Design Guide: Piebald

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Piebald

PbPb/nPb

Piebald leaves large white areas on the coat, ranging from minimal to extensive coverage.

At minimum, piebald must cover at least 50% of the visible tokota; piebald on the 'other side' does not count for this figure.
Maximum piebald must simply reveal a bit of the tokota beneath it - you cannot use piebald to mimic an albino, for instance!

Piebald covers all markings, including marked. However, flecking may optionally show above or below piebald.
Piebald does not show on melanistic or luecistic tokotas.

Unzac 35130 by TotemSpiritUlryn 35509 by TotemSpirit




Here is a quick guide on how to begin designing a piebald tokota:

STEP 1

First step! Design your Tokota with everything but the piebald.
I will use a simple brown with accents for this example:

STEP 2

Add a layer of white over your whole design. 
It must be white or slightly off white; you're allowed some level of saturation, but it must be bright.
Here is a gradient of acceptable piebald colors, but of course, you can use pure white as well:

Piebald Color Swatch
Piebald Swatch by DesignDen


STEP 3

Erase some spot like shapes!

Once this is done, its time to clean up the edges. Here are some things to avoid:


LEFT: Too wispy; piebald edges should not have such long bits of fur straying off the white.
RIGHT: Overly-blurred edges; the edge of piebald needs to be more defined.


LEFT: Too feathery; a mix between wispy and blurry -- piebald edges need to be defined.
RIGHT: Too spotty; the edges should not be overly-complex or have so many tiny spots.

Perfect!


And you're done!





Some things to avoid with piebald:


Overo Syndrome

Contrary to popular belief, piebald in Tokotas does not follow the rules of piebald in other animals. 
The example below resembles an overo horse. The mistake here is that instead of making a layer
of white and erasing, I just drew some white shapes onto the coat, which is not correct.


Dripping Paint

This kinda looks like he got a bucket of paint dropped on him huh?
The spots are much too oval like, and their are too many lines and jagged edges. This is not correct.



Too Swirly

The piebald below is much too swirly and complicated. We encourage original designs, but piebald should look natural.
Also, keep in mind you are going to have to replicate this design!


Polka Dots

While we encourage your piebald patches to be spot-like, we do not mean polka dots.
On the left is incorrect, on the right is the correct version.
See how making the spots a little more irregular makes it look natural?





Spotted Edges

Piebald can have some isolated white spots, but keep in mind that it
still needs to flow well with the design and have a natural look.

Spot1 by DesignDen

What not to do:


Large, random spots
Spots are too large and just stuck randomly on the base.
They don't flow well with the rest of the piebald.
Spot2 by DesignDen


Irregular, unnatural spots
Spots are too polka dotted, linear or stripey.
Spot3 by DesignDenSpot4 by DesignDenSpot5 by DesignDen

Avoid imitating other markings like bearmarks or rainmarks by creating isolated spots, as this is not acceptable. 

If your design looks like patches of colour on white, you've done it correctly!
If it looks like patches of white on color, it is incorrect.




Piebald Halos

Piebald may optionally have a halo around the marking, creating a lower opacity outline around the Piebald.
It can be soft or hard edged, but should not be extremely soft edged or blurred.
PieHalo1 by DesignDenPieHalo2 by DesignDen
Above: Soft Edged Halo | Hard Edged Halo

The halo can have varying widths throughout the design, so long as it does not become too large in any area.
PieHalo3 by DesignDen
Above: Halo with Varying Widths

The halo should not be too large or too blurred.
PieHalo4 by DesignDenPieHalo5 by DesignDen
Above: Too Large Halo | Too Blurred Halo




Piebald + Markings


Piebald + Flecking

Piebald covers everything with the exception of flecking.
Flecking may appear on top of the piebald.
Flecking may optionally be lighter and more subtle where it sits on top of Piebald, or it may be fully present/dark.
Sidhe 34792 by TotemSpirit

Piebald + Marked

Marked should always be beneath Piebald!

Piebald + Lilac

With lilac, piebald may optionally have a very slight blue tint,
such as found in the example below:
Asiavik 33285 by TotemSpirit




Good Examples of Piebald Tokotas:



Skin by Horsepoint and alexpeanut, paw icon by Kawiku, images by noebelle
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AlfaDragonRulez's avatar

quick question, does piebald go over wolverine?