Miniature paint palette. Which one is made for you?

If you paint a miniature or scale model, you are probably wondering about painting palette. Which one can I use? What’s a dry palette? Is a wet palette good for me? One thing is certain, acrylic paints dry quickly, and you need a proper surface to mix your paint. Each palette has its purpose. Read on for why you need a good palette for miniature painting.

WHAT IS A PALETTE ?

A palette is a surface used for mixing paint, ink and all kind of medium, varnish and such.

DRY PALETTE:

A dry palette is a surface made of paper, wood, plastic or even glass used to put acrylic paints on.  It is called a dry palette because there is no hydration system. You have to add water to your paint in order to keep it from drying too fast. If you are using only a dry palette, you will have to work quickly!  Acrylic paints dry quicker than you think, unless you are using a micro drop of paint, you will waste a lot of acrylic paints. It is also harder to use painting technics like blending or dry brushing with a dry palette.

WHY DO I NEED ONE?

It is the first palette you will ever own and even if you switch to a wet palette, you will always come back to your dry palette for a specific use!

Depending on your needs, you may use a flat surface or a well palette.

well palette “wavy”


Paper sheet

I find the well palette very useful for inks, washes and highly diluted paints ( 15/1 ratio and up) but I always have a flat one around (paper sheets or plastic palette) for mixing varnish with acrylic paints or glue. Why? because varnish or glue is not easily removed from a well palette. It is much simpler to clean a flat surface, or if you are using a paper sheet, you can easily throw it away.

WET PALETTE:

A wet palette, on the other hand, is a more advanced type of palette. The hydration system is composed of 3 parts: a case, a foam pad, and a paper sheet. The idea is to keep your acrylic paint moisturize and workable for long. How does it work? The paper sheet can absorb water from a reservoir (sponge, foam). The moisture diffuses up into the acrylic paint to keep it from drying out too fast.


WHY DO I NEED ONE?

Save your paint, save your money. The hydration system will keep your paint wet and workable for hours. Wet palette with lid is even better, you just have to close it after your session, and a few hours or even a few days later the paint will still be usable, just mix the paint a little bit ( pigments separate from the medium over time. mix it, and you are good to go).

It is by far, the most used palette by miniature painter because it allows you to execute advanced techniques like wet blending, glazing and many more.

Worry-free! Since your paint is workable for long, you can focus on your painting. You don’t have to worry about your paint drying too fast like with a dry palette.


wet blending made easy with Everlasting wet palette


WHICH PALETTE FOR MINIATURE PAINTING?

Wet palette: Everlasting wet palette is the best choice for miniature painting. It is used by thousands of painters and hundreds of talented pro-painters, youtubers around the world.

Dry palette:  The well palette “wavy” comes as an accessory for the Everlasting wet palette (included in the complete pack) and is really useful as a side palette for mixing inks and shades.


If you paint a miniature or scale model, you are probably wondering about painting palette. Which one can I use? What’s a dry palette? Is a wet palette good for me? One thing is certain, acrylic paints dry quickly, and you need a proper surface to mix your paint. Each palette has its purpose. Read on for why you need a good palette for miniature painting.

miniature-paint-palette-mantic-dry-wet

 

WHAT IS A PALETTE ?

A palette is a surface used for mixing paint, ink and all kind of medium, varnish and such.

DRY PALETTE:

dry palette is a surface made of paper, wood, plastic or even glass used to put acrylic paints on.  It is called a dry palette because there is no hydration system. You have to add water to your paint in order to keep it from drying too fast. If you are using only a dry palette, you will have to work quickly!  Acrylic paints dry quicker than you think, unless you are using a micro drop of paint, you will waste a lot of acrylic paints. It is also harder to use painting technics like blending or dry brushing with a dry palette.

WHY DO I NEED ONE?

It is the first palette you will ever own and even if you switch to a wet palette, you will always come back to your dry palette for a specific use!

Depending on your needs, you may use a flat surface or a well palette.

A dry palette is ancient painting technology. It may be any surface that you can place acrylic paint on before applying it to a model. The dry palette is “dry” in that there is no extra moisture coming from the palette itself. This kind of palette could be wood, glass, ceramic, or metal. A dry palette for painting miniatures allows an artist to place paint on a “working surface”. This provides an opportunity for the painter to adjust the loaded paint on the brush. Read on for more details on why a dry palette is important for painting miniatures. And, in many cases, superior to a wet palette.

well palette “wavy”

Paper sheet

I find the well palette very useful for inks, washes and highly diluted paints ( 15/1 ratio and up) but I always have a flat one around (paper sheets or plastic palette) for mixing varnish with acrylic paints or glue. Why? because varnish or glue is not easily removed from a well palette. It is much simpler to clean a flat surface, or if you are using a paper sheet, you can easily throw it away.

 

 

 

WET PALETTE:

A wet palette, on the other hand, is a more advanced type of palette. The hydration system is composed of 3 parts: a case, a foam pad, and a paper sheet. The idea is to keep your acrylic paint moisturize and workable for long. How does it work? The paper sheet can absorb water from a reservoir (sponge, foam). The moisture diffuses up into the acrylic paint to keep it from drying out too fast.

 

WHY DO I NEED ONE?

Save your paint, save your money. The hydration system will keep your paint wet and workable for hours. Wet palette with lid is even better, you just have to close it after your session, and a few hours or even a few days later the paint will still be usable, just mix the paint a little bit ( pigments separate from the medium over time. mix it, and you are good to go).

It is by far, the most used palette by miniature painter because it allows you to execute advanced techniques like wet blending, glazing and many more.

Worry-free! Since your paint is workable for long, you can focus on your painting. You don’t have to worry about your paint drying too fast like with a dry palette.

blending-wet-palette-miniature-painting

wet blending made easy with Everlasting wet palette


WHICH PALETTE FOR MINIATURE PAINTING?

Wet palette: Everlasting wet palette is the best choice for miniature painting. It is used by thousands of painters and hundreds of talented pro-painters, youtubers around the world.

Dry palette:  The well palette “wavy” comes as an accessory for the Everlasting wet palette (included in the complete pack) and is really useful as a side palette for mixing inks and shades.

painter-palette-painter-redgrassgames
Painter Wet Palette Complete Pack