The consistency that works best for you.
You'll get a whole lot of advice on the matter - but none of it really matters. You need to figure out how you paint and work that stuff out for your habits.
If you think you want to do 5, 6, 7 or more layers of paint for each color - in order to get the really smooth blending and layers that you see on some of the showcase armies, you will want to dilute the paint a lot. It should be just a bit above colored water.
However, if you don't have the patience for that and want to paint your army in a day...throw some washes on it and give it a quick dry brush - then you just want to use a wet brush and paint straight from the pot.
Metallics you will normally want a little thicker than regular paints, though it will depend on what you are doing. If it is a base metallic color, you want to have enough metallic flake in the mix to get a good sheen. If you are just highlighting the edge of a blade - you can dilute it a bit more to reduce the coverage.
All in all though - it depends on what you are after. The best way to figure it out is to take a bit of paint and put it on a palette (one of those little dimple palettes are great). Grab a figure and paint a bit. Add a bit more water and paint a bit more. More water and paint some more. See where it feels best to you.
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