White Patterning Crested Geckos
A crested gecko's pattern over the base colour on the dorsum, laterals and legs is filled by White Patterning, which is a cream-to-white colour. Because most animals carry cream, clean paper white usually needs hypo as well. You should look at the pattern shade under good light before you pay for white.
About the White Patterning gene
The pale part of the pattern colour in a crested gecko is known as White Patterning, or WP to breeders. This determines if the dorsal, harlequin or flame markings look white and cream instead of yellow or orange. A buyer pays for this in a gecko with a clean, high-contrast look.
Appearance
Base colour and pattern colour are different. The body colour of a fired-up gecko is the base, while the pattern is the contrasting colour on the legs, dorsals, and laterals. For a WP animal, the pattern ranges from cream to paper white, with cream being the most common shade. Because white is a lack of melanin rather than an added pigment, the cream tint comes from yellow pigment in the xanthophores. A true paper white is mostly produced by the Hypo, which reduces that yellowing. Animals with a yellow base almost always have a cream or white pattern. Phantom works against it. On a Lilly White or a pinstripe carrying Phantom, the white fades towards the base colour from the tail forward.
Genetics
White Patterning is a dominant gene that is not allelic with Orange Patterning. This means an animal can show both white and orange pattern at once, or just one of them. It takes one or two generations for breeders to push lines toward all white or all orange. You need WP along with its orange colouring for a Creamsicle. White Wall and Whiteout add extra white pattern onto WP. Lilly White is a separate gene with its own page. You will find it listed as White Patterning, and Super White Patterning is listed too.