Camouflage By the Numbers

This page guides you on how to paint a combination of modern day camouflage patterns, contributed to by Sigma-7!

Desert Battle Dress Uniform (DBDU)

Known as the Chocolate Chip pattern, this American camouflage pattern was used in both the first and second Gulf Wars, and after retirement with the Americans; surplus made its way to armies around the globe.
Step 1

Basecoat with a light tan or warm grey, I used Army Painter Gargoyle Grey though AK Warm Grey is a close match.

Step 2

Paint rough horizontal splotches of Army Painter Tanned Flesh and Dryad Brown with an old brush, best results are when the bristles are slightly splayed

Step 3

Take an off-black or very dark brown (ProAcryl Dark Neutral Grey used here) and use a fine tip brush or a ripped chunk of packing sponge to randomly apply the darker chips.

Step 4

Using a fine tip or sponge, apply a very light grey or off-white (AK Silver Grey used here) only on the areas you applied the darker chips to, overlapping them if possible.

Step 5

Apply a flesh wash such as Army Painter Soft Tone or Citadel Reikland Fleshshade. I used a watered down layer of Citadel Gulliman Flesh contrast paint.

Multicam

One of the most popular patterns in the world, you can adjust any of the colours and you will end up with a version of Multicam that was sold somewhere.
Step 1

Basecoat with a light tan or warm grey, Army Painter Gargoyle Grey was used here. Apply horizontal splotches with a light brown, ProAcryl Light Umber was used here

Step 2

Repeat Step 1 with a medium green, such as ProAcryl Camo Green.

Step 3

Use a fine tipped brush, paint on some thin snaking lines of dark brown, like ProAcryl Dark Umber

Step 4

Repeat step 3 with off-white or light grey, AK Silver Grey was used here

Step 5

Wash over all the target areas with Army Painter Military Shade wash

M81 Woodland

Possibly one of the most iconic camouflage patterns, M81 can be seen around the world, with derivatives used even by the traditional opponents of the US, where the pattern originated
Step 1

Begin with a basecoat of medium green, such as ProAcryl Camo Green

Step 2

Add squiggly lines of a dark brown, with ProAcryl Dark Umber used here

Step 3

Repeat step 2 with a 1:1 mixture of Army Painter Wasteland Clay and AK Grey Green. Make sure a good amount of the original medium green is still visible

Step 4

Add thinner squiggles and spots of an off-black, preferably using a smaller brush. ProAcryl Dark Neutral Grey was used in this example

Step 5

Finally, go over the entire pattern with a green wash such as Army Painter Military Shade or Citadel Athonian Camoshade

Norwegian M/98 Woodland

Often used by Blackthorn Humanitarian Solutions mercenaries, chosen to reduce civilian intimidation.
Step 1

Cover the target area with two thin coats of ProAcryl Yellow Green

Step 2

Paint on rough blobs of ProAcryl Light Umber, covering roughly 1/3rd of the yellow green. Ensure that the brown remains visible against the greens two coats are advised here as well

Step 3

Repeat step 2 with ProAcryl Dark Camo Green, covering parts of both the yellow green and brown, but still ending up with each colour covering roughly equal amounts of the pattern

Step 4

Wash the entire pattern with a green such as Army Painter Military Shade or Citadel Athonian Camoshade. Remember to let all the previous layers fully dry, otherwise the wash mixes with the paint and blur the pattern together, forcing you to change models halfway through

Step 5

Just like that the M/98 woodland is done and you can paint the rest of the model.

Rhodesian Brushstroke

One of those obscure patterns that people keep asking about, these still see use in a few southern African nations, and of course it fits perfectly with mercenary groups.
Step 1

Basecoat with a 1:1 mix of ProAcryl Yellow Green and Army Painter Scaly Hide

Step 2

Using a beat up old brush, paint rough splotches of a medium green, such as ProAcryl Camo Green

Step 3

Repeat step 2 with a brown, such as Proacryl Dark Umber

Step 4

Finally, cover the pattern with a green wash such as Army Painter Military Shade or Citadel Athonian Camoshade

Step 5

With that, you are free to finish the rest of the model.

KLMK

Kamuflirovannyi Letnyi Maskirovochnyi Kombinezon, or KLMK is a pattern originally designed in the Soviet Union to counter NATO night vision devices and is still in production. Many variants exist, so either colour could be changed and still fit.
Step 1

Basecoat with a rich deep green, AK Dark Green was used here

Step 2

Using a ripped chunk of packing sponge, apply a random pattern of AK Grey Blue for the digital patches.

Step 3

And with that, all that’s left is the green wash, like Army Painter Military Shade or Citadel Athonian Camoshade.

Step 4

It’s a laughably easy camo to paint, so I’d recommend you try it at least once if you have any Easter European irregulars or military forces (or someone who raided an army surplus store).