2022-11-25

Color I
Computer Graphics
Dariusz Sawicki
Color is the visual perceptual property created in human
brain as an result of specific wavelength detection by
receptors in human eyes.

Light and Color

CG Light and Color 4

Introduction Color II

Main properties of color

• Light, color and its main properties • Hue — perception connected with White
Pure
Color
• Color systems specific wavelength (we call it red, Saturation
pink, green etc.)
• Color gamut and reproduction problem
Most often defined as measure of
• Human eye and color perception angle
• Trichromatic color vision

Intensity
• Grassman’s laws, metamerism
• High Dynamic Range Imaging • Saturation (Purity of Light) (0 - 100%)
- blending with White
• Intensity (Brightness) — how much
energy is emitted (0 - 1)

Black

CG Light and Color 2 CG Light and Color 5

The Light Color blending

radio waves
infrared

Additive mixing Subtractive mixing

(blending of light) (blending of paint)

Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength (or frequency).

The „visible light” has the range of wavelengths that humans can perceive,
approximately from 380 nm to 700 (740) nm.

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Munsell color system Tristimulus theory: RGB

Munsell’s Circle of colors One page of Munsell’s tables

for Hue = 10B
Natural day light in RGB space.
Light decomposed into three components.
CG Light and Color 7 CG Light and Color 10

Color spaces Tristimulus theory: XYZ

• Independent
– CIE XYZ X = k ∫ P( λ )x ( λ )dλ
– CIE Lab
• Connected to user
Y = k ∫ P( λ )y ( λ )dλ
– HLS
– HSV
• Connected do device Z = k ∫ P( λ )z ( λ )dλ
– RGB
– CMY, CMYK
CIE XYZ color space, mathematically defined in 1931.
Natural day light decomposed into three components in XYZ space.

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Grassman’s Laws CIE XYZ Color Space I

Trichromacity law
Any color can be matched by a linear combination of three other
colors (primaries eg. RGB), provided that none of those three can be
matched by a combination of the other two.

Continuity law
A mixture of any two colors can be matched by linearly and
continuous adding of components. Continuous change of one
component causes continuous change of the mixture.

Additivity law
Color of a mixture depends only on components colors not on spectral
properties.
CIE chromaticity diagram

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CIE XYZ Color Space II RGB Color Space

B [0,0,1]
C [0,1,1]

M [1,0,1]
White
White
[1,1,1]
[1,1,1]

Black G [0,1,0]
[0,0,0]
R [1,0,0] Y [1,1,0]
CE – equal energy white The dominant wavelength
(illuminant EE ) of the color

CG Light and Color 13 CG Light and Color 16

CIE XYZ Color Space III CMY and CMYK

_
=
K: black level Let G be G=min(C,M,Y)
Complementary colors Mixing of the colors C=C-G
M=M-G
Y=Y-G
CIE XZY Color Space is a linear space K=k*G
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CIE Lab Color Space HLS and Windows

Pure
White Color
Saturation
L – luminance
a – relation red - green
b – relation blue – yellow
Intensity

H H
Black
G Y
R
C B M
Perceptually Uniform Color Space
Color space in which Euclidean L
distance between two colors in
space is proportional to the
perceived distance
S S
HLS HSV
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HLS and HSV Color Spaces Human eye – schematic structure

Pure
White
Saturation
Color Sclera

Lens
Intensity Choroid

Iris
Retina
H H Cornea
Black Vitreous
ciało
G Y Fovea
R humour
szkliste
C B M Pupil
Blind disc
L V Anterior chamber (optic disc)
(aqeous humour)
Optic nerve
Ciliary muscle
S S
HLS HSV
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Color Gamut Human eye – retina I

Subset of colors which can be

accurately represented in a
given circumstance, such as The picture is created on the retina. There are two kind of
within a given color space or photoreceptors :
by a certain output device

• Cones — 7 mln in the retina

Monitor good quality
• Rods — 120 mln in the retina

Monitor poor quality Cones and rods were discovered by Max Schultz in 1866.

Printer

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Color Reproduction Problem Human eye – retina II

• Cones — responsible for day light vision

(photopic) full color recognition
Monitor Scanner Printer
• Rods — responsible for low light (night) vision
(scotopic) only black and white

(mesopic vision – both photopic and scotopic)

ICC profil ICC profil ICC profil

of the monitor of the scanner of the printer
Color Management System
(allow matching one device gamut to the other one)

Computer
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Trichromatic color vision Color perception

Color is the visual perceptual

Young – Helmholtz theory (XIX) property created in human
brain as an result of specific
wavelength detection by
?
Postulate, that there exists three types of photoreceptors in receptors in human eyes.
the eye, each of which was sensitive to a particular range of
visible light (wavelength !!!). Color perception is
a complex process – there
take a part not only
Color perception is the effect of three components blending
photoreceptors but our brain
and thinking process as well

Color perception is a subjective process

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Range of human eye Color perception

• When white light is

incident upon an object,
some frequencies are
?
reflected and some are
absorbed by the object

• Combination of
frequencies present in
the reflected light that
determines what we
perceive as the color of
the object

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Weber – Fechner law Problems of color perception I

• neighborhood problem
The eye senses brightness logarithmically
• lighting (illumination)
problem
• scale problem

Linear growth of paint – logarithmic perception

Blue rectangle seems to be
darker or lighter depending on
background

How to create linear perception – use exponential growth of paint level

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Problems of color perception II Grassman’s Laws

Trichromacity law
• neighborhood problem Any color can be matched by a linear combination of three other
colors (primaries eg. RGB), provided that none of those three can be
• lighting (illumination) matched by a combination of the other two.
problem
• scale problem Continuity law
A mixture of any two colors can be matched by linearly and
continuous adding of components. Continuous change of one
component causes continuous change of the mixture.

Gray rectangle „obtains” color

Additivity law
depending on background
Color of a mixture depends only on components colors not on spectral
properties.

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Problems with contrast I Metamerism

Phenomenon that consists in matching two colors that

have different spectral power distributions.

Color perception does not depend on

spectral properties of components.
CG Light and Color 32 CG Light and Color 35

Problems with contrast II Metamerism

Phenomenon that consists in matching two colors that

have different spectral power distributions.

Color perception does not depend on

spectral properties of components.
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Mach bands problem

real

perception
White paper
luminance

problem

CG Light and Color 37 CG Light and Color 40

Mach bands ??? Eksperiments of R. Beau Lotto

Adelson’s chessboard

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Mach bands ??? Eksperiments of R. Beau Lotto

Adelson’s chessboard

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HDRI
Human color perception – High Dynamic Range Imaging
attributes of color:
hue, knowledge,
intensity (brightness) experience How to solve the problem of dynamic range ?
saturation
memory

environment, culture
neighborhood and tradition
+ + =
suggestion,
size of illusion
picture

psychological
expectation Use set of pictures created with different levels of exposure.
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Dynamic Range of Luminance Bibliography (additionally)

● Bunting F., Fraser B., Murphy C.: Real World Color

Management, Peachpit Press 2004.
Kamiński B.: Prepress i barwy, Translator 1997.
< ? > ●

● Lottolab Studio.: http://www.lottolab.org/index.asp

One of the ● Pastuszak W.: Barwa w grafice komputerowej,
basic PWN 2000.
problem in
photography ● Popek S.: Barwy i psychika, Wydawnictwo UMCS Lublin
2001.
either details or details expected
● Reinhard E., Ward G., Pattanaik S., Debevec P.: High
in lights in shadows range of dynamic Dynamic Range Imaging, Morgan Kaufmann 2006.
● Sadowski B.: Biologiczne mechanizmy zachowania się
ludzi i zwierząt, PWN 2001.
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Range of human eye

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