Every beginner assumes the same thing: more colors means better art. An alcohol markers set with 72 choices feels like the safe buy — surely having every color covers every situation. But every experienced marker artist will tell you the same thing: the 72-set was a mistake. Not because the markers are bad, but because owning 72 colors before you know which 12 you actually use is a reliable way to make slow progress and waste money.
This guide gives you the honest answer — how many markers to start with, why the bigger-is-better instinct works against beginners, and a logical system for growing your collection once you know your palette.
Key Takeaways
Five things to know before you buy your first set:
- A 12–24 set is the right starting point for most beginners — not 36, not 72.
- Bigger sets create decision paralysis and fill your collection with colors you will rarely touch.
- A balanced 12: 3 skin tones, 3 cool greys, 1 warm grey, 1 black, and 4 accent colors covers most beginner projects.
- After 20–30 hours of drawing, you will know which specific gaps to fill — buy singles then, not a new set.
- Set size does not determine skill growth. Technique does.
How many alcohol markers do you actually need
The honest answer: 12 to 24 for beginners. Not more.
This sounds limiting until you look at what professional illustrators actually use. Most working marker artists who own 100+ markers report using 30–40 regularly. The rest exist for specific projects, seasonal palettes, or because buying new markers felt good in the moment. The productive working range is always smaller than the owned range.
For a beginner, that gap is even more extreme. You do not yet know your subject matter preferences, your color temperature instincts, or which hue families you naturally draw toward. Spending money on 72 markers before you know any of those things means you are pre-buying 50+ markers for a style you have not discovered yet.
The best marker set size for a beginner is the one that covers enough range to do real work — blended gradients, skin tones, shadow values — without creating the paralysis of too many choices. That range is 12 to 24.
Why bigger sets can hurt beginners
A 72-color alcohol markers set works against beginners in three specific ways. Understanding these helps you resist the upsell.
First: you buy colors before discovering your style. The markers that a portrait artist reaches for constantly are completely different from the ones a landscape artist uses. Before you have drawn 30 pieces, you do not know which type of artist you are. A 72-set makes you buy both, plus a lot of colors you will never use.
Second: too many choices slows you down. Decision paralysis is real. When you sit down with a 72-set, every color decision involves scanning, comparing, and second-guessing. With a 12-set, you spend that mental energy on the drawing itself. Constraints force creative problem-solving in a way that abundance cannot.
Third: you cannot identify your real gaps. If you own 72 markers and your piece does not look right, the problem might be your technique, your paper, your color relationships, or a missing tonal step. With a 72-set you assume the problem is one of the colors you do not own yet and buy more. With a 12-set you are forced to diagnose the actual problem.
The beginner who buys a 72-set ends up using 15 markers regularly. The other 57 sit in a case, technically owned, practically invisible.
The ideal first set size
Twenty-four markers, selected with intentionality, is the sweet spot. Here is a concrete 12-marker palette template that covers most beginner subjects:
- 3 skin tones — light (E01 or equivalent), medium (E04), deep (E08)
- 3 cool greys — CG1 (light), CG3 (mid), CG5 (dark)
- 1 warm grey — WG3 (for skin shadows and warm surfaces)
- 1 black — 110 or equivalent
- 1 deep red — R29 (for clothing, lips, accents)
- 1 medium blue — B25 (for sky, denim, eyes)
- 1 forest green — G45 (for foliage, military, eye accents)
- 1 yellow — Y17 (for hair, sunlight, gold)
A 24-set extends this foundation with 12 more: extra tonal steps in your most-used hue families (a lighter skin tone, a mid-warm grey, a medium red, a sky blue), plus one or two colors your particular subject matter needs. By the time you have used all 24 through 20 hours of drawing, you will know exactly which additional colors your work is asking for.
The Finecolour Junior 24-set is designed for exactly this starting point. The color selection is balanced across skin tones, neutrals, and accents — not padded with 12 different shades of green that a beginner will never use. It uses dual tip (chisel plus bullet), and the ink quality is on par with the Sketch line. See the full breakdown in best alcohol markers for beginners.
When comparing 12 vs 24 vs 36 markers as a starting point: 12 is a valid first set and a great learning tool; 24 is the more practical starting point for anyone who wants to draw varied subjects; 36 is where you should buy when you have outgrown 24, not where you should start.
How to grow from your starter set
The buy-as-you-need system is more efficient than the buy-a-set system at every stage past your first purchase.
After 20–30 hours of drawing with your starter set, you will feel specific frustrations: a shadow tone that is too light, a green that is too yellow, a missing step between two skin tones that forces an abrupt jump. Those frustrations are the signal. The specific color you wish you had is the right next purchase.
Buy one or two markers in the exact gap you feel, not a new set. This keeps your collection purposeful — every marker you own gets used because you bought it for a specific reason in a specific piece. Compare this to buying a 36-set upgrade: you get 12 more useful markers and 24 more you will rarely touch.
The exception is grey series. If your work is developing and you feel you need more grey steps, buying a full CG or WG series (6–7 markers) is reasonable as a single purchase, because they work as a system.
For a complete strategy on building a collection without overspending, the guide on how to build a marker collection on a budget walks through the full open-stock system — including which hue families to add in which order. Pair it with the alcohol marker color theory guide when you are ready to think more systematically about palette building.
FAQ
Four set-size questions that trip up first-time buyers.
What alcohol markers set size is best for beginners?
Start with 24. It is enough range to do real blended work — gradients, skin tones, shadow values — without overwhelming you with choices. The Finecolour Junior 24-set is built for this starting point: balanced across skin tones, greys, and accents; dual tip; and ink quality that carries through the first 6 months of marker practice. Expand to 48 once you feel the specific gaps your current pieces are missing.
Is a 12-marker set enough to start?
Yes, especially for the first month. A well-chosen 12 — a skin tone tonal family, a grey series, a black, and two or three accent colors — teaches the core skills: blending, value building, clean fills. The constraint forces creative decisions. Once you have drawn 10–15 pieces with your 12, you will know exactly which colors to add next.
Are 72-color marker sets worth it for beginners?
Not usually. A 72-set gives you 72 choices before you know which 12 you actually use. Most beginners who start large end up with 50+ untouched markers and no real understanding of their own palette preferences. If your budget allows a 72-set, buy a 24-set first — use it until you know your gaps — then invest the remaining budget in the specific colors your work is asking for.
How do I know when to expand my marker collection?
When you finish a piece and feel frustrated that a specific tonal step is missing — not a new color, but a value between two markers you already own. That frustration is the signal. Buy one or two markers in the exact gap, not a new set. If the frustration is about a whole color family you lack (you need greens but own none), a small 6–12 color targeted purchase is reasonable.
Final Thoughts
The right number of alcohol markers is not the biggest number you can afford. It is the smallest set that covers your current projects without creating paralysis. For most beginners, that is 24.
Start there. Use every marker in the set until you feel specific gaps. Then fill those gaps with singles, not new sets. After a year of that system, you will have a collection of 40–60 markers — every one of which you can explain exactly why you own.
Start browsing Finecolour’s full alcohol markers set range at finecolour.com.ua/palette/ — organized by hue family so you can build a balanced 24 without guesswork.
