Carmine Dragon is genuinely hard to match: no other brand has a same-finish equivalent close enough to swap, and the nearest color anywhere, AK Interactive Clear Red at 60 percent, is a different finish. In the pot, Carmine Dragon reads as a warm red, mid-tone and vivid. Shade down into Slaughter Red, the nearest darker paint in the The Army Painter line. If you need this exact color, buy the pot, since no other line reproduces it in the same finish.
Carmine Dragon equivalents in other ranges
This is one of the colors that keeps The Army Painter pots in painters' cases. Across the mapped brands, nothing qualifies as a real equivalent.
Even the nearest color, AK Interactive Clear Red, dries clearly more muted and cooler than Carmine Dragon, so any substitute will change how the scheme reads.
How to read the score
90+Close
80sUsable
<70Mix
About this color
Color profile
Highlight and shade ladder
Pairs well with
Try any paint in the scheme toolMatch difficulty
Found in 0 other brands with a same-finish match.
Where painters use it
Frequently asked
What is the closest equivalent to The Army Painter Carmine Dragon?
The closest same-finish match is AK Interactive Clear Red at 60% color similarity.
Is Carmine Dragon a one-coat paint?
Carmine Dragon is a contrast paint, made to basecoat and shade in a single pass over a light primer. One coat drops color into the recesses and leaves the raised areas brighter; a second coat deepens the tone if you want it richer.
What do I highlight and shade Carmine Dragon with?
Shade Carmine Dragon with Slaughter Red in the same The Army Painter range. For highlights, mix in a lighter tone or move to a brighter paint in the lane.