Setting Up The Palette

• 1). Line a ceramic paint palette or any flat dish with a 1/2-inch lip with several layers of paper towels. Keep the surface of the towels flat.
  
  
• 2). Pour water onto the paper towels until they are saturated. Drain off enough of the excess water to keep a pool from forming, but keep the paper towels as wet as possible.
  
  
• 3). Use your hands to gently smooth out any air bubbles underneath the paper towels. Getting rid of the air bubbles helps keep the palette fresher and helps the paper towels last longer -- even up to three weeks.
  
  
• 4). Tear a sheet of tracing paper off of the pad and cut it to fit your palette. Place it on top of the wet paper towels, and smooth out the air bubbles. This will be the working surface of your palette.
  
  

Arranging Colors On Your Palette

• 1). Pick out the paints you want before you start painting. Put a little glob of each paint on your palette. You can always add more later, but it's important to mix colors on the spot without interrupting your creative process.
  
  
• 2). Arrange the colors in a way that makes sense to you. Many artists like to lay out their paints in imitation of a color wheel. Others like to put warm colors and cool colors together. How you arrange your colors depends largely on what you are painting and what colors you are using.
  
  
• 3). Leave yourself room to mix colors. Space the paints evenly on the palette. If you plan to mix two or more colors, put those colors near each other.