Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Camouflage

There is a wide variety of camo patterns you can wear in MGS3. Each one affects your "camo index" - a percentage displayed in the upper-right portion of your screen that determines how difficult it is for the enemy to spot you. It's common sense to wear camo that blends in with the environment.

Naked
Selecting this camo will remove the upper part of Snake's uniform. Only use this if you're confident in your sneaking skills (and have a lot of food - because your stamina will deplete faster while naked). No, there is no way to take off your pants, as Sigint will attest if you call him while wearing this.

Olive Drab
The most basic uniform, a solid green color. This is somewhat useful indoors, but there is little point elsewhere.

Leaf
Forest camo, designed to blend in with tall grass and bushes. You'll be using this a lot outdoors.

Black
Use this one to blend in with dark rooms, dirt, or just about any other shadow. Also works quite well indoors and at night.

Tiger Stripe
Good all-around camo. Doesn't excel at anything in particular, though. Use in grass or rough terrain.

Tree Bark
Good when hiding against trees and logs, obviously, but also against dirt and rock.

Squares
Great in Rassvet and other brick areas, but elsewhere stands out too much.

Raindrop
Found in the alcove under the bridge in Dolinovodno. Occasionally it will rain, and this camo becomes very effective.

Choco Chip
Found in a tree stump in Bolshaya Past South. If you missed it there, look on the balcony outside the Graniny Gorki lab (you'll need to go inside and then come back out from the top floor). The brownish pattern of this outfit is best suited to desert or rocky areas (like the mountains). It also works somewhat decently against some buildings.

Splitter
Also found in Bolshaya Past South, on a ledge. Good in buildings or metal surfaces.

Snow
Take the right branch in the cave before fighting The Pain and keep going through the crawl spaces. Good in Rokovoj Bereg. This is the best camo for fighting The Boss, because she cannot see you unless she is nearby.

Special Camouflage
All of these camos have a special effect. Most of them are obtained by stamina killing bosses.

Animal
Obtained from Ocelot. Fur print pattern. Your gun will always stay perfectly steady when aiming in FPV. Does not work well with the SVD or Mosin Nagant.

Hornet Stripe
Obtained from The Pain. Leeches, bats, and spiders will not attack. Hornets will not affect you, and attack nearby enemies when you approach them. You can acquire it by walking along the right wall from the exit.

Spider
Obtained from The Fear. Camo Index will never drop below 75%, but only when you have stamina left...and wearing it drains stamina fast.

Moss
Obtained from The End, by holding him up and threatening his head with your gun three times. When combined with Woodland and used in grass, your camo index skyrockets. Also, standing in the sun restores health and stamina. Used best in the area where you fight The End.

Fire
Obtained from The Fury. Halves fire and explosive damage and gives immunity to burns.

Spirit
Obtained from The Sorrow, but you must reach the skeleton at the end of the river. It will be in your backpack when you get it from EVA. This one works particularly well indoors, and gives the added benefit of restoring your stamina when you choke enemies. Also dampens the sound of your footsteps. It is the best camo to use when fighting The End, because he can't hear you move, and you can sneak up on him easily.

Cold War
Obtained from Colonel Volgin in the Groznyj Grad hangar. Be quick about picking it up after he goes down; you have about 10 seconds before the cutscene. On the front is the USSR's flag; on the back is the USA's. The camouflage on this one is horrendous, but more importantly, enemies looking at the Soviet side will hesitate to attack, sometimes not shooting at all.

Snake
Obtained from the final boss. Gives great cover in every environment (25%), but it's better to change camos in each new area.

Sneaking Suit
On your second visit to Groznyj Grad, check the locker where you stashed Raikov (it has a red stripe and cannot be broken open). This is the best uniform in the game; it reduces stamina use, damage, and the chance of receiving serious wounds. Additionally, though it provides only 10% camouflage, it ensures that your base Camo Index never drops below that amount.

GA-KO
Found in Chyornyj Prud. When wearing this, enter and leave the Survival Viewer and the area's Kerotan will croak four times, helping you find him. Use in conjunction with the Directional Mic to aid your frog-hunting.

Banana
Get the best score on all the Snake vs. Monkey levels to unlock this permanently. Lousy camouflage, but makes all food taste great, like bananas.

Fly
Kick down the last stall door in the bathroom on the second floor of the Graniny Gorki Lab. When an enemy guard attempts to hit you in close combat, they will gag and take a few seconds to recover. You are constantly surrounded by flies, which can be annoying when using first person mode.

Disguises
You cannot use most of your weapons or items in disguise (save the cig-gas spray, hanky, and C3) but enemies will not immediately recognize you as an intruder if you wear a disguise.

Scientist
This is a Russian scientist uniform from the Graniny Gorki weapons lab. Use this to get around Graniny Gorki without alarming the guards (though the scientists will still run for alarm panels if you get too close to them). Press psx: T while wearing this to adjust your glasses in true Otacon fashion. Remember to not have any facepaint on while wearing it, same goes for any other disguises.

Maintainance
This is the uniform the workers in the Groznyj Grad hangar wear, and is found in the second locker from the north in the easternmost bank in the locker room. You can still plant C3 in this outfit, as long as nobody sees you.

Uniform
This is the uniform that you steal from Raikov in Groznyj Grad. Wear this in combination with the Mask (under facepaint) to disguise yourself as Raikov and walk around Groznyj Grad without being spotted. You can punch or knock them out and even take their stuff without them retaliating. Press psx: T while wearing this to salute (which the guards will respond to by saluting back). It has no effect during your return to Groznyj Grad (after the torture).

Tuxedo
Available at the start in a clear data file. You can use most weapons in this disguise (excluding facepaint), but enemies won't be fooled for very long if you're seen. If you want to feel like James Bond, run through the game wearing this and using only the Patriot and silenced M1911A1. For a laugh, put it on after retrieving your backpack at the start of the Virtuous Mission and call up The Boss.

Clear Game Camouflage
These special camo patterns are only available in the PAL version of Snake Eater or MGS3: Subsistence if you selected "I like MGS3" from the starting menu. They can also be accessed by using a Gameshark with Snake Eater.

Desert Tiger
Like its name implies, this is a tiger-stripe outfit in a desert color scheme. It is also effective in wooded areas. As an added bonus, wearing this camo prevents attached suppressors from wearing out.

Flecktarn
This is a more advanced woodland camo, bringing your index up into the 90's - even if you're crawling in the open. However, it doesn't work too well in dirt, bark, or indoors. This camouflage prevents your battery from draining.

AUSCAM
This white camo is intended for use in alpine forests and such, and will make you stick out like a sore thumb if used in the jungle. To counteract being so obvious, wearing the AUSCAM reduces all damage to 2/3 normal.

Facepaint
The right camo pattern is only half of the equation. A bare face can be a dead giveaway, so it's important to conceal your face with a wide variety of different paints.

No Paint
Selecting this will remove the paint from your face. There's not much point to doing this, but it might add a bit of credibility if you're wearing the Scientist disguise.

Splitter
Looks cool and is effective in most areas, especially buildings.

Woodland
This paint works best in conjunction with the Leaf or Flecktarn outfits. With the Moss Camo you will have 100% in the camo index while in The End's area.

Black
Black face paint, obviously. Effective in the dark or against dark backgrounds.

Oyama
Found in the courtyard vent in Graniny Gorki Lab, this wacky camo makes Snake look like a geisha or Kabuki actress. This will increase your camo index by 5 while fighting the boss.

Zombie
After defeating the Ocelot squad in Rassvet, look behind the barrels to the left of the exit for this facepaint. Not too useful for actual gameplay, but combine with the Spirit camo and you have yourself a pretty convincing zombie.

Desert
Found in the Krasnogorje mountains; very effective there and in other brown/tan areas.

Kabuki
After meeting EVA at the Tikhogornyj waterfall, go back out and look in the pond. Essentially, the male version of Oyama--no lipstick or rouge, but still a pale white.

Snow
Under a plank in a trench on the west side of Bolshaya Past Base. Good for the final battle in Rokovoj Bereg, but fails miserably elsewhere.

Water
After fighting The Fear, return to the entrance of Ponizovje South. It should be in the water (unsurprisingly). It's good if you need to swim past enemies.

Mask
Inexplicably, you start the game with this mask (and it's also shown in the introduction cutscene, if you selected "I like MGS2!" when starting the game). The mask looks a lot like Raiden from MGS2, although it was designed after a Russian commander - Major Ivan Raidenovich Raikov. Wear this with Raikov's uniform to disguise yourself as him. It also looks better with the scientist disguise, because there's no bandana. Wear the mask before the bossfight against Volgin and he will hesitate in attacking you. You can get a few shots in before he notices that you are not Raikov, but will attack more frequently than before.

Infinity Face Paint
Beat the game with the Foxhound Rank or with a live Tsuchinoko in your inventory to get the IFP, which incurs penalty to your Camo Index but gives unlimited ammo for every weapon (except C3).

Facepaint - Subsistence Only
In MGS3: Subsistence, selecting "I like MGS3" will start you with a whole slew of patriotic facepaints.

USA
Show your American pride as you empty your American-made M63 into your foes, who saw you right away because you're wearing the most terrible camouflage in the game.

USSR
The Soviet flag. It might be helpful in red areas. Also, it might cause enemies to hesitate before shooting like with the Cold War camo.

Germany
This facepaint looks just like the German flag.

Italy
This one looks like the Italian flag, and for some reason, also works well in wooded environments.

Cardboard Boxes
Like every other Metal Gear game before it, the cardboard boxes make a complete return. You can use them to blend in with storage areas, or climb into trucks and convince the guards to drive you around Groznyj Grad (providing that the shipping address on them is correct). Just don't park yourself in the way of a patrol, or the guards will kick your box right off. If it is hit with enough damage it will break apart and you will have to find a replacement.

Monkey Mask
Unlocked by completing all the Snake VS Monkey missions. This doesn't really give you any tactical advantages, however it can be worn during cutscenes. It limits your field of view quite a bit. It does, however, amuse/confuse the final boss, which could give you a free shot.

Stealth
When equipped, your camo index skyrockets to 100% and stays there unless you touch an enemy or pick up a body. In Alert Phase or during boss battles, your camo index stays at 95%. There are two ways to get this camo; shoot all 64 green frogs hidden through out the game or complete the game with no alerts at all.