I was happy with what I have now, but it can always get even better.
Normally animals aren't unicolor. Dirt builds up and off course there is markings for display or camouflage.
Around the eyes and lips of a lizard pink will shine through. Nostrils tend to be darker then the rest and the base of a bone will be darker then the rest. (Maybe this is just dirt, but it looks real)
So I did a mix of all those things in photoshop, to see what I need. Also I put the bonues and teeth in place and took away the background.
I decided to keep the markings quite simple. I put black around the scaly area but created a kind of lip in this way. The nostrils got a helping and the base of the little bones as well.
This created a kind of natural marking for the dragon and made it look a bit meaner again (less girly)
So I'm definitely going to put some more black on it! We'll have to see about the pink.
Here are some examples of dinosaurs that were reconstructed, that I looked at. I'll tell you what I liked about them:
1. Dark around the bones.
2. Different types of scales in one head, also the use of two colors close to each other for a kind of bony bit.
3. Very natural color graduation and bone structures.
4 camouflaging. Now I decided against actual camouflage, because I think a dragon would be absolute top of the food chain. It would only use colors to attract mates and for display.
5. Here I like the difference in the shape of the scales at the mout and around the eye. I used this example when detailing the skin.
