Ark: Survival Evolved is a popular survival game that allows players to tame and ride dinosaurs. One of the fun parts of the game is being able to customize the colors of your tamed dinos to make them look unique. In this guide, we will go over the console commands and instructions for changing dino colors in Ark.
Using the SetTargetDinoColor Command
The main command used for changing dino colors in Ark is called SetTargetDinoColor. This allows you to specify the dino you want to modify and exactly what color regions you want to change. Here is the basic syntax for the command:
SetTargetDinoColor <DinoID> <ColorRegion> <ColorID>To use it, you simply replace <DinoID> with the ID of the dinosaur you want to modify. For <ColorRegion>, you specify which part of the dino you want to change. The available color regions are:
| Color Region | Section Changed |
|---|---|
| 0 | Body |
| 1 | Patterning |
| 2 | Belly |
| 3 | Back |
| 4 | Head Feathers/Hair |
| 5 | Face |
Finally, <ColorID> should be replaced with a numeric ID matching the color you want. Color IDs in Ark range from 0-255 and correspond to different RGB values.
Color ID Values
Here are some common color ID values and what they represent:
| Color ID | Color |
|---|---|
| 0 | Black |
| 1 | Dark Red |
| 5 | Brown |
| 8 | Dark Grey |
| 10 | Grey |
| 12 | Light Grey |
| 14 | Red |
| 17 | Light Brown |
| 18 | Tan |
| 22 | Pink |
| 25 | Yellow |
| 28 | Green |
| 30 | Light Blue |
| 35 | Blue |
| 37 | Purple |
| 43 | Dark Green |
| 48 | Light Grey |
| 56 | Bright Red |
| 60 | Darker Grey |
| 255 | White |
Example Commands
Let’s look at some examples of using SetTargetDinoColor:
SetTargetDinoColor 123 0 5This would change the body color of dino with ID 123 to brown.
SetTargetDinoColor 246 2 255This would set the belly color of dino 246 to be white.
SetTargetDinoColor 357 4 25This command makes the head/hair region of dino 357 yellow.
You can mix and match color regions and IDs to create all sorts of unique combos for your dinosaurs. Just be aware that some sections like patterns and faces may not be colorizable on certain creature types.
Creative Color Combinations
Here are some cool dino color schemes you can try creating with these commands:
- Black body with red patterns
- White belly and green back
- Pink head and blue body
- Purple body with yellow patterns
- Red face and black body
- Light blue body with dark grey patterns
Don’t be afraid to experiment with the color IDs to see what appealing designs you can come up with for your dinos. It may take some trial and error to get it just right.
Setting Colors for Multiple Regions
You can also use the SetTargetDinoColor command to change multiple color zones at the same time. Just issue the command again with different parameters. For example:
SetTargetDinoColor 342 0 35
SetTargetDinoColor 342 4 56 This would make dino 342 have a blue body and bright red head feathers.
Other Color Commands
In addition to SetTargetDinoColor, there are a few other color-related commands you can try:
- SetDinoColorSet – Uses color set presets instead of custom colors.
- SetColorRegion – Similar usage to SetTargetDinoColor.
- GetDinoColor – Returns current colors of a dino.
These provide some extra options, but most players will use SetTargetDinoColor for full customization control.
Spawning Colored Dinosaurs
You can also spawn in new dinos already customized with SetTargetDinoColor. Just use the regular dino spawn commands like:
cheat gmsummon "Bronto_Character_BP_C" 500 0 0 0Then follow up with SetTargetDinoColor to modify colors immediately after spawning. This is useful for creating colored dino “templates” that you can spawn whenever needed.
Coloring Tamed vs Wild Dinosaurs
One limitation is that these color commands only work on tamed dinos. The colors of wild dinos are randomized and cannot be changed until after taming. So you need to knock out and tame a dino first before customizing its color scheme. Attempting to use these commands on untamed creatures will not work.
Permanent vs Temporary Color Changes
Color changes made with SetTargetDinoColor are permanent and do not need to be reapplied. Even if you cryopod, upload, or respawn the creature, it will remember the custom colors. However, breeding will revert colors to wild randomized values. To make colored dinos breed true, you need to use creature mutators like the Color Gun.
Coloring Extinct Creatures
These color commands work on both vanilla dinos as well as any modded or extinct species added by mods and expansion packs. So you can customize exotic creatures like Velonasaurs, Deinonychus, and Ice Wyverns with unique color schemes.
Conclusion
Customizing dino colors with SetTargetDinoColor gives you tons of options for making unique, vibrant creatures. Experiment with color regions and IDs to see the creative color combinations you can make. Just be sure to tame a dino first before attempting to use the color commands. With this guide, your dinosaur army can have the coolest colors on the server.