I need some help with Camo

I am by no means an expert here, but IMO, your splotches are too large...and its too light and 'brown'

I have made up my own camo several times, and I have always noticed one or two things:

1. use a variety of different colors, but within scope of the environment the soldier is in. (this rule can be broken...i.e. woodland camo in the desert and vice-versa) also, you do not have to camo the whole soldier--if the camo is particularly intense, camoflage only the bullet-proof vest.

2. do not be afraid to use a nuetral base color--grey or NATO green look good and are the most common.

3.you can use more than 3 colors, just because the US doesn't, doesn't mean you can't! On one figure I modified (due to a broken gun-he fell off my workbench), I used 5 or 6 colors. OD, light green, Black, Brown, tan, and Dark Grey--in a mottled scheme.

4. focus on using similar shades of color. Dark colors usually go with Dark colors, Light colors are not commonly used for camoflage, unless the point is to have a 'dazzle' scheme.

I guess that's four...

notice that all of these rules have exceptions, but not too the extreme.

Hey Smeag, what looks 'off' to me is the light brown base. Maybe its because, as I look at the pattern, it reminds me of a woodland scheme which is composed of considerably more green than what you have here. I think I'm just not used to seeing so much brown in a camo scheme (a scheme that doesn't require desert tan, say).

Also, as Kilk said, perhaps you need to add more shades of each color. Right now your 3 colors are highly contrasted and rather large in shape. On most modern camo schemes, the patter is small and tight and there are several shades of green, brown, black, etc representing leaves, shadows, branches and so on not large splotches.

Any how, just my opinion.

What will the setting be for this figure?

my suggestion is to develop your pattern on a plain piece card stock, plastic or whatever, to see what it looks like rather than working directly on your figure. Find a site with a bunch of dcamo, there are plenty out there, and work from there. Look around you in nature, what does the terrain look like? Right now in New England, we have what would be a great model for German pea  dot camo with light colored leaves  in stark contrast to their shadows. Take some digital pictures of the environment in which you picture your figure or find those settings on line nd tryto blend your pattern into that or at least break up the outline. Search out sites like Cabellas and other hunting outfitters for more examples of camo patterns and work from there. Also, look at many of the Scottish setts or tartans. The work very effectively in breaking up an outline againt a natural background.

I agree with the other guys, the blotches are too large and regular to hide your guy in a natural environment.

Thanks for the tips guys.

I did some more changing, I added a white dot camo type of thing.

As for the setting it would somewhere between (while this is a big area) the forests of the east cost and the ohio river valley.   time line would be about 1948 or so.  (keep in mind I like to think all of this through before I do builds, so bear with me.

Idea is that the US didnt win the indian wars and was forced to stay in it's 13 colony (basically format) all of the Planes tribes eventually grouped together inorder to keep their lands safe from the Americans in the east, Mexicans in the west (lower texas through california), Russians from the north west of canada and Alaska, and British from north eastern canada.  Eventually, through the help of the french because of good relations through Louisiana they instituted a food for ... program, getting training, weapons, and everything like that throughout the 1800s.  After the Russian Revolution in Europe the idea of communism, which is quite similar to how native tribes lived originally, spread and was adopted.  In 41 when Germany declared war on Russia all of her allies, including the Plains nations, joined her side.  Even though the United States could not muster the numbers that were needed the cities did manufacture weapons and arms for the allied troops.  After failed attempts at invading England, but successfully holding africa, europe and the rest of her holdings launched an invasion of north America.  This Little dio is going to show a small scene between a Lakota special forces operative and a german Machine gun nest somewhere near the Ohio River.

Taking ALL THAT into account, for the figure I used a mix of custom made details and Russian accessories.  As far as the camo I was just thinking forest and planes in general, figgured with the bare planes a light brown might suit it well.  Latley I added the white dots both taking from the german dot camo and also from the white dots that baby deer have on their coats (again going back to the native american aspect for ideas)

Im not sure if it works or not, what do you think

perhaps you can find inspiration here

Your 3 color version looked like French or Rhodesian accept they use more brush strokes instead of blobs of color..

Ummm.. What exactly are trying to duplicate with the white dots?  Is it something common to the general area and time of year?  I mean, like the 6-color DBDUs of the 80s and early 90s (Chocolate Chip Pattern), the dots were made up of light grey and black, to represent the rocks of the Sinai Desert and their shadows...  Worked pretty good too... But they didn't work all that good in Arabian Desert, which was much more "tan", and the reason it was relaced by the three-color DCU in the mid-90s... And which, in turn, has been replaced by the ACU with its ridiculous digital pattern that doesn't work well anywhere... Every color and pattern has a reason to be there... And that's what you have to figure out... What's the PREDOMINANT color of the area, and then, after you colo about 60% of it that, you then split it up in the remaining colors (for a four-color pattern) at about 15%-15% and 10%..

At any rate, about every camouflage pattern that CAN be done, HAS been done, with subtle local variations... 

Hans von Hammer

At any rate, about every camouflage pattern that CAN be done, HAS been done, with subtle local variations... 

Sounds familiar: "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 (attributed)