Hello everyone, fledgling hobbyist here đ. I made some paints from Moroccan pigments I picked up as a souvenir. The colors turned out lovely, but the dried swatches have a course, grainy texture.
I tried mulling the paint for longer and it helped but is still noticeable. Is this because the pigment itself is made up of larger granules? If so, does anyone know of a way to grind them down and make them finer before mulling? Or is mulling until smooth the only option? Are there mullers of differing grit sizes? Thank you!
Perhaps I should clarify, by texture I'm referring to the feel of the paint when you run your finger over it rather than the visual appearance of the paint. It feels rough/chalky to the touch even though none of the pigment rubs off. Appearance-wise, it looks fine -- it's color is uniform and performs as expected, but I want it to feel smooth as normal watercolors should.
Sometimes it helps to further grind it with a mortar and pestle. Usually the Muller disperses pigment more so than grinds it. Sometimes there are Pigments that are extremely coarse and leave a sediment, no matter how long you mull. There are no mullers of differing grit, just size I'm afraid.