I love using markers, they're one of my favorite mediums besides watercolors and Photoshop. But when it comes to buying them, I find myself stopping and looking through the various premade sets online or in the store only to find myself asking myself, were they serious with this set of colors. Case in point: the Prismacolor Basic Set of markers, with it's six colors of purple, green, black, red, blue, and yellow. While expense is always an issue, it's not really a starter set, since mixing and blending colors is something left out (no colorless blender). There is one of each basic shade, and when it comes down to it, it's not a particulary great starter kit, unless you add in two more markers of each shade with a colorless blender, and a pad of paper suitable for markers and ink (I found out about that the hard way).
If it's something I find irritating it's the lack of intermediate colors in "basic" sets of 8 or less. It may seem like a good idea to present someone with a "basic" set of four colors, but when it comes to it, you're better off getting at least three markers/pencils/pastels of differing shades of the same color, in addition to the set in question. This deliema of sorts is a minor one, unless you are used to using at least three to four colors in creating shade/tone/highlights in their art. It's nice for a kid just starting out, but overall, basic sets need to have more variety in them if they're to be handed out to the older artist. This is probably the reason for various 12 piece sets, especially regarding the new basic sets for manga artists, like the new double-ended Manga Set for Prismacolor, or the established Copic 12 piece basic sets.
It's good to see how basic sets are changing with the times, especially with the influence of manga styled work. The good basic set now comes with two different greys and two seperate shades of each primary color. Although not all basic sets come with blenders, it's always a good piece of mind to supply one with a basic set. Even then, the new basic set is a far cry from the simple set of four you got for Christmas.
