Countershading - three dimensional objects outdoors are usually lit from above and are light on top and dark underneath from shadow. Countershading is when an object is coloured darker on top and light underneath like a Thomson's gazelle http://images.google.com/images?q=t...ra&rls=en&hs=9N3&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title
Many birds and animals have this colouring, and the Thomson's gazelle also has stripes for enhanced disruptive effect.
So am I right thinking countershading is primarily for disruptive effect seeing as it doesnt operate within "normal" physical rules (light direction)? Might it be possible to have a pattern with such bold contrasts, or strong areas on a neutral background that the eye will be drawn only to those busy area's and possibly totally "miss" the body form? Is that the scenaro say with giraffe's zebra's etc and the gazelle in your link? all my life I thought how on earth does that level of brightness and contast in those african examples act as camo But then I was asuming the predator animal's see the same way as human's :notworthy , I now get the idea thats not the case Was the countershading concept in mind when they painted spitfir's etc pale underneath and camo'd above?
Thanks for your extremely intersting comments risclean and all you guy's, excellent
cheers Jonathan
PS are you able to say more about the far out technology woodsmok