy fix.
A good way to create a wet palette is to use a plastic box or similar designed for cheese. They have some sort of inlay with gaps to let the cheese breath. Put paper towel on the floor and the inlay on top of it, so it creates a flat surface to put the baking paper on it.
I use parchment over 2 layers of felt in a shallow Tupperware. The felt works wonderfully, is super cheap and lasts forever. It's barely stained since it never really dries before I wash it out but you can make quick disposable ones too. When painting with my game group I'll bring plastic disposable plates lined with a circle of felt and parchment paper and use the "press and seal" style of cling wrap to save them between sessions. I use gray felt since it matches my primary and doesn't mess with my perception of colors when mixing but it comes in any other color. If your plan to use it permanently, I recommend washing it out between projects and you can avoid any mold or mildew by using distilled water (or you can boil and cool your water beforehand).
I am new to minature painting (well trying again after a 30 year gap). Instead of trying a wet palette I have brought 10 empty minature paint pots from ebay and I will put thinned acryllic paint in them.
Just a tip on the homemade version. If you get a container that has a deep lid, you can flip it and put the sponge in the lid. That'll save the hassle of having to reach over the container to get to your paint.
I have an old metal thin case that used to hold my charcoal pencils and charcoal sticks. Its thin enough to cut a few paper towel stacked in size and parchment paper and I'm good to go. It works well for me. 😁👌
I made my own wetpallet from a "tupperware" box. It is indead deep, but I just filled it all up with cotton (cottonballs). So it is not so deep anymore. Works perfect.
And for people who do sometimes paint once a week: put a copper penny/cent in between the cotton. It will keep the smell fresh (the moisture will make it smell moldy).
I'm interested on how adding a penny actually works?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_copper
Seams interesting, will have to give it a try.
I like the homemade and the store bought wet pallet. I do not have a problem with either paper. The store wet pallet paper allows you to use more water in the sponge and you can scrub them to remove paint and use them again.
I found that after a while the paper sort of "balled up" if that makes sense.
This is great info. I'm budget none so this helps much as I began painting and it has not been cheap but learning every day! Thank you
You stole my Nana's Easter earings!!!! Wet palette changed my paint game, great video bro.
i made mine from a low, wide tupperware container and used a trimmed down sheet of cellulose foam then a sheet of paper towel to wick moisture from the sponge to the baking parchment i use as my palette surface. It keeps my paint and usable up to two weeks later. cost me nothing other then the old tupperware container and the sponge was from a big bulk bag i picked up for workshop clean-up stuff.
Started using a wet pallet after 4 or so months of painting minis. I just use a 2 inch deep zip-loc container (dept doesn't bother me), and the increased longevity of my paints really helped. I had low brush control so I tended to brush over the same spot multiple times to cover accidental brush strokes. In a situation where you can just pour more paint, it isn't a big deal, but when you had previously mixed paint to get the desired colour it really is a life saver. The only problem I have with a wet pallet is when I over-add water, waiting for paint to thicken can take a while. When this happens though, you can solve it fairly easily by letting a paper towel do a capillary effect from the brush.
Happy are those who live in Merica for they have something EU does not...parchment paper!:-) Like the kind useful for a wet pallet (one side covered). Now, where I live (Poland) we only have baking paper that is covered with a silicon layer on both sides, so it kinda suck ...What I found works best are the leftovers form stickers...the paper you got left when the sticker comes off of it. It is slickly on one side and natural on the other. You just stick it to the sponge or soaked paper towel with the natural side touching the sponge and you go to town from there:-)
What if you use the tupperware upside-down and work on the back of the cover? That would solve the height issue
get a paint caddie from dollarama it comes with a nice built-in one only 3 or 4 bucks just need paper towels and parchment paper I love mine paint caddie
While the paper in a wet palette made for 'Artists' doesn't work well for mini painting; the ones marketed for mini painters (Army Painter and the like) are fine.
My mom always used coffee filters on a sponge when she was tole painting.
Great video. Why do people give a thumbs down? I've thumbed up. But I promise if I ever thumbs down a video I'd also have the moral character explain why.
Because some people are jerks, happens every video no matter what I do.
Thanks for this and all your videos. Our local art and hobby shop charges €27 (about the same in USD) so I'll definitely be making a home-made one.
I made my own and agree, they do make a difference. Even my thinnest container was a bit tall. I used kitchen roll as the base layer, I tried a sponge and it didn't seem to work as well.
Wow another precious gem Jeremy! Great tip, awsome results! Thank you for your passion bro! ;)
Thank you for explaining fully what "Wet Palette's"are for and how to use them and also the Amazon link. Appreciate it!
Excellent commentary! You answered all my questions about wet pallettes. Thank you!
Im making my first minis (orruks from warhammer age of sigmar) these videos are helping me so much and i really appreciate them.
Time to get painting 😄
I will make a wet palette and see if that helps me because right now, painting is so frustrating, and I'm just trying to paint table ready not pr0. Thanks for the vid!
Use the sponge. It raises the palette in the container. Parchment paper is the same as baking paper.
This was a very helpful video. I went out and bought that "special paper." Was too afraid to ask people in the store how to use it. Because pride. So I tried it out with no instructions and was dissatisfied. Now I know it needs a sponge or paper towel beneath it. Lol. Thanks for the tips.
I'm going to make my own, but I'm going to use the lid as the plate and the container as the lid.
Great video. Very informative and kept me from having to read the directions on the Sta-Wet pallet I recently purchased. And since I have a huge roll of parchment paper in the pantry... I can go that route as well.
Mmm... moist.
I have the same pallet you do. Haven’t used the paper it came with I just kept using parchment.
Thanks for this. I've considered several times whether or not to try a wet pallet and I'm also one to stock up on things so it's good to know about the special paper. I think I'll give your homemade one a try first (not something I've considered as possible until your video).
There is nothing to loose when you can likely make one from stuff already in your kitchen.
yes if you place the paper in water and heat in microwave workes great
Have been thinking about one of these for ages will be getting one now thanks for the confidence boost to go ahead, :)
The paper that the Masterson’s wet pallet comes with was designed for artists acrylic the ones that comes in tubes and yes your best bet is to cut out parchment paper, great video 👍🏼
I think I'll try to make use of the masterson's paper when painting terrain with larger quantities of acrylic paint.
Thanks for the info, from the future. As a video game developer, I didn’t have any experience with miniatures. Instead of Masterson’s wet palette, went with Army Painter’s wet palette and its sheets didn’t have prep work. But, the parchment paper idea worked as well. Thanks, again!
@@wordragon thanks for getting back to me
Five videos in and still no painting minis yet. Am I disappointed? No actually. These have been really informative.
I am just getting started and your videos give fantastic advice!! Thanks so much for putting these out!
If you want the same sponge that comes with most WET PALETTES
Look for polyvinyl alcohol (pva) sponge cloth
Not cellulose sponge
Hmmmm... Step one to printing sla printed minis: print a wet pallet!
Not even making my own.
Just purchased it, thx for the link man!
And thanks for using the link!
I just bought the same pallet from Dick Blick. And I too got 3 packs of the paper. Once again a video comes out about wet pallets, a week later.
And I wast money on the paper. LOL the story of my life. I will have to try the parchment paper and see how that compares to the regular paper. thanks for the info dude.
I think the paper would be good for larger quantity paint like it's intended, which means it could be used when painting big terrain pieces.
Newisch Tupperware that's not been through hot water a million times is sturdy enough to set up the pallette in the lid.
Ever think on doing a video on brushes? I just bought a Windsor Newton series 7 and honestly not too impressed and still use the cheap ones from hobby lobby and Walmart. The citadel drybrush however is well worth it.
I honestly just use cheap craft brushes for everything. The only exception is that I bought some high end art brushes that were super super tiny to do eyes.
Black Magic Craft
I know im late, but i have 2 questions and i think you are the best person to ask around.
I have bought size 3/0 AK interactive brush, 2/0 round brush, and 5 smaller sizes Dsler Rowney brushes. Good enough for basic start ?
And local store has 5 brushes for 0.50$ , quality is subpar, but will be good enough for permanent lacquer, right? As those will be literally proly be one-time use.
Edit : actually the brush hairs are exactly the same as my expensive brushes, just not held as strong and spaced wrong, with less hairs.
I wish I had seen this video when I first bought my wet palette. I came to the same conclusion: the paper is *not* helpful. Thanks for the tip on using parchment paper!
I actually have a really shallow, pink sandwich lock box I use. I'm going to get some sponge though and upgrade it from using paper. I'm just not sure on the exact type of sponge to get. That one you use the best, cheaper one as well. been recommended it a few times now. I will probably pick one of these up as well, even if just to get a good look and the sponge, and then make my own and sell them to kids at games workshop for 10 quid a pop. ha ha.
A chamois sponge is pretty good and basically what this one is. But to be honest I've since thrown it out (let it get too moldy too many times). Now I just use a few sheets of paper towel so I can refresh it when needed.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial cool. i may just stick to the paper then.
is the only benefit of the pre-made you bought the depth, or is the seal really good or something as well?
Considering I swapped out the included paper for parchment, and now have swapped the sponge for paper towel, the only thing I'm actually using from it is the tray. It really is the perfect size and depth, and if you can buy it for $10 or less I think it's worth it. Or if you can find something else that depth then there is no reason to really.
I was hoping he was going to chuck the wet pallet over the shoulder after the into! Still, excellent info/tip. I use distilled water to help prevent mold/smell build up.
You could also use a copper cent/penny to prefent the smell.
you could use an old vcr case or a dvd case for this i recon
Great breakdown
Depends on what your doing i use both a dry and wet pallet all the time
I've got a question that doesnt seem to be covered in the video details....is this type of water based wet pallette used only for acrylic/water based paints? Aka, you wouldnt use this method on oil based enamel paints?
Thanks for the tip Jeremy, i'm gonna make one!👍
the tray actually looks like a tray that I got when I bought some...."painting" paint. :) The stuff that comes in the toothpaste like tubes.
Now that you mention it I've seen paint sets sold in containers like this too. Would be a good purchase if you could find a good case that would work that also had paint you wanted anyway.
Wish I would have found this months ago. I bought the exact same pallet, and the extra paper, just as you did, and set them aside after I decided I didn't like them.
Where do you guys find parchment paper that works for this? Every single grocery store I've been to only has non-stick parchment paper that seems to repel basically all water.
It will appear to repel water a bit. Any parchment should work, but avoid wax paper. That’s different and actually does totally repel water.
Personally I buy Betty Crocker brand from dollar store because it comes in flat sheets instead of rolls making it easier to cut and use like this.
I bought non stick parchment and I'm not so sure it works the same as regular...does it matter bc I'd rather not spend the extra $5?
You converted my buddy, so I'm watching your video now
I used the lid of a disposable box witch kept it nice and flat
There’s a decent wet palette on amazon that come with a little parchment paper already for only 8$
Any reason you couldn't just add more paper towel to raise it up closer to the lid? Then you don't have to dip as far down?
Why didn't you do this video a couple months ago? I made the exact same mistake and TOTALLY AGREE with you:) Come on Black Magic, stop eating and sleeping and get these videos out faster....LOL Seriously, the tray & sponge are great and just use generic parchment paper:) Great video:)
Ha! I knew I couldn't be the only one who made this mistake....maybe it's sort of a right of passage.
I tried a wet pallet once and I felt like I immediately lost control over the consistency of my paint. Maybe there's a learning process I wasn't willing to undertake. I might give it another shot.
I feel like this must indicate your palette was far too wet. It shouldn't affect the consistency THAT much, just enough to let it not dry out and add a slight bit of thinning. When thinning your paints you should still need to add some water with your brush.
Too wet very well could have been the issue.
Time to 3d print a palette and see how tht goes
I like the size and lower depth of the wet pallet you can buy. I usually paint about 2 or 3 times a week, so it doesn't sit for long, then my sponge started to mold from the bottom, has anyone else had this problem? I just switched to paper towels and parchment paper.
Lots of people encounter the mold issue, but I've been lucky so far and have let mine sit for over a month without getting mold.
If you don't like the Masterson's sta-wet paper send it to me I will use it all.
Hey Bmc,
Just thought I'd drop an experience bomb.
Place a penny (copper based) in your palette to make sure mould doesn't build up.
I've made my own using a sponge cloth, plastic tomato tray from supermarket, parchment and cling film :)
More than one person has mentioned this....what is the science behind a penny keeping away mold growth?
Black Magic Craft ancient Mayan magic apparently.
All I know is that the copper prevents the mould proteins from forming properly
Pennies are copper and zinc, both of which will leech into the water of the pallette... it disturbs the processes of most kinds of life in high quantities. Some people put a penny in their bird bath for the same reason.
NordboDK thank you for the science
under $10??? try $70+ here in Australia... off to the plastic tubs aisle at reject shop I instead I think!
Have you checked out Privateer Presses wet pallets?
Not for me, the paint i use if really watered down and the wet pallet diesn´t help with that. Once I used it it just made me misjudge the water to colour ratio
Hello Black Magic Craft,
I'm just starting. Would silicone coated baking paper work?
Baking paper is what you want, I'm not sure if it's normally silicone coated. I do know that what you want to avoid is WAX paper.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial Thanks a lot. I know about wax paper, but all I can find in my local stores is silicone coated baking paper...
I just checked, and the stuff I use IS silcone!
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial awesome! Thank you so much!