COLOR

  • Image rendering bit depth

    The terms 8-bit, 16-bit, 16-bit float, and 32-bit refer to different data formats used to store and represent image information, as bits per pixel.

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_depth

     

    In color technology, color depth also known as bit depth, is either the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel, OR the number of bits used for each color component of a single pixel.

     

    When referring to a pixel, the concept can be defined as bits per pixel (bpp).

     

    When referring to a color component, the concept can be defined as bits per component, bits per channel, bits per color (all three abbreviated bpc), and also bits per pixel component, bits per color channel or bits per sample (bps). Modern standards tend to use bits per component, but historical lower-depth systems used bits per pixel more often.

     

    Color depth is only one aspect of color representation, expressing the precision with which the amount of each primary can be expressed; the other aspect is how broad a range of colors can be expressed (the gamut). The definition of both color precision and gamut is accomplished with a color encoding specification which assigns a digital code value to a location in a color space.

     

     

    Here’s a simple explanation of each.

     

    8-bit images (i.e. 24 bits per pixel for a color image) are considered Low Dynamic Range.
    They can store around 5 stops of light and each pixel carry a value from 0 (black) to 255 (white).
    As a comparison, DSLR cameras can capture ~12-15 stops of light and they use RAW files to store the information.

     

    16-bit: This format is commonly referred to as “half-precision.” It uses 16 bits of data to represent color values for each pixel. With 16 bits, you can have 65,536 discrete levels of color, allowing for relatively high precision and smooth gradients. However, it has a limited dynamic range, meaning it cannot accurately represent extremely bright or dark values. It is commonly used for regular images and textures.

     

    16-bit float: This format is an extension of the 16-bit format but uses floating-point numbers instead of fixed integers. Floating-point numbers allow for more precise calculations and a larger dynamic range. In this case, the 16 bits are used to store both the color value and the exponent, which controls the range of values that can be represented. The 16-bit float format provides better accuracy and a wider dynamic range than regular 16-bit, making it useful for high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) and computations that require more precision.

     

    32-bit: (i.e. 96 bits per pixel for a color image) are considered High Dynamic Range. This format, also known as “full-precision” or “float,” uses 32 bits to represent color values and offers the highest precision and dynamic range among the three options. With 32 bits, you have a significantly larger number of discrete levels, allowing for extremely accurate color representation, smooth gradients, and a wide range of brightness values. It is commonly used for professional rendering, visual effects, and scientific applications where maximum precision is required.

     

    Bits and HDR coverage

    High Dynamic Range (HDR) images are designed to capture a wide range of luminance values, from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights, in order to reproduce a scene with more accuracy and detail. The bit depth of an image refers to the number of bits used to represent each pixel’s color information. When comparing 32-bit float and 16-bit float HDR images, the drop in accuracy primarily relates to the precision of the color information.

     

    A 32-bit float HDR image offers a higher level of precision compared to a 16-bit float HDR image. In a 32-bit float format, each color channel (red, green, and blue) is represented by 32 bits, allowing for a larger range of values to be stored. This increased precision enables the image to retain more details and subtleties in color and luminance.

     

    On the other hand, a 16-bit float HDR image utilizes 16 bits per color channel, resulting in a reduced range of values that can be represented. This lower precision leads to a loss of fine details and color nuances, especially in highly contrasted areas of the image where there are significant differences in luminance.

     

    The drop in accuracy between 32-bit and 16-bit float HDR images becomes more noticeable as the exposure range of the scene increases. Exposure range refers to the span between the darkest and brightest areas of an image. In scenes with a limited exposure range, where the luminance differences are relatively small, the loss of accuracy may not be as prominent or perceptible. These images usually are around 8-10 exposure levels.

     

    However, in scenes with a wide exposure range, such as a landscape with deep shadows and bright highlights, the reduced precision of a 16-bit float HDR image can result in visible artifacts like color banding, posterization, and loss of detail in both shadows and highlights. The image may exhibit abrupt transitions between tones or colors, which can appear unnatural and less realistic.

     

    To provide a rough estimate, it is often observed that exposure values beyond approximately ±6 to ±8 stops from the middle gray (18% reflectance) may be more prone to accuracy issues in a 16-bit float format. This range may vary depending on the specific implementation and encoding scheme used.

     

    To summarize, the drop in accuracy between 32-bit and 16-bit float HDR images is mainly related to the reduced precision of color information. This decrease in precision becomes more apparent in scenes with a wide exposure range, affecting the representation of fine details and leading to visible artifacts in the image.

     

    In practice, this means that exposure values beyond a certain range will experience a loss of accuracy and detail when stored in a 16-bit float format. The exact range at which this loss occurs depends on the encoding scheme and the specific implementation. However, in general, extremely bright or extremely dark values that fall outside the representable range may be subject to quantization errors, resulting in loss of detail, banding, or other artifacts.

     

    HDRs used for lighting purposes are usually slightly convolved to improve on sampling speed and removing specular artefacts. To that extent, 16 bit float HDRIs tend to me most used in CG cycles.

     

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  • Eye retina’s Bipolar Cells, Horizontal Cells, and Photoreceptors

    In the retina, photoreceptors, bipolar cells, and horizontal cells work together to process visual information before it reaches the brain. Here’s how each cell type contributes to vision:

     

    1. Photoreceptors

    • Types: There are two main types of photoreceptors: rods and cones.
      • Rods: Specialized for low-light and peripheral vision; they help us see in dim lighting and detect motion.
      • Cones: Specialized for color and detail; they function best in bright light and are concentrated in the central retina (the fovea), allowing for high-resolution vision.
    • Function: Photoreceptors convert light into electrical signals. When light hits the retina, photoreceptors undergo a chemical change, triggering an electrical response that initiates the visual process. Rods and cones detect different intensities and colors, providing the foundation for brightness and color perception.

     

    2. Bipolar Cells

    • Function: Bipolar cells act as intermediaries, connecting photoreceptors to ganglion cells, which send signals to the brain. They receive input from photoreceptors and relay it to the retinal ganglion cells.
    • On and Off Bipolar Cells: Some bipolar cells are ON cells, responding when light is detected (depolarizing in light), and others are OFF cells, responding in darkness (depolarizing in the absence of light). This division allows for more precise contrast detection and the ability to distinguish light from dark areas in the visual field.

     

    3. Horizontal Cells

    • Function: Horizontal cells connect photoreceptors to each other and create lateral interactions between them. They integrate signals from multiple photoreceptors, allowing them to adjust the sensitivity of neighboring photoreceptors in response to varying light conditions.
    • Lateral Inhibition: This process improves visual contrast and sharpness by making the borders between light and dark areas more distinct, enhancing our ability to perceive edges and fine detail.

     

    These three types of cells work together to help the retina preprocess visual information and perception, emphasizing contrast and adjusting for different lighting conditions before signals are sent to the brain for further processing and interpretation.

     

     

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    Read more: Eye retina’s Bipolar Cells, Horizontal Cells, and Photoreceptors
  • Sensitivity of human eye

    http://www.wikilectures.eu/index.php/Spectral_sensitivity_of_the_human_eye

    http://www.normankoren.com/Human_spectral_sensitivity_small.jpg

    Spectral sensitivity of eye is influenced by light intensity. And the light intensity determines the level of activity of cones cell and rod cell. This is the main characteristic of human vision. Sensitivity to individual colors, in other words, wavelengths of the light spectrum, is explained by the RGB (red-green-blue) theory. This theory assumed that there are three kinds of cones. It’s selectively sensitive to red (700-630 nm), green (560-500 nm), and blue (490-450 nm) light. And their mutual interaction allow to perceive all colors of the spectrum.

    http://weeklysciencequiz.blogspot.com/2013/01/violet-skies-are-for-birds.html

     

     

    Sensitivity of human eye Sensitivity of human eyes to light increase with the decrease in light intensity. In day-light condition, the cones cell is responding to this condition. And the eye is most sensitive at 555 nm. In darkness condition, the rod cell is responding to this condition. And the eye is most sensitive at 507 nm.

    As light intensity decreases, cone function changes more effective way. And when decrease the light intensity, it prompt to accumulation of rhodopsin. Furthermore, in activates rods, it allow to respond to stimuli of light in much lower intensity.

     

    https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/PenetrantTest/Introduction/lightresponse.htm

    The three curves in the figure above shows the normalized response of an average human eye to various amounts of ambient light. The shift in sensitivity occurs because two types of photoreceptors called cones and rods are responsible for the eye’s response to light. The curve on the right shows the eye’s response under normal lighting conditions and this is called the photopic response. The cones respond to light under these conditions.

     

    As mentioned previously, cones are composed of three different photo pigments that enable color perception. This curve peaks at 555 nanometers, which means that under normal lighting conditions, the eye is most sensitive to a yellowish-green color. When the light levels drop to near total darkness, the response of the eye changes significantly as shown by the scotopic response curve on the left. At this level of light, the rods are most active and the human eye is more sensitive to the light present, and less sensitive to the range of color. Rods are highly sensitive to light but are comprised of a single photo pigment, which accounts for the loss in ability to discriminate color. At this very low light level, sensitivity to blue, violet, and ultraviolet is increased, but sensitivity to yellow and red is reduced. The heavier curve in the middle represents the eye’s response at the ambient light level found in a typical inspection booth. This curve peaks at 550 nanometers, which means the eye is most sensitive to yellowish-green color at this light level. Fluorescent penetrant inspection materials are designed to fluoresce at around 550 nanometers to produce optimal sensitivity under dim lighting conditions.

     

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  • Weta Digital – Manuka Raytracer and Gazebo GPU renderers – pipeline

    https://jo.dreggn.org/home/2018_manuka.pdf

     

    http://www.fxguide.com/featured/manuka-weta-digitals-new-renderer/

     

    The Manuka rendering architecture has been designed in the spirit of the classic reyes rendering architecture. In its core, reyes is based on stochastic rasterisation of micropolygons, facilitating depth of field, motion blur, high geometric complexity,and programmable shading.

     

    This is commonly achieved with Monte Carlo path tracing, using a paradigm often called shade-on-hit, in which the renderer alternates tracing rays with running shaders on the various ray hits. The shaders take the role of generating the inputs of the local material structure which is then used bypath sampling logic to evaluate contributions and to inform what further rays to cast through the scene.

     

    Over the years, however, the expectations have risen substantially when it comes to image quality. Computing pictures which are indistinguishable from real footage requires accurate simulation of light transport, which is most often performed using some variant of Monte Carlo path tracing. Unfortunately this paradigm requires random memory accesses to the whole scene and does not lend itself well to a rasterisation approach at all.

     

    Manuka is both a uni-directional and bidirectional path tracer and encompasses multiple importance sampling (MIS). Interestingly, and importantly for production character skin work, it is the first major production renderer to incorporate spectral MIS in the form of a new ‘Hero Spectral Sampling’ technique, which was recently published at Eurographics Symposium on Rendering 2014.

     

    Manuka propose a shade-before-hit paradigm in-stead and minimise I/O strain (and some memory costs) on the system, leveraging locality of reference by running pattern generation shaders before we execute light transport simulation by path sampling, “compressing” any bvh structure as needed, and as such also limiting duplication of source data.
    The difference with reyes is that instead of baking colors into the geometry like in Reyes, manuka bakes surface closures. This means that light transport is still calculated with path tracing, but all texture lookups etc. are done up-front and baked into the geometry.

     

    The main drawback with this method is that geometry has to be tessellated to its highest, stable topology before shading can be evaluated properly. As such, the high cost to first pixel. Even a basic 4 vertices square becomes a much more complex model with this approach.

     

     

    Manuka use the RenderMan Shading Language (rsl) for programmable shading [Pixar Animation Studios 2015], but we do not invoke rsl shaders when intersecting a ray with a surface (often called shade-on-hit). Instead, we pre-tessellate and pre-shade all the input geometry in the front end of the renderer.
    This way, we can efficiently order shading computations to sup-port near-optimal texture locality, vectorisation, and parallelism. This system avoids repeated evaluation of shaders at the same surface point, and presents a minimal amount of memory to be accessed during light transport time. An added benefit is that the acceleration structure for ray tracing (abounding volume hierarchy, bvh) is built once on the final tessellated geometry, which allows us to ray trace more efficiently than multi-level bvhs and avoids costly caching of on-demand tessellated micropolygons and the associated scheduling issues.

     

    For the shading reasons above, in terms of AOVs, the studio approach is to succeed at combining complex shading with ray paths in the render rather than pass a multi-pass render to compositing.

     

    For the Spectral Rendering component. The light transport stage is fully spectral, using a continuously sampled wavelength which is traced with each path and used to apply the spectral camera sensitivity of the sensor. This allows for faithfully support any degree of observer metamerism as the camera footage they are intended to match as well as complex materials which require wavelength dependent phenomena such as diffraction, dispersion, interference, iridescence, or chromatic extinction and Rayleigh scattering in participating media.

     

    As opposed to the original reyes paper, we use bilinear interpolation of these bsdf inputs later when evaluating bsdfs per pathv ertex during light transport4. This improves temporal stability of geometry which moves very slowly with respect to the pixel raster

     

    In terms of the pipeline, everything rendered at Weta was already completely interwoven with their deep data pipeline. Manuka very much was written with deep data in mind. Here, Manuka not so much extends the deep capabilities, rather it fully matches the already extremely complex and powerful setup Weta Digital already enjoy with RenderMan. For example, an ape in a scene can be selected, its ID is available and a NUKE artist can then paint in 3D say a hand and part of the way up the neutral posed ape.

     

    We called our system Manuka, as a respectful nod to reyes: we had heard a story froma former ILM employee about how reyes got its name from how fond the early Pixar people were of their lunches at Point Reyes, and decided to name our system after our surrounding natural environment, too. Manuka is a kind of tea tree very common in New Zealand which has very many very small leaves, in analogy to micropolygons ina tree structure for ray tracing. It also happens to be the case that Weta Digital’s main site is on Manuka Street.

     

     

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    Read more: Weta Digital – Manuka Raytracer and Gazebo GPU renderers – pipeline
  • The 7 key elements of brand identity design + 10 corporate identity examples

    www.lucidpress.com/blog/the-7-key-elements-of-brand-identity-design

    1. Clear brand purpose and positioning

    2. Thorough market research

    3. Likable brand personality

    4. Memorable logo

    5. Attractive color palette

    6. Professional typography

    7. On-brand supporting graphics

     

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    Read more: The 7 key elements of brand identity design + 10 corporate identity examples

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