Wet palette

A wet palette is a shallow tray holding a water-soaked sponge, covered with a sheet of special semi-permeable palette paper. Paint mixed on top of the paper draws a small amount of moisture up through it, which keeps the paint from skinning over and drying out the way it would on a normal dry palette or plate.

This matters because acrylic paint used for miniatures dries fast, often in minutes, which normally forces painters to mix small amounts constantly and waste paint that dries before it is used. On a wet palette, the same mix of a custom color, a highlight blend, or a wash can stay usable for an entire painting session, sometimes days if sealed and refrigerated.

A good wet palette needs a sponge that holds water evenly and palette paper fine enough not to let pigment through while still letting water pass. Common mistakes include oversaturating the sponge so puddles form under the paper, and leaving the palette uncovered between sessions, which lets it dry out just as fast as a regular one would.