10 Tips on Updating Your Watercolor Palette

If you find updating your watercolor palette a daunting task, here are 10 tips I have for you to make the process easy as more organised. It's been some time since I've updated my palette, so let's see what color stayed, what color went and what new colors were added!
** AMAZON LIST **
I made an Amazon list on Amazon USA for you to be able to find all the colors on my palette easily! amzn.to/3rWbSrf
** Colors in my new studio palette **
+ Aureolin (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3h0OjY1
Amazon USA amzn.to/3HSagE8
+ Perm Yellow Deep (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3uOmUQQ
Amazon USA amzn.to/3Blqsvl
+ Nickel Azo Yellow (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3gL1EDq
Amazon USA amzn.to/3sxDGAY
+ Transparent Red Oxide (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3uLLGkP
Amazon USA amzn.to/3gLuV0U
+ Vermilion Hue (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3sH2ab
Amazon USA amzn.to/34W3EG9
+ Scarlet Lake (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3LrmmXf
Amazon USA amzn.to/3LtLv3s
+ Quinacridone Coral (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3sHMkwO
Amazon USA amzn.to/3GRr4Ka
+ Pyrrole Rubin (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3sIHGyZ
Amazon USA amzn.to/3GSbQVk
+ Quinacridone Rose (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/2H8NJc2
Amazon USA amzn.to/3rPlPqm
+ Opera (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3BlqNOo
Amazon USA amzn.to/3gLkLgQ
+ Bordeaux (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3oOp5QF
Amazon USA amzn.to/3rMJoQn
+ Carbazole Violet (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3HNzi7C
Amazon USA amzn.to/34X9BTh
+ Ultramarine Violet (Schmincke)
Jackson’s bit.ly/337RlC7
Amazon USA amzn.to/3gHM8In
+ Ultramarine Blue Finest (Schmincke)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3rLsUYF
Amazon USA amzn.to/3sIJb05
+ Indigo (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3Egj0Sa
Amazon USA amzn.to/3uOoMsQ
+ Phthalo Blue Yellow Shade (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3j5nQaa
Amazon USA amzn.to/3BhsQDr
+ Phthalo Turquoise (Daniel Smith)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3LIk0n0
Amazon USA amzn.to/3HU4Fxd
+ Hooker’s Green (Holbein)
Jackson’s bit.ly/2F07dyQ
Amazon USA amzn.to/3GScdzc
+ Hooker’s Green (QoR)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3h7bQ6T
Amazon USA amzn.to/3GN7Qp9
+ Naples Yellow (M. Graham)
Jackson’s bit.ly/30B5hY0
Amazon USA amzn.to/3GKer3z
+ Sepia (Rembrandt)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3LzcOcu
Amazon USA amzn.to/3LuORmT
+ Payne’s Grey (Rembrandt)
Jackson’s bit.ly/3JkRBRM
Amazon USA amzn.to/3HOPh5n
+ Jackson’s 28 well palette
Jackson’s bit.ly/33mD3Ss
** Please support this channel **
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This video was edited by the amazing @Eve Bolt - Art & Cats / eveboltboltsvault
She’s a wonderful editor and is open to working with other channels.
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Oto Kano
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EH7 9FB
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Jackson’s and Amazon links are affiliate links in which a small percentage of the sale supports this channel without costing you any extra at all. Thank you so much for supporting this channel grow!

[@FarlyCreates]

I also found that if you have a stubborn paint blob that won’t come out, spraying some of the alcohol on the tip of the palette knife will help you find a place to get underneath the blob. It’s helped me out of some jams a time or two!

[@DrawnInk1]

You did the right thing starting new.

[@adriennea1348]

Not gonna lie, I'm very amused that you went through all that trouble and then decided to start afresh! 😅 That's something I'd do as well!

[@kristiw.1823]

This is an incredibly practical and helpful video! Thank you for showing all the little tricks to ensure you have a fresh space for creating new art.

[@SigneofHorses]

LoL I was thinking why not just get a new palette.. but then you did! Great tip with the alcohol cleaning. I’ll have to see if I can get that.

[@Dan.B.Artist]

Love watching palette set ups. It's really nice to see and it's really interesting to see other artists thoughts and decisions on colours that they use. It's also therapeutic to see the paint pour and have a nice clean paletee. I prefer the look of the Rembrandt Payne's Grey. It looks more pigmented.

[@renmuffett]

Nice to watch. Thanks! I sometimes use the 95% alcohol on my plastic palettes. Its the only thing that removes the permanent markers. But it does leave a weird film that should be removed with soap and water. However the Magic Eraser (I prefer the new ultrathin ones) works amazingly for any watercolor stains. So fast and easily.

[@OtoKano]

oh that's weird that the alcohol leaves a film on your palette 🤔 I wonder what causes that. I use 98% isopropyl alcohol and don't get a film.

[@adriennesmith.artist]

I was thinking that since you used so much Quin Rose, it should have gone in the double spot where you put the opera pink! Haha then you could have had two full wells of Quin Rose! This was oddly satisfying to watch even tho I just updated my palette! I didn’t think to video it tho! Fun idea!

[@nancyloomis3046]

Helpful ideas! I also use a sharpie to write the names of the colors in my large pallet that is several different brands. It helps a lot!. 😀

[@MirandaWatsonArt]

Loved seeing this!

[@BL-li7gg]

Great tips! Thank you!

[@Joan4me]

Excellent video! I learned a lot! Thank You 😊

[@royalfutura]

Thank you so much for the helpful video. Do you have a video where you swatch out your studio palette? I'd love to see it swatched and some mixing. It looks like a great setup!

[@faridahmcatamney3601]

Hello Oto, very beautiful palette you got there. Any chance that you can guide us how to do a landscape colour palette in the near future? In my humble opinion, you’re the go to colour specialist. Thank you for sharing your expertise.😍

[@jrigg3495]

Thank you for the tips and tricks! I also don't like using an eraser to get the stains out...I always got crumbs everywhere! As always, your videos are a joy to watch.

[@laurelb4193]

Lovely brand spanking new palette! Might be able to use Soft Scrub w Blwach on the old one for next rotation!

[@MaryPrasadArt]

Thanks for sharing! You can open the bottom of the dried tube to save the paint!

[@hershelroswell]

thank you for the tips!! i always find ds paints love to fall out of pans/wells etc, which could explain why the green gold came out so nicely hahah

[@patriciacrumrine5890]

Very interesting. I just got a dedicated studio and I am developing my first own palette of colors. It's the first time that I have a studio palette that works for me every day. Now I need to refine what colors I want and Get a bigger palette. The John Pike is too big, the 20-well folding plastic palette is almost big enough. I'm going to try the 28-well one.

[@OtoKano]

hope you like the palette!

[@chiarasola826]

Alcohol!!! Fantastic tip! I have been using an eraser and getting frustrated with all the little pieces going everywhere... I will try alcohol for sure next time :D Thank you!

[@OtoKano]

totally with you about the eraser leaving little pieces everywhere. That's too much stress for me!

[@anniemuller1445]

Omg yayyyy finally

[@MaTTheWish]

I literally just did the same thing last week pretty much the same exact technique for cleaning and swapping. I have a few colors that overlap with yours but different preferences. I love Naples yellow but I only use it for specific skies, not mixing and I like some oranges whereas you seem to prefer reds and yellows. Also I couldn't live without cobalt blue and burnt sienne. But I just added a quinacridone orange to the palete, very high tinting strength. Also added raw umber. I took all my greens out except for phthalo turquoise. And I'm not sure which ones I want to replace, I might just force myself to mix my greens and see how that works out. Except for peryaline green. Anyways, nice job.

[@shilow7586]

This is the best colour pallet i've seen. I've done one based on the one the instructor i choose uses. i find it odd..i hope it works out in the end

[@wendychampness1901]

Thanks for this! So many tips☺️ I want to ask if you do many landscapes or florals?

[@whatifitnt]

🤩Thank You 💖✨💝💫💞

[@LanaGoesArt]

Great video! I love seeing the palette you use for your art. I'm curious how you'll like the Naples Yellow in it. I also was a bit shocked when I heard you added Aureolin until I saw it's the hue. :D

[@OtoKano]

I've had the palette for a bit now. I have to say, I'm questioning the naples yellow. It colorshifts A LOT, so I might look for another naples yellow (because it's a very useful color) that doesn't color shift so much.

[@Winstonsmom]

Have you tried olive oil for cleaning a palette? Works really well!

[@The-Secret-Dragon]

would love to see your artwork sometime Oto

[@nokiot9]

Quinacridones are my absolute favorites. And yeah lol I don’t know what it is with the schminke but they cement themselves into the Wells like fossils. I’ve never seen anything like it. Makes me trust that they won’t flake off though

[@OtoKano]

lmao so true, there is no way those are going to flake off 😂

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

What about with ultramarine blue by schminke?

[@nokiot9]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor my favorite blues are the deep black blues like Prussian

[@nokiot9]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor UM makes a wonderful brown tint with Orange tho.

[@OtoKano]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor what about that color?

[@shirleyf21916]

would that palette still close if you added full pan trays inside the wells? that way switching out colors would be less laborious :)

[@christinebravomom5711]

Love the video! P.S., colors are complementary (as in "completes"), not complimentary (as in "expressing esteem").

[@alanefideler7234]

I JUST created my own palette using tips from both you and Denise Soden! And when I inevitably want to change things up, I'll come right back here.

[@bushrasattar2254]

I literally justttt bought the same exact palette! But I can't really figure out what the smaller holes (around the thumb hole) are for? Loved the video! ✨

[@OtoKano]

Those are to hold your brushes! It's for if you use the palette holding the palette in the air rather than on a desk. When you are holding your palette in your hand, you can also just stick your brushes in those holes.

[@domipro123]

At 5:15 you make perfect close-up! Which camera/lens are you using here fore? This is important to me... Thanks

[@banoumiel8419]

Bonjour, Quand un Tube de peinture Aquarelle devient solide, il faut découper la partie aluminium du tube et ce servir du Bloc interne comme un GODET SEC ;), +/- le couper en morceaux ! Hello, When a Tube of Watercolor paint becomes dry / solid, you must cut the aluminum part of the paint tube and use the Internal Block as a FULL PAN or HALF PAN (+/- cut it ) (GOOGLE traduction ! - French girl)

[@grannieannie1371]

iso propenol to remove stains is brilliant. I hate stains.

[@hannahthufvesson]

For getting Schminke colours out of a pan or well, soak the edges of the paint with water and wait until it's dry enough to not be super wet but pliable, usually the rest/middle of the colour is softer (and also got affected by the water, of course) and it will come right out. That's the only way I've been able to get Schminke colours out in a way that does not make me super frustrated with colour"splinters" all over myself 🙈 Those edges get Hard!! Also, I use a label maker (white stripes with black text) that can write double rows to mark my colours, I can then cut them thinly and place on the edges in my palette. ☺️

[@OtoKano]

woooo thank you for that tip about how to get schmincke paints out of wells. I'll try that next time.

[@hannahthufvesson]

@@OtoKano I hope it goes well!! 😄

[@InLiquidColor]

I just finished palette clean up myself so I guess I'm in the mood to watch more :P Thanks for sharing yours with us! My mind is honestly blown. How did I not know that alcohol cleans plastic palettes? Chemisty was never my favorite.... Oh, and I couldn't even get Schmincke off my porcelain palette. It was a disaster lol.

[@millienexu5684]

Hello! I’m new to this channel so not sure about the things you “talk about a lot” and there’s so many tutorials it’s kinda going over my head. How did you decide the colour well neutralizing letters to write? Is there a vid that talks about this in more detail I can be linked to? Thanks!

[@babycakes1949]

Please share why you replaced the Yellow Ocre with Naples Yellow. A while back I took Ocre off my palette and now I generally use Raw Sienna instead, but I’m curious about the Naples as a replacement. Thank you.

[@OtoKano]

I wanted a light ochre ish color that had more opacity and highter tinting strength.

[@babycakes1949]

@@OtoKano so just to clarify, Naples Yellow is ‘more’ opaque than Yellow Ocre?

[@lpayne91]

Hi, I hope you don’t mind me asking, why do you not like Winsor and Newton paints.. I find living in UK that these are often more affordable especially when sales are on and much as I’d love to try all the brands you showcase, they can be really expensive for a beginner ,like me..thank you

[@OtoKano]

Hi, I don't dislike W&N at all! I just prefer other brands more and I want brands that I really adore using in my palette.

[@lpayne91]

@@OtoKano thank you, I know paints are down to personal preference but as I’ve not managed to afford many other brands yet, I’ll slowly build up to them. I have 3 schminke cooler primary colours and saving up for the warm ones and hopefully one day will get some of the other brands you love too 🤞

[@awatercolourist]

First!

[@nokiot9]

Wait... you have a doctorate in an art field? 😳 no way.

[@OtoKano]

I have a doctorate in computer science.

[@missmix48]

I don't understand what the A, B, C, D, E, F is... Can you please enlighten me???

[@PoliMal]

These are names Oto Kano chose to mark pairs of complementary colours, I presume.

[@OtoKano]

check out this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/opPSgKV8dtOteJY

[@robertweinblatt2018]

Cut that tube open and add your glycerin and honey and it will rewet