Making your own wet palette is very easy. The first step is to gather all the components together, the first being a plastic container with a lid. This can be something you have around the house such as a leftover food container, or medium sized plastic dish.
The container must have an airtight cover.
♢Four to five sheets of paper towel are also required, depending on the size of your container of course. You can substitute this for a sponge if you prefer but paper towel will work just fine and is usually readily available.
♢Distilled water is also needed for this quick do-it-yourself project. You can use tap water but it is recommended to use distilled simply because any and all impurities have been removed, plus it has a much longer shelf life than tap water.
♢Parchment paper is also needed as this becomes the top ‘skin’ of the palette. Finally, you will need
♢scissors to trim everything to fit.
Starting with a clean container, take several sheets of paper towel and place them in the bottom until you have approximately 2/3 cms of height. Do your best to fill the entire bottom from edge to edge, cutting the towel as necessary.
If using a sponge, cut to fit in a similar manner. With your scissors, trim the parchment paper so that it will sit neatly over the paper towel and place this aside for the moment.
The next step is to fill your container with distilled water but only until the paper towel is saturated. You do not want a pool of water, if you pour too much in simply pour the excess out. The goal is to leave the paper towel soaking wet. Once you have the correct amount of water simply place your parchment paper on top of the saturated towel.
With your new wet palette you can add acrylic colors, blend new shades and even thin the paint with water that seeps through the parchment.
The best part is that when you are finished with your painting session, you can seal the lid on the container and return the next day or several days later and find your paint is still humid and ready to go.
Resources for scale modellers 