Beginner's Guide to Hunting

What is camouflage?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:53:43 +0000

Camouflage – be it natural or manmade – is an attempt by an individual person or animal to hide itself in its surrounding environment. This includes things like a tiger’s stripes, a soldier’s uniform or a chameleon’s color-changing ability. The word camouflage comes from the French word 'camoufler' meaning 'to disguise'. All camouflage basically boils down to two forms: disruptive camouflage and blending camouflage.

Disruptive camouflage is produced by breaking up and thereby concealing the structural lines of the object that is hiding. An exact color match with the environment is much less important than the patterning of the regions of color themselves. Disruptive patterns counter natural perceptual models.

Blending camouflage is a more obvious approach. The camouflaged object is shielded by matching the color, texture, shape, or pattern of other objects in the environment. In nature the copied objects tend to be non-edible and non-threatening. This camouflage is also called high-similarity camouflage or figure-ground blending. It should be noted that certain harmless species have reversed the concept by matching an highly visible species, that is also highly toxic.

Where is camouflage found in nature?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:54:50 +0000

There are many animals throughout nature that have natural camouflage the help them blend into their environment, conceal their shape and avoid their environments.

There are many forms of natural camouflage. One form is mimicry. This is where an animal looks like something else like a leaf, a twig or a more dangerous animal. Some mimics even simulate natural movement like a leaf in the wind.

Another form is a chromatic response, changing color in changing environments, either seasonally (ermine, snowshoe hare) or far more rapidly with chromatophores in their integument (chameleon, the cephalopod family).

Some animals, notably in aquatic environments, also take steps to camouflage the odors they create that may attract predators.

Some herd animals adopt a similar pattern to make it difficult to distinguish a single animal. Examples include zebras' stripes and the reflective scales on fish.

Countershading (or obliterative camouflage), the use of different colors on upper and lower surfaces in graduating tones from a light belly to a darker back, is common in the sea and on land. This is sometimes called Thayer's law, after Abbott H. Thayer who published a paper on the form in 1896.

What are some examples of natural camouflage?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:55:20 +0000

An example of an effective camouflage is a tiger's pelt. The tiger’s stripes, when viewed in the context of long grass or deeply shaded forest, make it hard to identify the tiger's shape as a tiger and the lighter color towards the stomach alter perceived shadowing – both of these are examples of disruptive camouflage.

The underlying non-stripe coloring tends to match the background of long grasses - blending camouflage. This mix of both blending and disruptive patterns is called coincident disruption – the mark of an effective system and the aim of modern military camouflage. Most animals are color blind and shade and tone is more significant in examining a pattern than color.

Coincidentally, the stark black-and-white zebra stripes, while not blending camouflage, is effective disruptive patterning – especially to the color blind lion. Another theory states that the zebra stripes are actually what is called dazzle camouflage. Recent research, supported by experiments in the field, posits that the high contrast stripes, particularly those running horizontally, are an effective means of confusing the visual system of the tsetse fly.

How is camouflage used in the military?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:55:43 +0000

While camouflage and the military now go hand and hand, camo wasn’t used in early warfare. In fact, 19th century armies used bright colors and bold designs. They were intended to daunt the enemy, bring in new recruits, foster unit cohesion and help troops identify their own men.

While, the first troops to use shades of brown and green were small units in the 18th century, no major army used anything like this until 1857. Due to the number of casualties they were facing, the British forces were forced to dye their traditional red uniforms natural tones. The first color they used was a muddy tan they called khaki (derived from the Urdu word for ‘dusty’). This was only used as a temporary measure. They didn’t make it a uniform standard until 1902 during the Second Boer War.

The United States quickly copied this new uniform idea, donning khaki uniforms later that year. Soon Russia, Italy and Germany adopted new, more natural tones.

How is camouflage used on ships?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:56:08 +0000

Camouflage was first used on ships during World War I. During WWI, gunships were usually painted uniform grey, and five camouflage patterns were approved for U.S. merchant ships.

There was also a pattern called “dazzle camouflage” that was briefly popular in this period. Unlike true camouflage, the "dazzle" scheme used high contrast and confusing shapes to make it difficult for enemy forces to estimate speed and the range to the target ship. This pattern was critical in the age of "dumb" gunnery and torpedoes.

The effectiveness of "dazzle" is not entirely certain but it continued in use into World War II. By 1918 the British had applied various patterns to over 4,500 vessels - mainly under the direction of Norman Wilkinson (who became Inspector of Airfield Camouflage in WW II).

People with maskun or other color blindness have been used militarily to detect camouflage, because they have heightened sensitivity to visual patterns and their visual sensitivity curve is different from that of people with normal sight. Military camouflage schemes now are designed with dyes of defined spectral properties — even outside the range of visible light to avoid detection by technical means like night vision (NODs, night observation devices) or thermal imaging devices.

How has Camouflage affected Fashion and Art?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:56:34 +0000

Camouflage has found its way from nature and the battlefields to civilian life in many ways. The worlds of fashion and art have used it in many ways over the years.

Hundreds of artists helped develop camouflage for World War I and since then – and especially since the 1960s – artists have used camo in many different ways.

Military camo patterns initially found civilian clothing markets amongst hunters who wanted clothing that was sturdy, functional and inexpensive. It soon caught on in other areas of fashion and has set several trends over the last 30 or so years, including one for rebellious reasons in the 1960s.

Camouflage continues to be popular in clothing and accessories.

How do I make my own camouflage?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:56:59 +0000

Camouflage can make a fun craft project for you and/or your children. It is a simple product and can be done with things you probably already have around the house.

All you need is an assortment of construction paper; some old science or nature magazines with pictures of animals, insects or reptiles; a pair of scissors; an assortment of textures cut from magazine illustrations; a few glue sticks; and colored markers.

Start by going through old science or nature magazines to find interesting pictures of animals, insects or reptiles. Choose one of the pictures and carefully cut away the background so that only the animal remains.

Next, glue the picture on a piece of construction paper that is a color similar to the animal. Decide whether you want your camo to be a general resemblance or special resemblance pattern.

The next step is to create an environment for the animal. Use the colored markers, colored construction paper and/or textures cut from magazine illustrations to create your animal's habitat.

When your picture is finished, and after the glue dries, show it to others and see how quickly they can find the animal.

Sources
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/sparkers/camouflage/camouflage.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage