Look for anti-tip designs and sloped bottoms that keep paint forward for greater stability. Comfort grips and heavy-duty bails (or ladder-hook legs) improve handling and make buckets and trays easier to secure and carry during use.
Neutral gray surfaces reduce glare and help you judge color and value more accurately. Porcelain or white surfaces are smooth, stain-resistant, and commonly preferred for watercolor and other wet media where a non-absorbent finish is helpful.
These items are commonly molded from plastics such as polypropylene, and some trays include metal components. Artist palettes and wash bowls are also made in ceramic or porcelain, and some trays use post-consumer recycled plastic.
Common forms include neutral-gray butcher-style mixing palettes (including oval arm palettes), divided ceramic or porcelain wash bowls with deep wells for brush washing, and shallow flat trays for holding paint and tools.
Buckets and trays with roller grids and sloped bottoms are suited to roller work and larger jobs. Neutral-gray butcher-style and oval arm palettes are made for mixing acrylics, oils, and inks and for judging color values. Divided ceramic or porcelain wash bowls are intended for washing and soaking brushes.
