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Back to GuideGuide: Markings
Blah blah. (Base markings - the transitions between body part colours - should be included here. A griff could have striking 'markings' just with those colours, without having anything on subsequent marking layers.)
Paint/Pied
In natural creatures, these are a result of selective leucism - patches of the coat without any colour pigment. Here in fantasy realm, a few millennia of magic and breeding have created similar-looking markings, but without connection to leucism.
These splashy areas can be white, coloured, or even come in glittering metallic and opal patterns! One creature can have up to 4 layers of these markings, each with their own genes for shape and colouration.
These splashy areas can be white, coloured, or even come in glittering metallic and opal patterns! One creature can have up to 4 layers of these markings, each with their own genes for shape and colouration.
(a few images of white painty griffs here)
There are 99 potential shapes for each layer, plus creatures may have no markings on a layer, which means a total of 100,000,000 possible combinations. OK, there are small chances that a griffin may have the same shape on multiple layers, or that a layer with extensive splashes may cover up smaller splashes on a layer below it. So let's subtract a bunch. Ninety million is still a nice range, eh? :)
(few images of black and white painty griffs here)
That was just for markings in one colour. There are 48 to mix and match! Eeek!
When you pick up a wild egg, 'white' (actually Silver Light Plain) is by far the most common colour gene for all paint layers. You may occasionally get black instead. Combined with white layer(s), now it's much easier to identify individual marking shapes, and the same shapes in a different layer order can result in a very different coat.
Now we have 1,536,953,616 possible combos. Let's take a few away - 36 million? - in case of duplicate shapes or big-shapes-covering-smaller-ones. One and a half billion sounds like plenty still.
When you pick up a wild egg, 'white' (actually Silver Light Plain) is by far the most common colour gene for all paint layers. You may occasionally get black instead. Combined with white layer(s), now it's much easier to identify individual marking shapes, and the same shapes in a different layer order can result in a very different coat.
Now we have 1,536,953,616 possible combos. Let's take a few away - 36 million? - in case of duplicate shapes or big-shapes-covering-smaller-ones. One and a half billion sounds like plenty still.
(few images of metal/opal painty griffs)
If you are super-lucky when searching wild nests, or when breeding griffins, you might find that your egg has a rare Metallic or Opal mutation in one layer (or even multiple layers!). There are 16 Metallic and 16 Opal colours, and they match the patterns that can be found in horns, armour and other body parts. You can browse them all in the Horns Guide.
The genes work in the same way.
The genes work in the same way.
(few images of mutated black and white paint here)
Like other normal coat colours, and horns, Plain-type paint markings are affected by mutations.
Leucism will cause black pigment to fade to a pale brown. Erythrism, Xanthism or Cyanism will turn black to red, brown or dark blue. Hypomelanism or Dilution will fade it to a silver grey colour, and Albinism (amelanism) or Achromatism will turn black completely white.
White paint is less commonly affected, but Melanism will darken it to grey, and Erythrism, Xanthism or Cyanism will give it a pale red, gold or blue tint.
Leucism will cause black pigment to fade to a pale brown. Erythrism, Xanthism or Cyanism will turn black to red, brown or dark blue. Hypomelanism or Dilution will fade it to a silver grey colour, and Albinism (amelanism) or Achromatism will turn black completely white.
White paint is less commonly affected, but Melanism will darken it to grey, and Erythrism, Xanthism or Cyanism will give it a pale red, gold or blue tint.