Very interested in the follow up to this video. I have been having a hard time finding information on making proper binder. I have found all sorts of conflicting information saying things like 50/50 binder to pigment ratios, all the way up to 20:1 binder to pigment ratios. All the paints Ive made so far have come out brittle or syrupy or crack/shrink in the pans. I've used many types of pigments so far and many ratios of binders/additives and the results are generally bad no matter what I do. My main question, like in your description, is how can I tweak my binder to fit the pigments im using, whether it be a natural pigment or otherwise? (I just got a bunch of pigments and most are natural mineral pigment, but I am interested in both natural and artificial/synthetic pigments too, all of which behave differently with respect to the binder.) What can I do to prevent or reduce cracking in watercolors that I put in to pans? For instance I used a Pozzuoli Red and that made a paint that panned well and re-wets really nicely, just works all around well, but then I used the same recipe for verona green and the first attempt made a greasy mess, then upon tweaking the recipe, I ended up with a brick, and then just a bunch of broken paint chunks that will not re-wet at all. I figured at first I had too much binder, so I added more pigment and then water, and it went all to hell after several iterations. I just dont know what im doing wrong here. Out of about 50 paint pans, only about 8 of them turned out, and it's really frustrating. I am not sure if my ratios are just off or if I am not mulling properly, or what. Any direction would be helpful. Thanks.

As an aside, I'd love to see you make pigments in the quinacridone family.

It might be late... But it will be great if you talk more about preservation methods, Everytime I make these binders the mold, and it happened once when I made the watercolour!!

@@marziehkaviani5536 not too late I should be filming the follow up later next week

@@marziehkaviani5536 As a point of discussion, I have heard that an amount of clove oil (a few drops seems to be the consensus) will extend the life of a gum arabic/binder soluton, as will refrigeration. That's just my understanding, hopefully someone else chimes in.

I sort of do the same; I place mine in a high thread-count pillowcase, then have a go at it with my fathers old carving mallet. Takes no time at all, and I stop once it’s well broken down - just before it hits the powder stage I dump it out into my stone mortar & pestle for really fine particles. ☺️👍

Oh god thank you xD I don't mind once it's into the smaller nuggets but I messed myself up worse than you might expect trying to beat up those first big chunks, haha.

I keep an old electric coffee grinder for the job.

I have liquid anyone know the water ratio I have neon pigments from my nail business

Yes Arabic gum is edible! Surprise surprise! :) It can be use for allergy, problematic digestive system, have high contains of calcium also can be use to loose weight! It's very common in my country to consume Arabic gum as supplement since it's organic but make sure to seek for food grade one ;))

Absolutely it is edible just drinking it after displayed.

Nice I am working on some videos relating to copper pigments they should be out soon

Google is your best friend. There is a ton of information

Not yet been delayed but it is in the works.

Thank you! I usually add around 3-5 drops of clove oil to a batch of around 50-100mls of binder. I have a short online course linked in the description of this video if you need extra help in your watercolour making journey.

Using really hot water wont have a negative effect on the gum arabic, its only a problem if you were to heat on a stove or something like that and it began to cook.

Not the alchemist but, all sources I've read say leave it for at least a day :)

@@bearhugzfam649 ok thank you)

Personally in the limited trials I have had. Yes it helps depending on the binder to pigment ratio etc. but filling them in layers is your best bet. Ones I don’t crack. But I also live in very hot humid Florida. I have read that I need to add more glycerin possibly when mixing.

Clove oil from what I have read. Google is your best friend. There is info dating back 100 years or more.

It depends on the pigment, you can start with around 1:1 but you will have to experiment.

@@user-lx2tg9zm4q yes I did.

What kind of honey did you use ?

@@jennahowell4610 local honey. Clover honey I believe

You could I am not to sure how good it would be though, the advantage of the glycerin is that it helps with rewetting the dry pan and stops it from drying too hard. I would suggest just trying a small batch of paint where you make a binder with say 2- 2.5 times the amount of honey that I have suggested and none of the glycerin and see how that turns out

Sam just curious, why would you not want glycerin? I am just curious as to people’s thoughts when it comes to creating. I have heard many don’t want honey as then it would not be vegan but not the other way around.

I know I’m super late to this comment, but water weighs 1g per ml, so 44 grams is exactly the same as 44ml. Weight measurements are often used when precision is needed as it’s a more accurate form of measurement :)

this is mentioned at the end of the video.

The @@kathrynhopkins

The balance between different pigments, humicants and gum Arabic is the essence of watercolour making. It’s not really fair to foreground a recipe, at the start, with way too much honey and glycerine for most pigments in this way. This would work with Indian Yellow Tartrazine…probably, but little else. Yes, this balance is addressed at the end but almost as an afterthought and very unscientifically. There really are absolutely strict ratios that must be observed or one will produce paint that never hardens or cracks terribly. How one can work these ratios out is a sine qua non and this should be stated right at the start.

2 to 5 :)