Monthly Feature: Paint Palettes: Wells, Flat or Wet?

There are many things that a beginner is told not to worry about when they first enter the hobby. Many of the tools that experienced painters take for granted aren’t essential to the painting of miniatures. It is possible to produce superbly painted miniatures with the most basic of tools.

Paint palettes are one of the basic tools that all painters need. Many people start with just a basic flat palette, anything white and non-porous will do. White ceramic tiles are very popular with beginners and veterans alike. It isn’t necessary to ever advance beyond the flat palette, many don’t and still achieve impressive results.

However, there is more to the world of paint palettes than the simple white ceramic tile. There are disposable palettes, tile palettes, improvised palettes, plastic and metal palettes, even miniature plastic versions of the large wooden palettes traditionally associated with oil painters. All of these variations can be grouped into two broad categories: Flat palettes and palettes with paint wells.

Flat palette

Flat Palettes

Flat palettes are exactly as they are described: Flat surfaces where paint is mixed and thinned. They are easy to improvise; white paper placed in a clear plastic bag will work fine in a pinch. Flat palettes are useful because drops of paint can be applied to the surface and mixed as needed. Generally a brush-load or two of paint is mixed from the drops at a time unless drying retarder is used. When paint is mixed on a flat palette is spreads out and the high surface area and thin layer of paint equal a quick drying time.

It doesn’t end there. Despite their simple concept advanced designs are possible. Gaining popularity in recent years amongst fiction skirmish gamers who tend to work harder on individual miniatures because their games don’t require more than 4-12 figures a side is the wet palette.

Wet palettes are flat palettes that have a wet surface to keep paint from drying. They have three main components: a container, usually wide and shallow which holds the other two components; an absorbent material, such as a sponge, saturated with water; and a water-permeable top layer which keeps the absorbent material from sucking up the paint and locking it away. Water moves through the water-permeable top layer and hydrates the paint.

This counters the tendency of flat palettes to quickly dry paints. This means it is possible to mix a new colour and have it stay workable, referred to as open, longer. One technique that advanced painters use with the wet palette is to blend two separate drops of paint together, creating a gradient on the palette that the painter can access as he creates a blend on the figure. The paint stays open, even when in a very thin layer, letting the painter control which shade of the gradient he wants to apply. With a normal palette it is difficult to consistently mix a subtle shift from one colour to another if the mixed colour keeps drying out and needs to be re-created.

All types of flat palettes allow painters to work with very small amounts of paint easily. They do not handle large quantities of paint very well, as mixing a large quantity of paint spreads it out, drying it quickly, taking up a lot of room, and making it hard to mix it properly so that it has a consistent colour throughout.

The only disadvantage of the wet palette over the standard flat is that it requires more care. The water and sponge must be changed and disinfected to avoid growing bacteria and mold, and the water-permeable layer must be changed as it slowly stains with the paints used.

Palette with paint wells.

Paint Wells

Palettes with small wells or depressions for paints are more common outside the miniatures painting world. They are sold in most craft or art supply stores and are generally inexpensive. I prefer a white plastic rather than a silver metal or disposable plasticized paper style. The white helps me see the colours and the plastic is more durable than plasticized paper, which are meant as disposable palette and thus wasteful anyway. The palette I use is round with a number of wells around the circumference and a large, circular flat area in the middle. I like this because I generally work with one colour at a time and rotate the palette so that colour is within easy reach, while the central area acts as a flat palette to handle small quantities of paint.

Any style will work, although if the paint wells are too small it may be difficult to get the most out of this type of palette. This is because palettes with paint wells are best for mixing up large batches of consistently mixed paints. The paint is held in a small area by the sloped walls of the paint well. When it is mixed it falls back into the bottom of the well, making it easier to get a consistent mix. It doesn’t dry out too fast because there is little exposed surface area to volume.

The advantage of being able to mix large batches is best realized when painting large batches of figures. It is possible to mix enough paint to last an entire session and multiple figures. This is essentially when paint large armies quickly as the painter can work on applying the paint, not playing with it on his palette. My army painting speed increased dramatically when I discovered the paint well palette.

The disadvantage of the paint well palette is that each well is one colour. This makes it more difficult to mix a lot of intermediate colours needed for advanced painting styles. If the palette only has six wells it also means it must be washed after 6 colours. This makes in inefficient to mix small batches of paint in paint wells.

The Winner

There is no clear winner, each palette has its strengths and weaknesses. The real winner is the painter, since each type of palette is inexpensive or easy to make/scavange there is no reason not to have one of each.

Tyler

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