 Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials , coloration , or illumination for concealment , either by making animals or objects hard to see ( crypsis ) , or by disguising them as something else ( mimesis ) . Examples include the leopard 's spotted coat , the battledress of a modern soldier , and the leaf @-@ mimic katydid 's wings . A third approach , motion dazzle , confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern , making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate . The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis , often through a general resemblance to the background , high contrast disruptive coloration , eliminating shadow , and countershading . In the open ocean , where there is no background , the principal methods of camouflage are transparency , silvering , and countershading , while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter @-@ illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid . Some animals , such as chameleons and octopuses , are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours , whether for camouflage or for signalling . 
