Hi guys! Recently I decided to switch from my favorite watercolor tubes to more convenient pans. Why? There are a few reasons.
First of all I want to say that would still be buying watercolors in tubes, because I love their consistency much better and I believe that they are money savers, because out of one tube you can get multiple pans.
But returning back to my reasons why I’m switching. I’ve decided to make an effort to paint and sketch more outside and do more of the study-like illustrations for my own practice. For these reasons I figured that carrying a small tin box that can also act as a mixing palette with 18-20 colors is much easier and convenient that carrying all the tubes and a mixing palette.
After some research my choice for the empty tin box was Lukas 14 full pans (or 28 half pans, or a combination of both). This is a portable box that has enough mixing room without being too bulky or too heavy. Why not a plastic box? Mainly because I know I will be throwing this palette around in my bag and want it to be quite sturdy, but also because metal is easier to clean from paint than plastic I found.
You can also find an even more convenient way of organizing your 24 half pans by picking this Lukas palette :
But Amazon is full of beautiful selections of various empty watercolor boxes that come in all sizes and colors. Here are some examples:
LUKAS 48 half pan empty watercolor tin box:
Pink MEEDEM 12 half pan empty watercolor tin box:
As I mentioned earlier, I used a combination of full and half pans for my palette. I had a hard time narrowing down my colors to just 14 full pans, so I decided to put some of the less used or some of the more concentrated pigments like viridian into half pans, and so I ended up with 17 pans. However, if I wish to add more colors I can still utilize the middle row instead of storing my brushes there.
For that I just bought some empty full pans and some half pans, which you can find at your local art store, but Amazon has a much better deals (even with a magnetic strip to prevent pans from falling out):
I did color swatches before picking my favorite colors for the palette, mainly to remind myself of the colors that I have, but also to compare the similar colors I have from different brands, like phalo blue that I have both from Sennelier and M.Graham.
Also, I labeled all of my pans with the color of the paint and the name of the brand so that later I can refill it with the same paint from the tube again.
Then all was left to do was to fill up the empty pans and let them dry for a few days. Some of them will remain tacky because of the honey used in the making that prevents over-drying and cracking.
You can watch my full video here with step by step explanation and a better insight into my thinking process behind this project
Complete list of the colors I used:
– Sennelier Yellow by Sennelier
– Yellow Ochre by M.Graham
– Azo Orange by M.Graham
– Gamboge by M.Graham
– Senhelier Red by Sennelier
– Quinacridone Red by M.Graham
– Quinacridome Magenta by W&N
– Burnt Sienna by M.Graham
– Raw Umber by M.Graham
– Transparent Yellow Oxide by M.Graham
– Transparent Red Oxide by M.Graham
– Forest Green by Sennelier
– Viridian by M.Graham
– Permanent Green Pale by M.Graham
– Phalo Blue by Sennelier
– Ultramarine Blue by M.Graham
– Paynes Grey by M.Graham
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