Simple Life-hack for Hobby Artists
Condiment and dressing containers are your friend.
I tend to only do one big painting project per year, usually in the bursts of time around work/ study/ other commitments. Having cheap airtight (ish) sample pots for custom colours is a huge help.
Saves time colour-matching Pre-mixing bases makes it a lot easier to get straight back to the actual painting part. It also makes it a lot easier to keep same-coloured elements consistent, rather than having to swatch-match approximations every time (acrylic always dries a slightly different colour so this can be a huge headache).
Lets you stop and start whenever Samples keep a lot longer in airtight pots than in regular containers or covered boards. I made up that pink colour in February and was still using it for accents in November. All you need to do is check and add a little water every few months to keep the paint active. Handy if you’re keeping a long project going around other commitments.
Easier pack-up Being able to pop a lid on your samples and shove them in a box is a lot easier than engineering ways to seal your mixing boards between sessions. Having pre-prepped bases that you tint/ tone up from also saves a lot of general colour mixing, which means fewer palettes to clean at the end.
I get those pots for about $5 per pack at my local grocery store, but there are probably cheaper ones online. All you really need is something that has a good seal and isn’t too big. Trust me, it’ll save you a lot of time and mess.
