Achromatic and Colored Light.ppt

Achromatic and Colored Light CS 288 9/17/1998 Vic Introduction It is crucial for modern computer graphics students to understand the theory and application of light and color. Color adds impact to images. Without the proper use of color, even the most interesting scene can be rather dull and boring. Color and Light The color of an object depends not only on the object but also the light source illuminating the object, the color of the surrounding area, and on the human visual system. Certain objects reflect light (walls, desk, paper) while other objects also transmit light (cellophane, glass). Achromatic Light Achromatic light is literally “the absence of color”. Can be seen as a black-and-white TV or monitor. An observer of achromatic light experiences none of the sensations we associate with red, green, blue, yellow, and so on. Achromatic Light The only attribute of achromatic light is Quantity of light. Quantity of light can be discussed in the physics sense of energy, in which case we use the terms “intensity” and “luminance”, or in the psychological case, the term “brightness” is used. Achromatic Light Intensity can be thought of as a scalar such as 0 defined as black and 1 defined as white Luminance is the amount, or intensity of light Brightness is the perceived intensity of an object Black-and-white TVs can produce many different intensities at a single pixel position Varying Intensity Levels Intensity (4 bit) Intensity (1 bit) Chromatic Color Presence of color!!! Color perception involves Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. Other terms are tint, shade, and tone. Hue Hue distinguishes between colors. It is the pure color of the object. Hue allows us to perceive the differences between red, green, blue, purple, and yellow. Saturation Saturation refers to how far a color is from a gray of equal intensity. Unsaturated colors include more white light than do the vivid, saturated colors. Red is highly saturated. Pink is relatively unsaturated. Royal blue is hi