If you go back a few blog entries, you will see that I invested in the Holiday Sketchbox for 2020. That Sketchbox came with lots of fun goodies, but one of them that I keep going back to play with were a set of 6 Gansai Tambi paints. I found that these paints were different than my other watercolors, but that I really liked them! I wanted to be able to use these more broadly, and so I ended up using a birthday gift card to pick up an original set of 18 Gansai Tambi colors, so I would end up with a unique set of 24.
Immediately, I realized that I LOVE the large pans! I'm having fun learning with them, but I wanted all 24 in one place. I also really didn't like the paper washi boxes as storage. While they were beautiful, I need something that isn't going to dissolve when I get it wet because I'm definitely messy. I also wanted something that would have an included mixing palette, and so I went searching on the internet.
And I searched, and I searched, and I searched, and I couldn't find something that fit the unique size of these paints and that had a palette.
SO - I made my own! Here are the steps I took to make this palette. I hope this helps someone else out there who might be having the same problem with their Gansai Tambi (GT) paints!
Step 1: Planning and Measurement
I wanted a thin, metal tin that could house the paints. I looked at several different options before deciding that a colored pencil tin would be the best option! I had 24 paints measuring 1" by 2.5", so I needed something that would cover 60 square inches BUT that would also fit the paints correctly. I ended up with this pencil tin, which was about 82.5 square inches and would be able to fit a total of 33 pans of GT paint, giving me some wiggle room to expand my collection in the future but keeping the size reasonable:
**Note: Don't worry, these pencils were moved to a pencil case and my daughter was absolutely OVER THE MOON to get a brand new set of watercolor pencils! Once she swatches them and plays with them I'll let you know what we think! If I had a spare pencil tin that worked I would have used that instead!
Step 2: Making the Palette Lid
I bought some high gloss white enamel spray paint. I sprayed the lid 3 times using the directions on the paint can, and then let the paint dry for a solid 24-36 hours. Then I fit the lid onto the tin several times to make sure everything fit. There was slight peeling in the inner corners of the palette that I may seal over time, but for right now I doesn't seem to be causing any problems. I included a picture showing how nice, white and shiny the lid looks!
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| Painted Lid - After Drying |
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| See How Shiny?!?!?! |
Step 3: Assembling the Palette
Next, I bought some magnets that are meant to fit on the bottom of watercolor half pans, and I attached them to the middle of the GT paint pans. I took a sharpie and wrote the number of each paint on the bottom as well since I was going to cover it with the magnets. You could definitely use stronger magnets, but for my purposes I just needed them to hold the paints in place and not necessarily pass an earthquake test. I probably wouldn't take this palette on a vacation with me, but it will be nice and easy to move around various parts of my house or over to a friends house eventually.
I placed the paints in the color order that I prefer, and I kept the plastic piece from the set of 18 just to give some protection from the top palette. I also made a swatch card that will fit into the tin as well. Then, I cut up a sponge and used tape to fit it into the side of the tin to keep the paints from moving and to be used with a waterbrush.
There is still room to fit another whole row at the bottom of the tin, and if I removed the sponge I could fit 3 extra paints along that side comfortably.
Step 4: Final Touches
I'm keeping a water brush and a roll of washi tape in here for now because I have the space. I'm also using stickers to cover the top of the tin to customize the palette, but you could definitely paint the top if you prefer! I'm super happy with how this has turned out and was glad that my DIY worked to solve a problem!
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| All Finished! |
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| Everything Put Together Without the Lid |
Final Notes: This solution has worked really well for me. It keeps my paints in one place and allows me to move around easily while still having a mixing palette! As far as cost goes, I paid about $20 for the tin (including the pencils!), $4 for the paint, and I had the magnets but you could buy them on amazon for $6-7. So for under $30, I made the solution I wanted and I'm very happy with it!
Do you have Gansai Tambi paints? How do you store them? Let me know in the comments!
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