Design Guide | The Dragon Realms

✧ How to Use This Guide (Generalized Version) ✧

Elements express themselves in color through three consistent roles: Main, Center, and Glow. These rules apply to all elemental creatures—whether dragon, phoenix, hellhound, or any other being touched by elemental power.

1. Select Your Variant

Each element manifests in multiple variants (e.g., Orange Fire, White Ice, Green Earth, Teal Wind). Begin by choosing the variant your creature embodies.

2. Choose the Main Element Color

This is the dominant hue of the element.
It must appear on the creature’s body, whether in its skin, fur, scales, feathers, markings, aura, or any other visible feature.
At least 20% of the creature’s visible design must carry the main color.

3. Choose the Center Element Color

This is a brighter, secondary expression of the element.
The center color does not always need to appear—but if your creature displays a tone that falls into this range, it must align with the element’s rules.
Some variants include secondary center ranges to allow more flexibility.

4. Choose the Glow Element Color

The glow is the deepest, darkest hue of the element.
It must always be noticeably darker than the main color.
Avoid drastic hue shifts (e.g., pairing a bright red main with a cold purple glow). The glow should feel like the shadow or edge of the main element.

5. Using HSV Ranges

If you understand HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value/Brightness), you can work directly from the provided tables for more freedom.
Otherwise, stick to the predefined swatches for simplicity and accuracy.

6. Universal Notes

Elemental color laws apply across all species—dragons, phoenixes, hellhounds, spirits, and more.
Variants may be common, rare, or restricted depending on environmental influence, ancestry, or unique conditions.
“Impurities” occur when one element influences another (e.g., Fire altered by Water or Electric energy). These produce special variants, which follow the same rules but shift in hue or rarity.

⚠️ Important Reminder: Some display settings (like dark mode) may cause the guide’s colors to appear inaccurate. The provided hex codes remain reliable across all uses.