Ark: Survival Evolved is a popular dinosaur survival game that allows players to tame and ride dinosaurs. One of the exciting features in Ark is the ability to customize the colors of your tamed dinosaurs through a process called “painting.” Painting your dinos allows you to personalize them and make them stand out. In this article, we’ll look at how you can recolor your dinosaurs in Ark and some tips for choosing cool color schemes.
How to Recolor Dinosaurs
There are a couple different methods for changing dino colors in Ark:
Paintbrush
The easiest way is to use a Paintbrush. This is an item you can craft in the game that allows you to “paint” parts of a creature’s body. To use a paintbrush:
- Craft the Paintbrush at a Crafting Table
- Access the creature’s inventory and open the “Appearance” tab
- Select the body part you want to recolor
- Choose a new color from the color palette
- Paint that body section by holding down the mouse button and moving the brush over it
You can repaint creatures as often as you want. The Paintbrush method lets you recolor one body section at a time.
Creative Mode
If you are playing in Creative Mode, you can access the creature’s full color regions all at once. To recolor in Creative Mode:
- Enable Creative Mode on your game or server
- Access the creature’s inventory and open the “Appearance” tab
- Select “Edit Base Color Regions” to see all color zones
- Click on each color zone and choose a new color from the palette
Creative Mode gives you more control and allows full-body recoloring. This method is only available when Creative Mode is enabled.
Color Palettes
The color palettes in Ark provide a wide range of colors for painting creatures. Here are the different color options available:
Default Colors
The default color palette contains basic colors like red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, black, white, brown, tan, gray, and pink. These are the standard colors you start with.
Event Colors
Special event colors get unlocked during seasonal Ark events like Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, and Winter Wonderland. These include pastel shades, neon hues, and other fun colors.
Hex Code Colors
For advanced customization, you can input a hex color code to access any color on the RGB spectrum. This offers near limitless color options.
Creature-Specific Colors
Some creatures also have preset color region patterns you can toggle between that are unique to their species. For example, the Direwolf has different color variations for its fur markings.
Tips for Recoloring Dinosaurs
Here are some tips to get the most out of painting your creatures:
- Use accent colors -Paint key parts like the head, back, or underside a different hue from the main body color.
- Try natural color combos – Go for color schemes you’d find in nature like black & yellow or brown & green.
- Match environments – Choose colors adapted to where you live like sand tones in the desert or white in the snow.
- Coordinate tribe colors – Paint your creatures to match your tribe’s banner colors for a unified look.
- Go bright – Vibrant neon or pastel colors stand out and look great on tropical or alien creatures.
- Use patterns – The Paintbrush can create stripes, spots, or patches when used with multiple colors.
With endless color possibilities, you’re limited only by your imagination when painting. Get creative and have fun making colorful custom dinosaurs.
Creature Recoloring Examples
To give you inspiration for decorating your own dinosaurs, here are some examples of recolored creatures and color schemes:
| Creature | Recolor Example | Color Scheme |
|---|---|---|
| Raptor | Vibrant red body with black stripes | Primary red, Secondary black |
| Parasaur | Pastel pink with blue crest and markings | Primary pink, Secondary blue |
| Sabertooth | White fur with black stripes | Primary white, Secondary black |
| Pteranodon | Deep purple body with cyan wings | Primary purple, Secondary cyan |
| Mammoth | Brown fur with tan tusks and accents | Primary brown, Secondary tan |
As you can see, there are endless possibilities for customizing creatures. Match colors to environments, use bright vivid hues, try natural color combos, or just let your imagination run wild.
Color Regions
Each creature in Ark has between 5-10 different “color regions” that can be painted individually. This allows for complex patterns and color combinations. Here are some of the most common color regions:
| Color Region | Description |
|---|---|
| Main Body | The primary body color |
| Highlight | Stripes, spots, or accents |
| Belly | Underside of the body |
| Tail | The tail color |
| Spine | Spikes, sail, or plates on the back |
| Mane | Neck and head hair/feathers |
Learning which color zones can be painted on each creature unlocks new design options. Consult the creature’s Appearance menu to see available color regions.
Unlocking New Colors
New colors can be unlocked through various methods like boss fights, events, and explorer notes:
Defeating Bosses
Defeating Ark’s bosses like the Broodmother or Megapithecus unlocks new color options. Each boss rewards a different set of colors.
Explorer Notes
Finding Explorer Notes around the maps will grant you additional colors as a reward for collecting notes.
Events
Limited-time events like Valentine’s Day and Easter will add special event-themed colors to the game which you can claim.
Mutations
Breeding dinos can result in color mutation babies with random new colors. Breed until you get desired colors.
Trading
You can trade creatures or colorant dyes with other players to acquire colors you may be missing.
Unlocking all available colors gives you the most options for customizing creatures. Check the Ark wiki for guides on where to find new colors.
Colorant Dyes
In addition to paintbrushes, you can craft colored dyes at a cooking pot to use for painting creatures:
| Dye | Ingredients Needed |
|---|---|
| Red Dye | Amarberry, Azulberry, Mejoberry, or Tintoberry |
| Green Dye | Amarberry, Azulberry, or Mejoberry + Sap |
| Blue Dye | Azulberry + Sap |
| Purple Dye | Amarberry or Azulberry + Rare Flower |
| Orange Dye | Citronal + Sap |
| Black Dye | Rare Flower + Oil |
| White Dye | Rare Flower |
| Yellow Dye | Citronal |
| Brown Dye | Medium or Large Animal Feces |
| Tan Dye | Amarberry or Tintoberry |
| Pink Dye | Tintoberry or Rare Flower |
| Cyan Dye | Aquatic Mushroom |
Dyes provide another great option for recoloring besides just paintbrushes. They also allow you to paint in smaller detailed areas versus large zones.
Creature ID Tag Recoloring
In addition to the main body, you can also recolor a creature’s ID tag that is displayed above it:
- Access ID tag customization in the creature’s Appearance menu
- Click the color box to open the color picker
- Choose a new color for the text and background
- You can also toggle background visibility on/off
Recoloring ID tags helps differentiate similar creatures at a glance when they are grouped together.
Community Creativity
The Ark painting system has led to a thriving community of player artists who create stunning paint jobs. Here are some examples of creative uses of the creature recoloring system:
Dino Paint Jobs
Many players meticulously paint beautiful designs on their dinosaurs like realistic animal patterns, symbols & logos, or creative themes.
Color Coordinated Armies
Tribes will often coordinate all their creature colors to match for a uniform warpaint look.
Lore-Friendly Recolors
Some artists try to recreate prehistoric animal colors based on scientific theories for a more realistic vibe.
Theme Colony Decor
Creature recolors are used to decorate bases to match themes like pink love motels, rave parties, construction sites, or gyms.
Creature Breeding
Breeders combine mutations with careful color selection to create perfect color combinations on bred creatures.
The creative ways players utilize the painting system highlights the engagement and immersion it brings to the game.
Conclusion
Recoloring your dinosaurs is an exciting way to customize your prehistoric creatures and make them your own in Ark. With full control over color regions using paintbrushes, dyes, creature ID tags, and breeding mutations, the possibilities for decorating your dinosaurs are nearly endless. Use colors to better match environments, coordinate tribes, get creative with patterns and themes, or just for fun. Unlock even more color options by defeating bosses, finding explorer notes, trading, and events. Let your creativity run wild! What unique dinosaur paint jobs will you create?
