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It REALLY depends on what paints your starting with and If you're airbrushing or not.
For example, a common ratio for Vallejo paints is 1:1 or 1:2 paint to water for airbrushing. However, some pigments are heavier than others depending on the colours. This is why your yellows/reds are typically thinner than your blacks/browns. Because of this, they need to be thinned differently.
If you're airbrushing, there are dedicated airbrush paints that simplify this (Badger's Minitaire, Vallejos Model Air). These are great if you're beginning as the learning curve for paint consistancy can be quite challanging.
Most people recommend you do not airbrush with Citadel colours. This is because Citadel tends to have the widest range in terms of consistancy in their paints and they are the hardest to thin properly. This doesn't mean you can't use them, it just makes it a lot harder. Some may thin 1:1, some may thin 1:20 and it's trial and error as it isn't even consistant between batches of the same colour.
If you're working with the Citadel spectrum, you can find a colour conversion chart for Vallejo which will simplify this problem.
If you're brushing on these paints then this gets a bit less challanging and has more to do with what you're trying to accomplish. If you're glazing then your paint consistancy is more like dirty water. If you want to cover in 2 coats (average for brush on, except the lighter colours) you want it closer to a milk consistancy.
The easiest way to ensure your consistancy is correct is to mix these in a little mixing cup and drag the paint up the side of the cup to test. Based on how much of it sticks to the side of the cup you can know how happy you're going to be with it.
Also, consider using a mix of flow aid and mixing medium to thin your paints instead of water. This is more of an advanced thing but the reason you would do this is because paint tends to separate from water whereas a mixing medium/flow aid combo should distribute the paint within the solution relatively easily. The reason you get watermarks with thin paint, is because you're using water.
Hope this wasn't too long. Lemmie know how it goes!
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