Airsoft & Shooting Accessories

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Camouflage is the method which allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment. Examples include a tiger's stripes and the battledress of a modern soldier. Camouflage is a form of deception. In nature, there is a strong evolutionary pressure for animals to blend into their environment or conceal their shape; for prey animals to avoid predators and for predators to be able to sneak up on prey. Some animals use mimicry, seeming to be something else, such as a leaf, a stone, a twig, or a similar but more dangerous/poisonous animal. Some mimics also simulate the natural movement, i.e. of a leaf in the wind, this is called procryptic behaviour or habit. Other animals attach or attract natural materials to their body for concealment.
The term camouflage comes from the French word camoufler meaning 'to blind or veil.' Camouflage, also called protective concealment, means to disguise an object, in plain sight, in order to conceal it from something or someone.
In the late 1800s, an American artist named Abbott Thayer made an important observation about animals in nature that became a useful tool in developing modern camouflage. After studying wildlife, Thayer noticed that the colouring of many animals graduated from dark, on their backs, to almost white on their bellies. This is an important property that is very useful in modern camouflage. This gradation from dark to light breaks up the surface of an object and makes it harder to see the object as one thing. The object loses its three-dimensional qualities and appears flat. This tendency to break up and flatten the surface of an object also appears in the artistic movement, Cubism, which was occurring during this same time period.