Best for starting out
18-colour acrylic paint markers
A clean spectrum with no duplicates — one of everything you need to finish a first project without hunting for a colour.
Compare the sets
Two comparisons that actually matter when you are buying: how the three Tisoso sets differ from each other, and how a direct-liquid brush marker differs from the cotton-core paint pens it sits next to on the shelf.
18 vs 24 vs 48 colours
The nib, the ink and the ink-control system are identical across all three. What changes is palette depth and packaging.
| 18 colours | 24 colours | 48 colours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palette | Full spectrum, no duplicates | Spectrum plus mid-tones | Tonal families — light to dark in one hue |
| Shading without mixing | Limited | Workable | Yes |
| Neutrals & browns | Basic | Good | Complete |
| Storage | PET case | Canvas bag with strap | Canvas bag with strap |
| Brush nib | 1–8 mm flexible | 1–8 mm flexible | 1–8 mm flexible |
| Automatic ink control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | First projects, coloring books, classroom | Regular drawing, gifts, journals | Finished artwork, portraits, commissions |
Direct-liquid brush markers vs cotton-core paint pens
Most inexpensive acrylic "paint pens" hold their pigment in a compressed cotton core, like a highlighter. Tisoso markers hold liquid ink in a reservoir and meter it out through baffles. That single engineering difference changes almost everything about how the pen feels.
| Tisoso direct-liquid brush marker | Typical cotton-core paint pen | |
|---|---|---|
| Ink storage | Free liquid in a sealed reservoir | Absorbed into a cotton core |
| Colour saturation | High — pigment is not filtered by fibre | Lower; the core holds some pigment back |
| Flow control | Baffles meter the ink automatically | Pump the nib and hope |
| Ink actually usable | Most of the reservoir | Whatever the core releases |
| Line width | Angle-driven, 1–8 mm | Mostly fixed by nib shape |
| Nib recovery | Springs back to a point | Splays and stays splayed |
| Starting a session | Shake, one test stroke | Shake, pump, wipe, repeat |
Brush nib vs dual tip
Dual-tip sets give you a fine bullet on one end and a brush on the other, which sounds like more marker for the money. In practice you spend the session flipping the pen, the caps get separated, and the fine end dries out first because it holds less ink. A single flexible brush nib that covers 1 mm to 8 mm removes the flipping entirely — the angle of your hand does the job the second tip was meant to do.
What to check on any acrylic marker set
- Nib recovery. Press a brush nib flat on paper and lift. If it does not spring back to a point, every fill you make costs you a detail line later.
- Opacity on black. A genuine acrylic marker covers black card in one or two passes. A dye-based pen disappears into it.
- Flow at the start of a session. If a pen needs a minute of pumping before every use, that minute is part of the price.
- Standards on the box. ASTM D-4236 and EN71 are the two worth looking for on anything a child will hold.
- Storage. A bag with a strap sounds trivial until you have forty-eight pens rolling across a table.
Best all-rounder
24-colour acrylic paint markers
The primaries, the secondaries and the in-between shades that make skin, sky and foliage look right. Ships in a canvas bag.
Best for full colour work
48-colour acrylic paint markers
Full tonal families: light-to-dark in the same hue, plus neutrals, browns, white and black. Ships in a canvas bag with a carry strap.
Find your set on Amazon
Every colour count, every current offer, and reviews from people who have already filled a shelf with painted rocks.
Shop on Amazon