1 hour ago, Darth Lupine said:

I've been painting minis for decades, literally, and I've never once felt the need or used a wet palette.

That's the point , neither did I , didn't see much point to it myself, but I've switched to preferring it, but to be honest it is far from necessary and won't make me a better painter, the only thing that did IMO was practice, and having, at the very least a half decent brush suitable for the job. I now use Windsor &Newton series 7 but I can get similar or equal results with Army Painter brushes , again it's a comfort thing I find it easier to use W&N because the brushes retain their stiffness, the paint flows better but I can still do the same with a little more effort with a "lesser" brush . So given a choice of wet pallet or technique and experience, give me the latter anyday.

I find it helps with thinning paints and keeping mixes consistent. I have got subtler with transitions since using one, but I’d suggest that is also partly due to my developed knowledge and skill.

I'm thinking I need one badly. I live in Colorado and it's pretty **** dry. My paints are drying out before I can even finish one section of a mini. Could be the citadel palette paper though. Maybe it's a scheme to make you buy more paints.

I'm a beginner and I use a wet palette every time I paint. I live in AZ, and it's dry as **** here.

I make my own, and this formula works like a dream:

1. Grab a tupperware container

2. take 2 paper towels and stack them

3. Cut out a single piece of parchment paper from the kitchen. Make sure it's PARCHMENT paper and not wax paper.

4. Add enough water to wet through the paper towels, and add the parchment paper on top.

5. Experience hours of non-dried out acrylic paint. Seal back up when done, and I've gotten a full weekend out of my paints. #YOLO

People (especially on the internet) say you HAVE to do a lot of things that you absolutely don’t HAVE to do, but you might like. I am a beginner and I have recently started using a wet palette. I like it and will probably keep using it. It certainly has not improved my painting any but it has improved my experience for the most part.

The advantage, obviously, is that you can keep the paint wet and ready longer and have a more constant consistency over time. Since I have kids this is really useful. I can walk away for ten minutes and don’t have to come back and re do my paint preparations. Even go eat a meal and come back. This is great for paint right from the jar but super for colors you have mixed - especially if you want the same mixed color across multiple models or for multiple steps in the painting process, although there is a caveat I will get to below. You will hear people claim they can keep their paints in the pallet for a week, but in my hands after even a few hours the top starts to dry out and then you are fussing with inconsistency etc and it’s easier just to start over. It’s quite dry in my house now but it will be very humid in the summer so maybe this will change.

My major challenge using the wet palette is that it is much harder to mix paints or to add water and thin them than in a plastic well. It ends up spreading into a huge area, which fortunately doesn’t dry up immediately but can be a pain. Maybe I will get better with time. The good news is that because they soak up some moisture from the pallet paints require less thinning.

On 4/10/2018 at 5:59 PM, SwashBuccaneer said:

I'm thinking I need one badly. I live in Colorado and it's pretty **** dry. My paints are drying out before I can even finish one section of a mini. Could be the citadel palette paper though. Maybe it's a scheme to make you buy more paints.

Yes, you probably could do with one painting in CO, it helped me immensely when I switched..

Also, parchment paper from King Soopers is going to be just as good and a heck of a lot cheaper than citadel paper.

1 hour ago, Zrob314 said:

Also, parchment paper from King Soopers is going to be just as good and a heck of a lot cheaper than citadel paper.

Now that I started painting, I can see that this statement applies to a lot of citadel products. Especially the second part...

12 minutes ago, Cartchan said:

Now that I started painting, I can see that this statement applies to a lot of citadel products. Especially the second part...

Some things, yes. Some things no. I love the mold line remover (I'm left handed and the natural motion of my hand works in the wrong way to the threading of hobby knives so the less I can use those the better) I've gotten good use out of the sculpting tool set. I don't feel ripped off in those purchases in any way. I bought the project box when I started and it was perfect for me at the time. I've got a shade brush that I've been using almost a year at this point.

The washes are superb and the paints are good enough. I use both Citadel and Vallejo.

Citadel is Citadel. It doesn't always mean the best quality ever, but it also doesn't mean price gouge and rip off.

For me, sometimes it's just a matter of being able to easily pop over to the GW store in Denver or that the Wizard's Chest has a decent selection of paints rather than driving to Lakewood or elsewhere (or ordering online) for what I want.

I rarely use one at home, but I will at work I always do since I don't like to waste paint. But if I am mixing a color then I always do. That way I can mix a batch and it will keep for a few days.