Dimorphic Marking Guide
Dimorphic markings are special markings that are passed down from Fathers and Grandfathers through generations!
Many lineages you can identify from the dimorph alone when looking at the offspring!
Dimorphs are only passed down from and naturally present on Male characters. Additionally, the appearance of a dimorph depends on if your character has a lineage or not!
See the bottom of this guide for information about Female Dimorphs through use of the Parallel Dimorph item!
Many lineages you can identify from the dimorph alone when looking at the offspring!
Dimorphs are only passed down from and naturally present on Male characters. Additionally, the appearance of a dimorph depends on if your character has a lineage or not!
See the bottom of this guide for information about Female Dimorphs through use of the Parallel Dimorph item!
Dimorphs with a Lineage
If your character has parents, that means your character has a lineage. The dimorph must be designed based on the Father and/or Grandfather
- Dimorphs can only be derived from a Father and/or Grandfather on either side of the family. It cannot come from a Great-grandfather
- If one of these two relatives is missing in a dinosaurs' heritage, you must use whichever one is present.
- If you are not sure which marking on the Father/Grandfather is the dinosaur's dimorphic marking, check the import information! There will be a brief description of the dimorphic marking there as well as a color rgb!
- For Male x Female breedings: Use one male grandparent from either side and the father's dimorphic to determine how it'll look.
- For Male x Male breedings: Use both father’s dimorphics to determine how it'll look, or a combination of one father and one grandfather.
- For Female x Female breedings: Use both Male grandparents to determine how it'll look.
- If there is no dimorphic present in your dinosaur's heritage, it will be dimorphicless. Only First Generation dinosaurs can have Make Your Own or MYO Dimorphics
Dimorphs can be changed in shape, placement, and color with the use of items. This also means that you can give a dimorph to a dimorphless character by using items!
- Toxic Newt: Allows you to freely choose any color for the dimorph. The shape, placement, and edge type must remain the same
- Noxious Newt: Allows you to freely choose the shape, placement, and edge type of the dimorph, but the color must remain the same
- Parallel Dimorph: Allows female dinos to present a dimorph. These dimorphs are cosmetic only and do not pass down/affect the lineage in any way. They also must follow all the same dimorph rules
Dimorphs without a Lineage
If your character has “unknown” in all its lineage lines, that means your character is a first generation, lineageless dino. For these characters you can create your own dimorph marking completely from scratch!
Designing the Dimorphic Marking
Dinosaurs with a lineage must follow the following design rules:
- Your dimorphic marking's color MUST be color picked from a gradient created from both parent's dimorphic color.
- Your dimorphic cannot be larger than it originally appears on the Grandpa/Father. It can be helpful to overlay the relatives' import over yours to make sure you aren't going out of range!
- Your dimorphic must mimic how it looks on the father/grandfather; the range can deviate a little but must still be similar in appearance
- Your dimorphic can only have ONE edge type, even the dimorphics you have chosen to pick from have 2 different edge types
- Cannot cover more than approximately 15% of your dinosaur (Up to Admin discretion). If combining markings from each parent, you may need to reduce the sizes to fit this maximum
- Must follow the 2-cluster rule (explained below)
- Dimorphic Markings MUST lay over top of ALL other markings.
For example, let's say that these dinosaurs are your Genotype's Father and Grandfather:
To determine the color of your dimorphic, you will create a gradient like this using colors from the two dimorphs.
You may choose any color from this gradient!
You may choose any color from this gradient!
Dimorphic Markings can be any one of these 4 edge types:
The example parents above would have a Gradient-Edge type for the Yellow Dimorphic and a Hard Edge type for the Blue Dimorphic.
Dimorphic Markings can only cover up to 15%
Dimorphs cannot cover more than approximately 15% of your dinosaur (Up to Admin discretion). If combining markings from each parent, you may need to reduce the sizes to fit this maximum
This box to the right is roughly 15% of an average import; it may not be completely accurate to smaller species, such as Tapejara Dimorphs are compared to this box, with the species in mind, to determine if it is acceptable coverage. This box is for the ENTIRE dimorph, so if you are using 2 clusters, 1 box is meant to cover both |
Acceptable dimorphic variations
Dimorphs do not need to exactly match the father/grandfather's, but it must be similar and not create wholly new shapes. Dimorphs should stay within the space that the father/grandfather's dimorph takes up, however negative space can also be considered
Correct examples:
Following the above rules, here are some examples of acceptable dimorphic markings that the children of the example dinosaurs could have!
Incorrect examples:
The 2-cluster Rule
The 2-Cluster Rule determines how many 'groupings' or 'clusters' a dimorphic marking can have! Each dinosaur is permitted to have up to 2 'clusters' of a dimorphic marking! Keep in mind that you do not NEED 2 clusters per dinosaur, and it is perfectly acceptable to go with less clusters.
Below are some correct examples of dimorphic markings that correctly follow our 2-Cluster rule and contain 1-2 clusters.
Below are some correct examples of dimorphic markings that correctly follow our 2-Cluster rule and contain 1-2 clusters.
Correct examples
Incorrect examples
MYO (Make Your Own) Dimorphics
For first generation male dinosaurs with no lineage, you can create your own dimorphic marking!
Since the look is not determined by a relative, you are free to choose any placement, color, and edge type
MYO Dimorph Design Rules
Since the look is not determined by a relative, you are free to choose any placement, color, and edge type
MYO Dimorph Design Rules
- Cannot cover more than approximately 15% of your dinosaur (Up to Admin discretion).
- Can be any color
- Must be 1 color only
- Must be opaque- markings should not be visible underneath the dimorphic color
- Must have only 1 edge type (Ie: Hard, Gradient, Textured or Feathered)
- Must lay over top of ALL other markings.
- Must follow the 2 Cluster Rule
- MYO Dimorphics must appear natural! They should never look like tattoos or identifiable objects/shapes! (This includes logos, stars, ect)
Here are some examples of user-made dimorphics that are legal/acceptable:
Incorrect/illegal examples:
Parallel (Female) Dimorphs
Female dinos can present dimorphic markings with the use of the Parallel Dimorph item. These dimorphs are cosmetic only and do not pass down/affect the lineage in any way.
Additionally, Parallel Dimorphs must still follow the normal design rules, meaning that if your female dinosaur has a lineage, it cannot have a MYO dimorph without the use of a toxic & noxious newt. Parallel Dimorphs must still be derived from a father and/or grandfather, and if there are none in the lineage, then the parallel dimorph item will have no effect by itself. |