New Color Swatch for Camo Patterns, Rifles - Let me know what you think!

[Inquirer]

Hey Gents,

I've been trying to figure out what color to paint a rifle/pistol combo, and the internet wasn't helping. On one hand, there's the universally-accepted-as-heaven-sent Magpul Flat Dark Earth. On another, there's OD green, or Digicam, or MARPAT, or, or, or... I decided that I wanted a solid color, but once I did I was confronted with tons of choices, from paint manufacturers to company swatch variance (i.e., Magpul FDE vs. VLTOR FDE), to coating type. And on top of that, every single picture anybody's ever taken of their paint on their rifle seems to have different exposure, color space, white balance, etc.

So I decided to do a little research and come up with my own camo color. The product was Olive Dark Earth, or ODE:

The philosophy here was kind of a single-camo MultiCam, but I drew inspiration from pretty much all mainstream and some non-mainstream color swatches and camouflages. Obviously if it's a one-off you can do it to suit your exact neighborhood, but I'm moving in a week and I wanted to put something down on paper. Once I get to my "Area of Operations" - Los Angeles Area - I'll do some tests by comparing the color's presence to photos I take around my neighborhood, of the terrain colors, naturally occurring foliage, and see how it compares. Then I'll compare it to the backgrounds used by the actual camo tests USG runs, and see how it sticks. I'll eventually be implementing a few other colors in a fractal pattern to see how it does with three to four distinct color elements, but in the meantime, I'll probably laying this down as a basecoat on my next rifle and pistol purchase.

As a side note, I'd love to know what commercially available gun color/colors could be used to replicate it. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it and let me know if you have any feedback at all.

Thanks,

--Inq

[MrPlink]

I think you are over thinking camo

[pacifico23]

I like it alot! Its like a in between of od green and flat dark earth

[starsnuffer]

I just want to say goodbye to all of you and thanks for all the good times.

Clearly the end of the world is tomorrow now that I've read about color swatches on a firearms forum.

-W

[donking]

yuk

[Inquirer]

Just did a little test to check the efficacy of this color as part of a 4-color fractal design. The design isn't true digital camo, but it is digitalized with square shapes. I made a rough (VERY rough) little mockup of a soldier wearing the fractal camo. His name is Charles:

Charles

Then I grabbed a couple pictures of scenery that MARPAT and DigiPat and Multicam and all that jazz had been tested against. I spread Charles and his multiple brothers all around the landscape. Obviously, these are not professional soldiers trying to avoid detection, it's a dude standing at ease, and the exposure/lighting is from two completely different situations. But I'm pretty sure you won't be able to find all of his buddies. There's at least five of Charles in the picture, so I'd be impressed if you can find them all.
This isn't anywhere close to a real field test, but I was pretty surprised with the difficulty my friends have had finding all of the Charleses.

Anyway, here's the Photoshop field test.

What do you think? Did you find them all? If so, how many were there?

--Inq

[conanobrennan]

its just camo. you're being way too technicool

[Zdiddy]

Does it come with a matching purse?

[conanobrennan]

it's called a tactical pack

[Dan-0-]

I counted more than 5, damn alcohol.
Maybe if I shut one eye.

[Inquirer]

Originally Posted by conanobrennan

its just camo. you're being way too technicool

Right, it's just camo. It was completely arbitrary that every major military in the world has dumped millions and millions of dollars into improving their camouflage systems in the last twenty years.
And it was pure chance that we started using MARPAT and ACU/Multicam in the last five years. Or maybe it was that soldiers wanted a little more pizazz to their outfits?



--Inq

P.S. I like doing this. It's fun and cool to figure out how these concepts work, why our eyes will detect one pattern versus another; the math behind the probability of detection. It's actually really interesting, like many other things the average chump chooses to ignore.

[RAFA]

I count 6.

[Synergy]

In the terrain you posted, this pattern is one of the best for camo.

Optifade - Open Country

[cadmium]

Bravo troll, bravo

and trying to show a color on the internet being viewed by various monitors and talking about it in such a specific manner is pretty pointless due to that every monitor will show the color differently.

[bender152]

Originally Posted by Inquirer

P.S. I like doing this. It's fun and cool to figure out how these concepts work, why our eyes will detect one pattern versus another; the math behind the probability of detection. It's actually really interesting, like many other things the average chump chooses to ignore.

Really?

[elSquid]

Originally Posted by Inquirer

Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it and let me know if you have any feedback at all.

You might want to spend some time reading calgunner "1lostinspace"'s camo threads. He put a lot of work into them, lots of photos, etc. I think you'd find them interesting.

http://www.google.com/search?q=1lost...%3Acalguns.net

-- Michael

[phamkl]

Seven.

If you're producing camouflage patterns, you might look into using different shades of a color in one "spot" to create shadows and a 3D illusion. That Open Country Optifade pattern is a good example.

I tried making "multi-tiger" which would be multicam tigerstripe. It wasn't easy, and Tiger Stripe Products already has their All Terrain Tiger or whatever. I'd just like to see them start producing ACU's and combat shirts in that pattern.

[MrPlink]

Originally Posted by Inquirer

Right, it's just camo. It was completely arbitrary that every major military in the world has dumped millions and millions of dollars into improving their camouflage systems in the last twenty years.
And it was pure chance that we started using MARPAT and ACU/Multicam in the last five years. Or maybe it was that soldiers wanted a little more pizazz to their outfits?



--Inq

P.S. I like doing this. It's fun and cool to figure out how these concepts work, why our eyes will detect one pattern versus another; the math behind the probability of detection. It's actually really interesting, like many other things the average chump chooses to ignore.

LOL,
so which branch is paying you to develop camo swatches and conduct photoshop tests?

The main thing to remember is the primary point is break up outlines and more recently to divert the eye. If you accomplish that on a basic level, you are good to go.

I think folks are just busting your chops because it is very hard to imagine a practical scenario for a law abiding civilian that requires them to not be spotted at distance in open terrain.

i think the ultimate answer lies in the post of yours I quoted. A lot of time and money has been dumped into the RD of what are considered the optimal patterns, so just base yours of those and you should be GTG.

[Nismo]

I found 7

[starsnuffer]

The military chooses camo patterns based on political lobbying, not on actual performance.

I'm surprised I'm still alive today, could have sworn the end was neigh. Maybe, like Zdiddy said, we need a matching murse. . . er "urban assault bag" to go with it.

-W

[The DRis]

Do I win anything?

[Nismo]

Originally Posted by The DRis

Do I win anything?

You missed the one bottom right standing in the dirt

[Inquirer]

Originally Posted by The DRis

Do I win anything?

You would, but you didn't get it right!

Originally Posted by starsnuffer

The military chooses camo patterns based on political lobbying, not on actual performance.

I'm surprised I'm still alive today, could have sworn the end was neigh. Maybe, like Zdiddy said, we need a matching murse. . . er "urban assault bag" to go with it.

-W

Unfortunately, I think that's just our military. Just because the Army went with a less effective general-purpose camo (ACU versus, say, MultiCam or Syrian non-digital) doesn't mean that camouflage research is tantamount to wasting R&D money. The UK has adopted a new camo proven to be more effective, and Australia has just commissioned an Australian Multicam from Crye Precision. So it's a field that moves forward.

Originally Posted by elSquid

You might want to spend some time reading calgunner "1lostinspace"'s camo threads. He put a lot of work into them, lots of photos, etc. I think you'd find them interesting.

http://www.google.com/search?q=1lost...%3Acalguns.net

-- Michael

Thanks for the link, Mike! Much obliged!

--Inq

[BajaJames83]

i think your putting a little too much time into it.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

I dunno. There are already dozens of green paints and coatings out there that do almost exactly the same thing. I see no need for yet another one that is almost exactly the same as half a dozen other flat olive green/tan varients. I think it depends a lot more on what kind of pattern you use it in than getting an exact green that is imperceptibly different from several others already on the market. Unless, of course, you are trying to match this green to something you already have. Like, say, a really hideous fridge left over from the 1970s...

[Inquirer]

Generated a couple camo patterns based on what I've read works about other patterns; obviously I don't have quite the same algorithms as the companies that make them professionally, but I think either of the two looks pretty good; at least as good as most of the digipat camo duracoat jobs floating around the internet.

No real attempts to hide it, but it gives you a good idea of what's possible with a night's work. I'm pretty happy with both results; obviously I'm gonna keep working on it but if I were to stop now I'd have something that could definitely keep a gun pretty well hidden. Let me know which one you prefer, and, if you have a background in that kind of thing, what issues you see, if any.

Thanks,

--Inq

[The DRis]

What did I miss?

[Inquirer]

Any feedback on the patterns?

[zfields]

as per our PM,

Buttsecks.

[BANG BANG]

I will contribute nothing to this thread...

[Inquirer]

Originally Posted by BANG BANG

I will contribute nothing to this thread...

That seems to be going around. Why the hate?