We'll give the baby dragon a blush of health with Subsurface Scattering (SSS). Some light hits these scales and bounces right back. Other light permeates inward and bounces around, eventually absorbing or bouncing back out. If organic matter is thin enough, that light transmits through, but unlike light easily passing through glass, it scatters through the blood vessels, skin, fat, and other organic matter. We see this when light shines through thin skin, such as backlit ears, or when a hand is held over a flashlight. We'll use a hand-painted subsurface color map to represent those internal colors and our subsurface bakes to control.
The subsurface attribute of the BSDF controls where SSS occurs. The subsurface radius ...
