Gun Paint Planner·Updated September 28, 2026
Rattle Can Digital Woodland: History, Colors and Paint Jobs on Real Guns
Digital woodland is pixel camo in woodland colors, the look the Marines made famous with MARPAT in 2002. The idea goes back to a 1976 Army experiment. Here it is painted with real spray can colors on 12 real guns. Pick yours to open it in the planner, then reroll the layout or paint over it by hand.
Quick answer
- It takes 4 spray cans: Khaki, Woodland Light Green, Brown, Black.
- Spray it light to dark: Khaki first, Black last.
Cans and spray order from the Krylon and Rust-Oleum color charts, matched in GunPartPicker's paint planner.
Digital Woodland camo on 12 real guns
Where digital camo comes from
Timothy O'Neill, an Army officer, painted a pixel pattern called Dual-Tex on an M113 in 1976 with a two inch roller. He called it texture match. It tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1977 and went nowhere for years.
Canada got there first in service. Its CADPAT went on helmet covers in 1996 and became standard Army issue in 2002.
The Marines debuted MARPAT at Camp Lejeune on 17 January 2002, with O'Neill on the design team. Real MARPAT hides a tiny Eagle, Globe and Anchor in the print, and the pattern is patented.
The pixels aren't the magic. Small blocks form a fine texture and clusters of blocks form big shapes, so it works up close and far away. The Army's gray UCP proved pixels can still fail with the wrong colors.
- First pixel camo
- Dual-Tex, Timothy O'Neill, 1976
- Made famous by
- MARPAT, US Marine Corps, 2002
- Colors
- Four in woodland: light green, dark green, coyote, black
- Also
- Canada's CADPAT, the Army's gray UCP
Spray cans for a Digital Woodland paint job
In spray order, lightest first. Either brand works; do not mix them in one job.
Krylon
- 1Camouflage Khaki
- 2Camouflage Woodland Light Green
- 3Camouflage Brown
- 4Camouflage Black
Rust-Oleum
- 1Camouflage Khaki
- 2Camouflage Army Green
- 3Camouflage Earth Brown
- 4Camouflage Black
Painting digital camo on a gun
You need a pixel stencil: a vinyl or plastic sheet with square holes. Spray the khaki base, then each color through the sheet.
Shift and turn the sheet between colors so the blocks don't line up in a grid. A grid reads as a pattern from across the room, and that's the opposite of camo.
We'd cut the stencil from adhesive vinyl so it sticks flat on curves. Loose plastic lifts at the edges and you'll get fuzzy pixels.
How to spray Digital Woodland on a gun
1. Strip it down
On an AR pull the bolt carrier group and split the upper and lower. On an AK take off the dust cover and bolt carrier. On a Glock take the slide off. Remove the optic or plan to tape it.
2. Degrease everything
Wipe every outside surface with acetone or isopropyl alcohol. Paint will not hold over gun oil.
3. Mask what moves
Plug the chamber and muzzle, tape the ejection port, magazine well, trigger and safety, and cover the optic lenses.
4. Base coat in khaki
Two light coats over the whole gun, 8 to 12 inches away, 10 minutes apart.
5. Lay the digital woodland pattern
Pixel blocks sprayed through a digital sheet. Spray woodland light green, then brown, then black, light to dark, letting each color flash off before the next.
6. Let it cure
Handle it after an hour but give it a full day before it goes in a case, and a few days before hard use.
More rattle can camo patterns
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this MARPAT?
No. MARPAT is a patented Marine Corps pattern. This is a generic digital woodland look done with a pixel stencil and spray cans.
Who invented digital camo?
Army officer Timothy O'Neill made the first pixel pattern, Dual-Tex, in 1976. Canada's CADPAT was the first in standard service, and the Marines' MARPAT made it famous in 2002.
What spray paint do you need for a Digital Woodland paint job?
4 cans of Krylon, sprayed in this order: Khaki, Woodland Light Green, Brown, Black. Rust-Oleum has a match for every color.
Can you paint Digital Woodland camo on a real gun?
Yes. Strip and degrease the gun, mask the bore, chamber and anything that moves, lay the lightest color first and build the look light to dark with tape and stencils. Plan on an afternoon plus a day to cure.
Cite this tool: GunPartPicker, “Rattle Can Digital Woodland: History, Colors and Paint Jobs on Real Guns”, https://gunpartpicker.net/gun-paint-planner/camo/digital-woodland. Paint colors from the Krylon and Rust-Oleum color charts; gun photos credited on each gun's page. Free to cite with attribution.
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