In this video I’m testing the MeiLiang “Pretty Excellent” 48-color set and comparing it to the 36-color Paul Rubens-style bargain sets a lot of us see online. I swatch, do quick demos, and then dig into the stuff that actually matters if you care about your paintings lasting—lightfastness and what’s really inside these pans. One of the big takeaways is that this set can look surprisingly good on paper for the price, which is why I still think it’s one of the best practice paint options for serious beginners. But I also talk about the “bummer” part: undisclosed fugitive colors and questionable lightfast ratings can hurt artists who trust what’s printed on the chart. I also do a dye/fluorescence check (UV flashlight) because some of these affordable sets can include fluorescent dye additives—fun for sketchbooks and crafts, not what I want in anything I’m gifting, framing, or selling. If you want to keep using a cheap set for the stable blues and browns, my recommendation is to supplement it with truly lightfast reds—specifically a lightfast Magenta PR122 (cool red) and a Cadmium Red PR108 or Pyrrol Red PR255 (warm red). I also mention Roman Szmal as a great-priced way to add more dependable pigments (and more granulating options) to your palette.