Reddit mentions: The best palettes & palette cups

Highly recommend at least one Kolinsky hair brush. Really helps early on to have at least one brush that cooperates. Kolinsky hair brushes snap back to a point well and allow a consistent flow of water thinned paint. Makes them ideal for base coating, shading with ink washes, details and highlighting. With proper care and cleaning highend Kolinsky brushes can last years.

You'll also want some cheap synthetic brushes. Use them for drybrushing, varnishing, or working with basing texures. The nature of these steps tends to wear out natural fiber brushes quickly, so you don't want to spend alot. Just grab a cheap set of "Gold Taklon" from your local wally world, craft store or similar. Gold Taklon isn't a brand name of brush, it's the type of synthetic fibers. You'll want a set with some small, flat brushes for dry-brushing.

Went a little crazy and bought my other half a collection of brushes from around the world in a variety of sizes for her birthday. https://i.imgur.com/1jmHpxX.jpg

• England - Windsor and Newton Cotman - Synthetic
  
• England - Windsor and Newton Series 7 - Kolinsky
  
• Germany - Da Vinci Series 10 - Kolinsky
  
• Ohio - ZEM - Kolinsky
  
• Japan - Connoisseur - Kolinsky
  
• France - Raphael - Kolinsky
  
• Spain - Escoda - Kolinsky
  
• New Jersey - Princeton - Synthetic
  
  We also have and have used quite a few:
  
  
• Army Painter - Synthetics and Natural non-Kolinsky Sable
  
• Lots of walmart and craft store cheap brushes
  
  What we've learned ... ANY good brand Kolinsky is night and day better for miniature painting with water thinned acrylics than synthetics. That's not to say a great and experienced painter can't do well with a bag full of 20 brushes for $2. But as relatively inexperienced painter a good brush helped both of up out tremendously.
  
  
  --------------
  
  Actually I'm just going to copy/paste a supply list I sent a friend a few weeks ago if you want more details/links on some useful amazon/ebay supplies.
  
  --------------
  
  TL;DR Brush options - Prices seem to fluctuate on brushes on amazon, alot. The nice Kolinsky brushes range from a bit above $10 each to a little under $30 each.
  
  
• Budget Kolinsky Set - Size 4, 2, 0, and 10/0 - $20-$25 -
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kolinsky-Pure-Sable-Acrylic-Nail-Brush-Detail-Set-AS-84-Sizes-10-0-0-2-4-/182798505865
  
• Quality English Traditional Kolinsky Round - Series 7 - Size 2 and Optionally Size 0 - $12-$20 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YQG9ZK
  
• Quality German Slim Kolinsky Round - Size 2 and Optionally Size 1 - $15-$25 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PHBDFE/
  
• Quality German Travel Kolinsky Round - Size 2 and Optionally Size 1 - Around $25 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00409HA6O/
  
  ---------------
  
  Brush Rinsing - Every Time you go back for paint, you rinse first, ensuring paint doesn't fully dry in the brush. Rinsing regularly goes a long way to letting your Kolinsky brushes last years. Choose the size rinsing container that best fits your work area. Not much reason for both.
  
  
• Large Tub with 3 sections and cleaning ridges. - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019IKYU8/
  
• Small Container with 2 sections and lid. - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009VJ6LWM/
  
• Alternatively, use 2 old mugs. One for rinsing the brush, one for fresh to thinning your paints.
  
  
  Brush Cleaning - Just takes a minute or two at the end of the painting session. Ensures no paint cures on the brush and misshapes the hairs.
  
  
• The Masters Brush Cleaner - https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Cleaner-Preserver-Ounces-Carded/dp/B0027AEANE/
  
  Palettes
  
  
• Wet Palette - Keeps paint color mixes fresh and consistent. Helps keep paint at a nice thin consistency so it doesn't blob on. - https://www.amazon.com/Sta-Wet-Palette-Keeps-Paints-Airtight/dp/B000C18GTE/
  
• Plastic Palette - For washes - https://www.amazon.com/Fun-Express-Paint-Plastic-Palettes/dp/B005DS6N9Q/ Just search Amazon for "Plastic Palette" or go into a craft store or Walmart. They have a large variety of these things for super cheap.
  
• Palette paper - If you aren't into the extra steps involved in maintaining a wet palette, you can use a pad of throw away palette paper. https://www.amazon.com/Citadel-Palette-Pad-Games-Workshop/dp/B00Q0GXEO2/
  
• Alternatively, use some thin cardboard stock... like a cut box of cereal.
  
  Brushes -
  You want/need some Pure Kolinsky Sable Hair brushes for most base coating, details and washes. They not only keep a sharper point than synthetics, they paint also flows out of the brush at a much more controlled rate. Doing things over again, I would have bought one or two quality Kolinsky brushes much, much sooner. It would have really saved a lot of much frustration.
  
  Brush Details....
  Disposable - Simple Nylon
  
  
• Plaid (Makers of Mod Podge) - Fine Detail Set - $3 for a set of 10 - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plaid-10-Piece-Detail-Round-Brush-Set/22086220
  
• No need to worry about cleaning them. Eventually toss them or use them for basing grit/mud.
  
• This kit is worth it for the flat dry brushes alone as they can be really hard to clean.
  
• Good for things like finishing paint on gloss or matte varnishes that otherwise destroy brushes.
  
• Also nice for throw away loaners.
  
  Utility - Complex Mix of Synthetic Fibers intended to mimic Sable hair
  
  
• Winsor & Newton Cotman Quality Synthetics - Set - https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Handle-Stroke/dp/B000OVVJ6O/
  
• Nice little kit that includes a decent range of 3 synthetic round brushes for base coating and detail work. Along with a big drybrush.
  
• Reusable zipper case helps as well when starting out. and has room for a few more brushes.
  
• Best Synthetic I've used, but it's still no match for the real thing.
  
• Good for specialty paints that might damage natural brushes with too much use or durable loaners for friends.
  
  Hobby Grade - Natural Sable Hair (But not Kolinsky Sable)
  
  
• Army Painter Wargamer Series - Made in Europe
  
• Regiment - Best non-kolinsky base coating and ink washing brush I've found. - https://www.miniaturemarket.com/amybr7007.html
  
• Character - Detail work - https://www.miniaturemarket.com/amybr7006.html
  
• These are the white ones with triangular handle.
  
• Durable, useful, decent paint flow, but no where near as fine and strong a point as the Kolinsky hair.
  
• Might even be able to get them at a local gaming store.
  
  Kolinsky - Budget
  
  
• ZEM - Made in Campbell, Ohio - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kolinsky-Pure-Sable-Acrylic-Nail-Brush-Rounds-Series-3200/171320405673
  
• These are as cheap as decent Kolinsky brushes come. Not as sharp a point as the Winsor & Newton or Da Vinci below, but noticeably better than any synthetic I've tried.
  
• Sizes 4 or 3 for Base Coating and washing. For details a size 1 or 0.
  
• At these prices, you get a whole set of 3 or 4 for the cost one of the imports below.
  - Update: These have been my goto brushes for more than a couple weeks now. Leaving the higher end brushes for my better half, as she's the better painter. I still grab a W&N7 or Da Vinci if I'm doing an extremely tiny detail, like eyes, or attempts at freehand. Really loving the Size 3-1. Size 0... I'd rather use a small W&N7/DV if I have that much detail to hit.
  
• Unlike the W&N/Da Vinci though. It's showing some signs of wear after around 2 dozen models and at least as many fancy plastic bases. With the non-Kolinsky brushes, I would have gone through half a dozen brushes in the same workload. The W&N/DV aren't showing any wear with my other half's similar workload.
  
  Kolinsky - English Traditional
  
  
• Winsor & Newton Series 7 - Round - Made in England - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YQG9ZK/
  
• These are used by so many youtube painters far better than myself.
  
• Get a Size 2 and/or 1. Because the point stays very sharp. It works for everything from base coating and detail work alike. Optionally, a size 0 or a "Miniature" Size 1, 2 or 3 for extreme details.
  
• According to many with more experience than us in miniature painting.... A single size 2 could be all you need for many years with good care.
  
  Kolinsky - German Travel
  
  
• da Vinci - Maestro Travel - Kolinsky Round (Series 1503) - Made in Germany - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00409HA6O/
  
• Travel style to protect your brushes while in storage or in your pocket headed to a friend's place or shop to paint.
  
• Doesn't hold as much paint as the W&N7 above. Another way to look at it is they run about a size smaller than the W&N. Just as sharp a point. Some say sharper.
  
• Get a Size 2 and/or Size 3. Optionally Size 1 for extreme details. (Remember, they run a little smaller than the W&N Series 7)
  

Having been painting for almost a year and still getting slightly better each week, I'd strongly recommend that if you want a 'collector's set' that you get some painting practice first.

It's a great hobby, but your first models will be messy. Heck, my last models have been messy. There is ample tutorials online, some official warhammer ones to, by Warhammer TV on youtube, but it would be unlikely that you will be a perfect painting right from the get-go.

Might be worth booking some painting sessions with your local GW, as that is something they can do. But if you want one brilliant army in battle against a few others, then maybe you could practice on one of its enemies. Stormcast and Blades of Khorne have the most (i think) official tutorials online, so you could get some of them to practice on.

Cost wise, excluding miniatures themselves, you would be looking at 3 or 4 brushes at minimum. The cost can vary greatly, Citadel (GW brand) tend to be sub-par. This isn't me GW bashing, I genuinely have tried a couple options and found them to be this way. I would highly highly recommend these though:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0013E68T4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I got the size 00 and size 1, and although the size 1 is big enough, it keeps a great point that you can use it as a detail brush. My 00 hasn't kept it's point, but still very good. Also, if you are doing Seraphon, you will need a drybrush. Normal brushes get wrecked after a few dry brushes. If you haven't heard, drybrushing is really good at bringing out raised detail in your models, particularly good with scales.

Wet palette is very useful, it will minimise your paint loss. Again, here is one I bought, but you can DIY one for yourself pretty easily with some kitchen towels and baking paper or something like that: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00J0CN8ZS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

Pretty optional, but a good LED lamp with a flexible head would be a god send. You won't realise how yellow your lights are until you see a good LED lamp.

For working with plastics, you need some cutters, a file, a mouldline remover is pretty good too. GW does all of these, but again, premium price. You can probably get equally good versions elsewhere for less if you look around.

Also will need super glue and plastic glue. Superglue won't ruin paint, plastic glue will melt it but gives a better hold in the long run. Usually for trickier models, you might paint it first before assembling some of the more awkward bits. Bad explanation, but for example I left my shields off my models so that I can paint their arms. Then I superglue them on to not ruin the paint.

Do you have a specific budget? The following brands have always been good for me. These are all acrylic paints:




* Golden (duh...this is the creme de la creme of acrylics. I've only used their fluids but they're most well known for their heavy body.) This set is a solid option, but this is even better





* Galería (best student grade I've worked with) This kit includes paint, brushes, and canvas paper and so may be an ideal option for a beginner.





* DecoArt 1-Ounce Traditions Acrylic Palette Sampler -- great professional grade paint for the price and a solid color selection and two mediums -- one which slows the dry time and a glaze.





Finally, although they aren't my preference, many people ADORE Liquitex Basics and it is used by even professional artists. With that in mind the Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint-It! Kit provides a great color selection with a larger white tube (definitely needed, I go through white like crazy, most artists do), paint brushes, a palette knife, a palette, and a canvas board. This is definitely a solid option and really a bargain.





I paint almost exclusively with round and filbert brushes (I like Royal & Langnickel's Zen line), but a good, low cost variety pack with flats, filbert and round would be a good option.

Not the person you're replying too, but about 3 months ago I moved over to a bought wet palette from DIY ones so got some insight on that.

I started with wet palettes on ones chucked together with some sponge and a bit of parchment paper in one of those generic tuppers you tend to get take aways from. That worked okay but the seal wasn't perfect so it wouldn't stay that wet overnight (worked fine for during the painting session, but keeping mixes for the next day wasn't really an option) and the taller sides were really annoying to have to reach down into the box to get the paint.

The next step up for me was the round tub some Tangfastics came in. It had lower sides and a bigger area, but the shape was annoying and it suffered from the same imperfect seal as the tupper. It's just something that comes with those plastic tubs that aren't meant to be perfectly water tight.

The next move up was the plastic box that GW tufts come in. That worked really well, for a box that's not advertised as being water tight it really is. Worked amazingly, but suffered from a tiny surface area to work on so needed near constant changing of the paper. Fine if you're working on a lot of models at once in an assembly line style so just need the one colour to stay wet for ages whilst you apply it to all the models then you can move on to the next colour or if you're working with a limited colour palette, but any big projects were difficult to work with. That being said, the small size is great for using as a travel palette and if I'm travelling but want to paint or going down for a painting session at the local hobby store I'll bring one of those.

I eventually caved in and bought a palette, this one here Frisk Standard Deluxe Palette Box, Nylon/A, One Size for about £15, and that's what I'm currently using. The massive size (bigger than any DIY one I've used or seen anyone using) is great for working either with lots of colours at once or just having the paper last a few days over a project or two. It also seals perfectly airtight, with a rubber ring type thing around the lip of the lid to get a perfect seal, so the paint is always just right the next day, possibly even a few days if I leave it and don't paint for a couple of days. The walls are also fairly low, not as low as the Citadel tuft box but that thing is tiny, which makes it comfortable to work with. The lid doesn't fit underneath it quite properly so you can't rest it on the lid whilst working, but I just pop the lid down the side of my desk whilst I work. The lid is also a really smooth plastic with no logos or ridges in it so when I'm working with metallics or inks I'll pop the lid on the palette and use that as my dry palette, which is more convenient than having to keep a dimple palette nearby because it's got a big graphic on the lid like the Masterson's one does. I'll probably never move back to a DIY wet palette besides for the Citadel tuft box when I travel (honestly those things are so small it's so convenient for travel). It doesn't come with any sponge or paper mind, the only downside to it I guess but given you're likely to chuck out the paper and eventually have to ditch the sponge anyway due to it getting nasty that's no bother, I just use some folded over paper towel and some parchment paper, replacing the paper towel probably every other day (another thing I particularly like about this wet palette is the width is almost exactly the same as a sheet of paper towel and pretty much the same length as one and a half sheets so three sheets folded over fits perfectly in it so no need to cut any paper towels down to size) .

Realistically the function is the same between DIY and bought, during your painting session the paint will stay wet for longer and give you more working time. The difference comes in how well it seals, size/working area, ergonomics, and the convenience and I con 100% say that a bought one is way more convenient, a lot more comfortable to work with, has way more working area, and seals much much better. I'd say if you have a tighter budget or don't paint loads then there are more priority things to spend on to improve your painting experience, like paints or good brushes, but if you're happy to drop £15 on a palette, paint a lot (so ergonomics in important), or paint slow/like to take your time/like to take breaks (so a good seal is important) then it's well worth upgrading to a bought one.

Well, flake white is one color you'd want to avoid. It's made with lead. Gamblin makes a flake white replacement that's supposed to be very good, though, with all of flake white's handling properties but without the lead.

Cadmium colors are toxic but only if you breath or ingest the pigment directly. Wash your hands after you use it, and if you have to sand down a painting with cadmium in it, take it outside and wear a good filter mask.

For a medium, linseed oil or walnut oil + a really clean odorless mineral spirit like Gamsol would be a good bet. Mix them about half and half. Instead of keeping a big jar of it open, just get a little medium cup like this one and you'll have, at most, only an ounce of it out at a time. If you don't even want that much you can try an alkyd medium like Liquin, Galkyd, or Neo-Megilp. With pretty much all my paints, I mix in a few drops of walnut oil into them when I first squeeze them from the tube, as that not only helps loosen them up but also slows the drying time a bit; because they've already got that bit of extra oil, I don't need to use a ton of medium, so I've usually only got a couple of teaspoons of the stuff out at a time, whichever one I'm using.

For cleaning your brushes, you can also just use straight linseed oil while you work; just keep a container of it handy, dip your brush in, and wipe it out on a paper towel. (I like these Scott shop cloths as they're specifically made to soak up oil well.) It's not going to get all the paint out, so you'll want to have plenty of brushes so you can swap them out between colors, but it'll keep any paint that's left in there from drying out right away. If money is an issue you can use mineral oil or baby oil for cleaning, just make sure you get it all out of the brush before you pick up a new color. I did this for awhile when I first started and didn't want to invest a ton of money; getting some of that oil into the paints probably didn't do any good for the longevity of those paintings, but they were just shitty ones I was doing to learn how to use the paint anyway so it doesn't matter.

At the end of the day you can just wash them out in warm water and a good brush cleaning soap like Pink Soap from Speedball or Studio Soap from Richeson. (When I clean mine, I take them outside and give them a quick swish in some odorless mineral spirits, shake out the excess, and then bring them back in to wash. Since the OMS gets out most of paint, I don't need a special soap to finish them, I can just use baby shampoo to finish them off. That keeps pretty much all the OMS I use outside where I don't have to breathe it, and makes the final washing go very quickly.)

Paint: There's no shame in starting out with a nice basic paint set. Liquitex will do just fine. That texture look (impasto) can be done with modeling paste and then painted on top of. He might have fun experimenting with it.

Palette: If you want something disposable, gray palette paper will work with both acrylics and oil paints if he plans on experimenting more later on. Otherwise a sheet of beveled Plexiglass or plastic will work as a palette. (Personally I just use old plastic ice cream lids and plasticware.) If acrylic paint dries on these you can chip it off or heat it with a hairdryer and then peel it off. For the love of everything in this world, do NOT buy him those plastic palettes that have all the goddam paint wells from hell.

Brushes: 3-5 Nice brushes are better than a cheap set of brushes. (IF he's going to take good care of them.) If he's planning on using heavy body acrylics without thinning them out, you'll want the bristles a bit rougher. I would stick with brush sizes between 12-24. Large brushes are your friend. I'd get him a nice flat, angle, and round. If he finds himself favoring a particular type it'll give him insight for buying his next brush. Edit: have one of these brushes be softer. Story here is that variety is the spice of life and he's going to figure out what he likes best.

Canvases: Buy a pack of canvas paper along with 1 pre-gesso'd canvas of whatever size and shape you'd like. Make sure your canvas paper is a decent size (at least 11x14), since he can always cut the paper down.

Easel: Do yourself a favour and don't buy an easel. Let him pick it out if he wants one.

I dabble in urban sketching a bit, so maybe I can offer some input.

For pens, I use a fountain pen (lamy Safari) with waterproof noodler's ink. Occasionally I'll use semi-waterproof ink for interesting bleeding effects. Other options are microns and copic multi liners. For more dynamic lines the pentel pocket brush is great.

As far as sketchbooks I've tried the moleskine you mentioned, strathmore' s hardcover journals, and stillman and birn's beta, delta, and zeta series. The moleskine was okay, but the paper was thin and warped easily. The strathmore journal had a high cellulose content and didn't readily absorb the watercolor in my experience. The stillman and birn are my favorite, specifically the delta, as I loved the warmth of ivory paper. They also offer softcover and wire bound if those are your thing.

For a palette, I'd say it's going to be hard to find one that will fit both 24 colors as well as all your accessories. The tin you linked and other bijou-type boxes are better suited for limited palettes. This can hold that amount and you can probably stuff your water brush and sponges etc in the middle space. It has about the same length as the moleskine sketchbooks, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to carry around. Honestly, I don't think it's too big of a compromise to carry your brushes and stuff separately. I personally use this and cart it with all my waterbrushes, pens and stuff in a small zippered pouch. If you don't mind bulk, weight, and price, this could fit a lot inside.

Yeah I think Dawnstone would be a good base to try. Maybe pair it with administratum gray?

​

I personally use a wet palette but I would suggest one of those cheap paint palettes if all you're doing are these 2 colors. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Outus-Palettes-Rectangular-Watercolor-Painting/dp/B074CX7DZC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1542130885&sr=8-5&keywords=small+paint+palette

​

Priming color really shouldn't matter that much as your base color will cover it all, but here are the pros and cons of both:

White: Takes far less layers to give good paint coverage if you're painting with lighter colors. The downside is if you have hard to reach areas it will be blatantly obvious if you missed any.

Black: Forgiving for hard to reach areas and easier to work with for dark colors.

What I do, though I don't know how much it will help here, is prime black, then prime again with white (or gray) from just the top. This gives you kind of the best of both worlds since your highlight areas (bright colors) will be white, and your shadow areas (dark colors) will be black. And it helps give you ideas of where to place your highlights and shadows. Like this WIP shot I took recently (ignoring the feathers): Dragonfly Shinto WIP

​

The palettes I ordered are a Meeden 24 half-pan travel palette, and a Whiskey Painters 8 half-pan flask palette(which I have in my hands right now, actually.). As far as palettes go, I also have a 33-well plastic Master's Touch airtight palette that I use for my home-palette for paintings. I wanted something that I could take with me very easily, that was small, and ideally something light, but most importantly durable. I also wanted the choice between having a lot of colors(hence the Meeden) to choose from, and something that limited my colors and could fit in my pocket(the Whiskey Painters). My plan is to stock the Meeden with a full selection including convenience colors, and have the Whiskey Painter stocked with a Primaries Only palette(both CMY and RYB) so I have to mix my own intermediates and such since I need practice with color mixing.

​

Is the Schmincke ultramarine non-granulating? I haven't heard anything about their paints... I heard that Holbein has a really nice non-granulating Ultramarine I've been looking into.

​

Also, by 'technical' I didn't really mean stuff like architectural or really mathematically technical illustrations. I don't really know the word for the kind of illustration I do, but I like to try and put as much depth and texture in my illustrations as I can, but I prefer to use contrast and light values to create it, rather than relying on the paint to do it for me. Most of what I learned about how to handle watercolors I've learned through trial and error, practicing Sumi-e, a single book on Fantasy painting, and watching every single Bob Ross "Joy Of Painting" video and trying to translate what that video had over to watercolor from oil.

​

Edited to add a few details that I skipped out on. Still new to Reddit.

Oh absolutely. I know it's an expensive hobby, and we often buy cool/great tools that are just wayyy more expensive than they should be. Side note, you can definitely use a plastic ice cube tray as a palette. The challenge you'll run into is that the paint dries quickly (when not using a wet palette) and acrylic paint is super tedious to remove off of plastic when it dries! BUT - if you can find it cheaply, then it's definitely a good way to do it.

Another option are to use something like THESE

They're super cheap, and I still have some I haven't even used leftover from almost 2 years ago. not bad for a couple of bucks!

I'd add one step to this instructional - dump excess water from the palette once the paper towel has been sitting for a couple of minutes. Other than that it's a nice setup. A square flat tupperware works nicely as well. When the lid is sealed it keeps paint and water from drying out for days or a week. These sponges are my favorite for using in a palette.

Yes you will have to thin the paint to the consistency desired, the palette just keeps it from drying out. Flow aid is another useful additive to break the surface tension of water and let the paint flow more easily from the brush. You can do both with a 50/50 mix of water and rubbing alcohol to save a bit of money.

One of the Vallejo starter kits would get you a good assortment of paints, something like this. Brushes, I always buy locally from a "real" artists' supply store because you can't tell if they're any good from looking at the picture on a web site. I'd say start with a #0 and #2 round, and maybe a 5/0 dotter. Get some kind of palette, a roll of paper towels to clean your brushes on, and maybe some primer in a spraycan from a local hardware store, and you're good to go.

To start up, you'll need a few basic things. The Bob Ross Master Piece Set has the majority of what you need (paint, knife, brushes), then you'll want a big plexiglass palette for mixing the paints. Finally, you'll need an easel to hold a canvas. I can personally recommend this one from Blick if you have one near you. Hope that helps, if you get into it, be sure to sub to r/HappyTrees to share your work!

I bought two and one inch brushes from Home Depot, and they seem to work just fine. I bought this set of oil paints ($17) which had all the important colors. I buy these canvases from walmart ($3 a piece). Other supplies you need are odorless turpenoid, a fan brush, liquid white, palette, and you probably want an easel. I bought pretty much the cheapest things I could find, and so far they are working just fine! I do not recommend getting the Bob Ross master set thing - it seems way overpriced.

Frisk Acrylic Keep-Wet Palette
smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J0CN8ZS/ref=cm_sw_r_fm_apa_i_SjCWDb9NACMQF

It's that one there (which is essentially just crap plastic but it's the perfect size) and then I use normal baking parchment and those thin sponges you can buy for cleaning. (They work way better than the paper and absorbent stuff in the box, I just bought the thing for the plastic tub)!

Sure thing:

• DeckSaver's wonderful OP-1 cover: http://www.decksaver.com/covers/synthesizer-covers/op-1-cover
  
  
• Wood sketchbox with palette: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008D641GM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
• Vibration pad (only used 1/3rd of it): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OQTV2I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
  
• Shellac's sealer: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Zinsser-12-oz-Clear-Shellac-Spray-408/100176744
  
  
• Red Velvet (can be acquired at any craft/art supplies store.
  
  
• Glue
  
  Hope this is helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/Whiskey-Painters-Watercolor-Folding-Complete/dp/B07KG26C5G?ref_=bl_dp_s_mw_15053495011 This is exactly the same palette! Just comes with paint. (Doesn’t look like it’s great quality so it’d be worth to toss it and keep the halfpans).

Do you fully stir your paints? Make sure there is absolutely no sludge in the pot, don't just give them a shake, get a kebab stick or piece of straight sprue and give them a really good stir making sure to go over the center raised bottom of the pot, there should be absolutely no buldge of sludge on the stick, just lovely thin paint. I must admit i haven't used humbrol acrylics but doubt they're too much afar from Tamiya's.

Perhaps your simply not taking enough out of the pot, are you brush painting or airbrushing? If i brush paint i use one of those art style paint pallete and just dip my brush in the paint and then into the pallete and then drop thinner from a pippette and mix with my brush. Here is the best acrylic brush painting howto i've encountered and i link to it often.

If you're using an airbrush i generally mix in the cup and take up two inch worth lenghts of paint in a pippette and then some thinner.

Happy birthday!

Here's a birthday gif.

The one and only drink I like is whipped cream vodka mixed with cream soda.

Link but I have a $5 and under wish list, so surprise me!

I love cheap. I really do.

Nice job messing up her wooden palette. Nobody uses that for painting, it's intended to hold the materials in the drawer in the portable easel. You're not supposed to put paint right on the palette, you're supposed to put a sheet of palette paper on top of it.

Something like this?

Or something like this. $7 for 12 6-well pallettes.

You can buy lighter fluid and mix it with your paint or you can buy your paint's brand of thinner and mix it.

I use one of these for holding my paints during painting/washing

I think that I found it!

https://www.amazon.com/MEEDEN-Heavy-Duty-Watercolor-Palette-Friendly/dp/B07NR8WR26