Guide on drawing a paint palette

It’s also a good idea to create color palettes of different shapes that showcase even more paint colors!

Everything You Need To Know About Paint Palettes and Colour Mixing Trays

Well, that’s the life of a painter without a palette. For an artist, palettes are the most paramount. Your colours live and awaken here, waiting to erupt into your painting! Unfortunately, this is another place where your paints could meet an unfortunate end.

We often take paint palettes for granted and see them as a piece of mixing plate or just a storage unit for the colours. Palettes add perfection to a painter’s life, but there’s no perfect palette that could work for everyone.

Before diving into the types of paint palettes, it’s crucial to know about their origin.

From Where it All Started

When artists experimented with colours never before seen in the history of painting, the growth of the most significant movements in art history, from the Renaissance to Impressionism, was accompanied by the creation of new pigments.

A basic pallet of five colours—red, yellow, brown, black, and white—was created by artists as early as 40,000 years ago using the first pigments, which were a combination of dirt, animal fat, burnt charcoal, and chalk. Earlier, they used a wooden board to mix the colours.

Formerly paint palettes used to be wooden boards with a thumbhole so that the artist could grasp it while painting, and now it’s long gone.

Now that we have seen the history of palettes and pigments, it’s time to look into the types of mixing trays for your next art. So, let’s dive right into it.

A Comprehensive Guide for Paint Palettes

Unless you squeeze, leak, or spatter your paint straight from the tube onto the canvas, a palette is actually necessary.

Today palettes come in a wide range of sizes and shapes and are made of a wide range of materials. Every artist will have a specific choice of palettes, each with its specific pros and cons.

Types of Paint Palettes

In the sea of colour, the paint palettes are sailing fearlessly with its plethora of palette options.

Here are the types of colour palettes you can choose for your paintings as per their pros and your needs.

Wooden Paint Palettes

Traditional wooden palettes were the soul of artists’ palettes because they were lightweight, robust, and easily moldable. The warm, natural tone of the wood is another benefit. An ideal choice for the painters would be Richeson Wooden Armed Palette , carved perfectly to make your art a breeze.

Many painters began their work on a canvas that had been primed with a brownish tone that was somewhat reminiscent of the palette colour.

Metal Colour Palettes

So let’s talk about palettes made of metal… The inevitability, durability, inexpensive, and non-staining make the metal palettes an ideal choice for young painters.

The portable folding tins and butcher trays attract new painters, especially Pro Art Palette Metal Deep Butcher Tray is the most loved right now. All metal, white porcelain coated palette encompassing a perfect convex center allows the painter to brush every stroke a master stroke.

Plastic Colour Palettes

The plastic palette is the most fundamental. This palette is a popular choice for beginners to start with because it is lightweight and affordable. Because it is sturdy and washable, acrylic artists should use it. Plastic palettes are leak-proof and easier for travel and plein air painting. There are a heap of plastic colour palettes in the market, but to get things straight, it’s recommended to go for Mijello Fusion Leak-Proof Watercolour Palette 33 Wells and add sophistication to your painting stack.

Glass Paint Palettes

Glass makes a better palette since it is smooth and easy for paint to wash off. It is, however, the riskiest choice! If it breaks, the glass will scatter around in micro fragments, making cleanup challenging. These palettes are a nightmare if broken and are always suggested to be used by a professional or connoisseur.

Ceramic Palette

One of the most loved palettes, the pal of painters, Ceramic palettes is in the business. It is the most expensive yet most versatile paint palette, but when it comes to painting, its availability is unmatched. The mixing surface is excellent, the paints stay moist for a longer period, and cleanup is simple

Closing the Palette Lid

In the world of perfect paintings, there’s nothing like a perfect paint palette. It depends on the painter and the paint. Sometimes the journey of finding the right palette for your plate could be overwhelming, but it’s worth it. It requires some thought and effort, but it is worthwhile. When we make a poor decision, we typically discover it too late—like after we have used all of our

pricey paints on the wrong palette! Don’t choose your palette hastily just to get started. Take your time and choose wisely. You’ll have to live with that decision for a very long time!

How To Draw a Paint Palette – Step by Step

It all starts with creating the shape of the color palette. We are all familiar with this item, so the first step should be easy:

1. Draw a square using your pencil and ruler. Then, use it as a guide to draw a circle touching its edges (image 1).
2. Next, modify the top part of the circle to form the shape of the palette (image 2).
3. Finally, add the thumb hole for your palette (image 3)

Step 2: Three-dimensional palette

The drawing will be boring if we keep it a 2-D image, so it’s time to make the palette three-dimensional.

1. Draw another line alongside the edge of the palette. Make sure you determine that the thick edge will show the angle of the item.
2. Add several circles along the surface of the palette. Those are for the paints.
3. As the palette is a wooden piece, feel free to add details such as wood grains on the surface and its edge.

Step 3: A colorful palette!

These final steps are important, as they will show the uniqueness of your own drawing.

1. Color your palette surface. Light brown is the best choice since you intend to draw a wooden palette.
2. Add slightly darker shades of brown to highlight the wood grain, making the drawing more lively. Draw a tube of color right onto the palette surface. Do not forget to draw the spilled paint on the tube’s top.
3. Then, paint the colors of your choice to the paint circles and the tube.

Setting up your palette

• You don’t need a lot of colors. At the end of the day, you will probably be happy with 12 to 18 colors in your palette. It’s better to know a few pigments well, than to have too many choices and ending up not knowing why you should pick one pigment over another. Think about the weight, too. It makes much more sense to bring a small palette if you want to take it with you.
• Get to know your paints and your painting habits first before you invest in new ones. Think about the subjects you paint most. There’s no point in getting 5 different pinks if you rarely paint pink flowers, dramatic skies, or a lot of skin tones. For natural subjects I’ve found that having several blues will always come in handy, and a selection of different Earth tones. I don’t use a lot of red or violet.
• Familiarize yourself with the characteristics of different pigments. They can have a similar color (hue), but look quite different on the page. Some are opaque, some are transparent. There are granulating pigments, staining pigments, and even slightly toxic pigments made from heavy metals. Depending on your needs and technique, inform yourself and choose what you will be needing most. I tend to prefer transparent pigments that don’t stain (or only moderately), are great for mixing and don’t granulate too much.
• Pre-made sets usually come in student quality, which has more filler and makes the paints slightly duller. Consider getting professional paint when you refill, even though these paints seem more expensive, they have a much better value – more pigment, brighter colors, and better mixing characteristics.
• Think about the layout of your paints in the palette. Group similar colors together. I like to arrange my colors from light to dark, going from yellow, red, blue over to green, to the earth tones and finally grey.
• A lot of pre-made sets have white and black. While I like to have white around (I bring a small set of gouache with white in it, or a gel pen) I don’t have a black in my palette – I find it a bit too strong and opaque for most natural subjects, and I can achieve the same value with a dark grey, or with a marker or pen.
• I really like filling small pan sets with tube color, it’s an economic and lightweight way to fill your palette. I take out the metal insert, fix the pans on the bottom with Blu Tack, and let the pans dry for at least a day after filling them with the slightly more moist tube paint. There are also nice plastic field kits by different manufacturers, or slightly bigger palettes with wells that you can squeeze the paint into directly – these have bigger mixing areas and are more suited to pick up paint with a big brush, but they also make your palette bigger. Try out what suits you best.
• Also think about how practical a particular palette will be when you take it with you outside. I really love mixing on ceramic plates, but I wouldn’t bring one with me in the field. Always consider weight, sturdiness, ease of use, and reusability when choosing a palette.

• Make a small mixing chart with all your palette colors. You will be surprised how many different hues you can get out of a few basic colors, and learn a lot about mixing while you do it.
• For my more detailed illustrations done at my desk, I actually use my same small field kit, very rarely I reach for my bigger palette with the specialty colors. A small kit can give you a vast range of colors.
• I like to make a small color chart (pure colors, no mixes) and stick it into the palette, so that I have a reference, since a lot of paints look just dark when they’re dry. If you don’t change your palette often, you could paint it into your sketchbook.
• Keep your yellow clean. That’s really the most important rule. The other paints usually can take a bit of mud, but your yellow will not react well to it. Consider keeping a bit of yellow in your mixing area for mixes, and going to the pan only when you need pure yellow.
• It’s normal to switch out single colors from time to time, it’s what makes your palette unique and useful to your style of painting. It’s also fun to try out new paints from time to time. If you love to experiment with different pigments, it’s best to introduce them one at a time and spend a bit of time with each, so that you can get to know its characteristics.
• There are different philosophies out there about the amount of „mud“ your palette should have. I like to wipe my mixing area clean from time to time, so that I can paint with strong, bright colors and can choose how I mix them. But you can also get beautiful gray and brown hues from the dirt in your mixing area.
• As a beginner, all of the above might sound slightly confusing and overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be. Simply choose a nice pre-made pan set and make your first steps. You can always adapt and change it later. Have fun while you explore!

For a more detailed guide on how to set up your watercolor palette, take a look at my online class Setting up a custom sketching palette with watercolors.

What does your palette look like? Do you have more useful tips? I’d love to hear it in the comments!

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