Plants as stencils for truck camouflage

Todd Neiss camouflaged his 1979 Chevy K-10 Blazer using real plants as stencils. He calls his vehicle the "Squatchmobile." From Cryptomundo:

I would spray the color (flat) I wanted for [what] plant first, then lay the plant over the paint and spray a background color over it. I intentionally arranged ground plants low on the body and trees on the upper half.

The whole truck took me two days. Technically it is a work in progress as I carry cans of paint with me in case I run into a plant I haven’t captured yet.”

"Cryptocamouflage Vehicle"

Previously:

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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TJ S

I don’t understand. Am I missing something? There doesn’t seem to be a picture of a truck anywhere, just a bunch of plants…
kc0bbq

This is always how I’ve painted my boats, never really thought of it as an earthshattering revelation.

There’s probably some interesting antropology theory about it.
Anonymous

This is quite possibly the oldest style of redneck huntin’ truck camouflage in existence — I remember cousins painting their trucks this way circa late 1960s…This is not dissing it, by the way — it’s pretty time- and labor-intensive, but it works and it’s cheap.
hohum

#5, well played!

That is a miraculously ugly vehicle – clunky & boxy, flat spray paint, diy camoâ€¦ It’s quite fascinating, charming, reallyâ€¦
levdir

TJ S: It’s hiding in the bottom right. Look close.

Seriously, though, that actually looks pretty good. I am no fan of camo paint jobs, especially when they’re done with vinyl decals on F-350s bought to commute from the burbs to downtown that have never seen a dirt road–whoops, I’m ranting. But I appreciate the amount of work that went into this. Well done, sir.
Anonymous

Geez I’ve seen this for the last 3 decades, used to be Chevy or Ford trucks – because you need the bed for the deer/bear/moose/Dall sheep.

- Ethel
Anonymous

Samsquanch!!

Sorry.
zuvembi

Actually that does look pretty nice. Not so coincidentally, it’s also how we snazzed up a PC case for my daughters room. i.e. using plants as stencils to spray paint the case.
Anonymous

i did the same thing to a a 1988 delta 88 and my truck “87″ chevy. lay down olive green base coat then go over with flat black with ferns. turns out amazing. I get compliments all the time. just not from my girlfriend
ValuedRug

To me it’s fascinating that 95% of hand-painted camo vehicles i’ve ever seen are in the family of blazer/bronco.
Anonymous

It looks pretty neat.

It’s a time-tested practice to do it this way. Whether military, hunter, ad-hoc militia, whatever – using local vegetation itself, or using it as the stencil and appropriate colors one can make a camouflage that’s correct for the area.

If it’s practical, it’s usually better than relying on pre-made camo patterns that are generally designed but may still stand out against slightly different surroundings, seasonal color differences, etc.

That was probably a lot of fun to do – cheers to the owner!
sf

I often paint my geocache ammo boxes using the same method but using real plants as the stencils taken from the area of the hide.
deckard68

I believe it was the straight-to-DVD movie “Shooter” with Mark Wahlberg that most recently showed off the technique of painting your weapons with local flora.
gabrielm

I know several people who used the same technique to paint their trucks. Looks pretty nice. Well, at least as camo goes.
Stefan Jones

If Waldo did this no one would ever find him.
Ernunnos

Hey! Shooter wasn’t a blockbuster, but it definitely had a theatrical run and did respectable business for an R-rated action thriller based on a novel instead of a line of toys.
Anonymous

at least as camo goes
anglematik

As others have said we see plenty of these in Washington, mainly trucks and old skool SUV’s. I saw a new twist the other day though. It was a 1990′s Ford Aerostar and was SHINY! I wasn’t sure if it was done in glossy paint or had been waxed.
Beverly Stayart

Using real plants as stencils is a unique and creative idea.
Anonymous

#1 nailed it – always Broncos in my neck of the woods. It’s funny.
Anonymous

ValuedRug, it’s because those are, as opposed to most “suv” vehicles, real 4x4s capable of and designed for going offroad. because of this, hunters and such use them, hence the paint jobs.

this is the nicest camo paint job i’ve ever seen. i’ve often thought that if i ever again wound up driving a car with a crappy paint job, i’d just go camo. :)
Anonymous

Is the goal to make sure no one sees you approaching as they turn onto the road in front of you?
Pye

The US Special forces use the same technique to camouflage their weapons and gear.
jfrancis

While taking the tram from the parking lot to Disneyland last weekend I was just noticing they used this technique to camouflage a large flat wall surrounding some sort of service building.