Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
jamie-wong.com
Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
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Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#2Color is way more fascinating than I had previously thought.
A few years ago, i watched this pydata talk on designing colormaps for matplotlib that was pretty engrossing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAoljeRJ3lU
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#3The part where he takes the human sensitivity into account has grabbed my attention. It looks a little suspicious to me the way he simply just multiplies the normalized relative sensitivity measure with the spectral fluxes.
The way it is calculated now, the only way for a spectral flux (SLF) to be optimal considering its spectral luminous flux (LF) is to be entirely concentrated at ~550nm, laser-like. However, such a light would leave many of the cones in our eyes unsatisfied, hinting that this shouldn't really be the optimal.
I am by no means an expert, but I would expect a LF to be optimal when it matches the relative human sensitivity in shape, instead of the one focused as an impulse at the peak of the relative human sensitivity.
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#4This article touches on it a bit, but I would love a piece like Modern CSS Explained For Dinosaurs [1] for color spaces. The history of RBG, XYZ, CMYK, sRGB, etc. would be pretty interesting on their own.
[1] https://medium.com/actualize-network/modern-css-explained-fo...
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#5I write firmware for theater/TV LED lights. I have a spectrometer on my desk.
This is the guide I wish I had to get started with! It’s amazing!
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#6I have been working on a video game with a puzzle mechanic involving mixing paint to create trails in a racetrack, and I have learned a lot about the intuition gaps in light/color physics theory while testing with people. I was going to make a post about it but this is an even more in-depth exploration of the whole thing from the bottom up.
I will be referencing this on our game site when it's up!
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#7How can an image properly illustrate (in RGB) what colors are outside of the RGB gamut? That image must be inaccurate? Should I assume the image is technically incorrect but a good illustration of what the RGB gamut does look like?
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#8How can an image properly illustrate (in RGB) what colors are outside of the RGB gamut? That image must be inaccurate? Should I assume the image is technically incorrect but a good illustration of what the RGB gamut does look like?
This (and every other gamut picture in existence) can't, which is why the colors don't change any further outside the RGB triangle in these illustrations online. (In CMYK print it's even worse.) You have to use your imagination that the colors become even more intense.
A good parallel would be if you ever try to take a snapshot of a vivid sunset on your phone, then compare the screen image with the sunset behind you. The sunset's colors will be far more vivid, saturated, intense, than anything your phone can display. Those are some of the colors outside the RGB gamut.
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#9I've been trying to build my own mental model that's easy to visualize how your eyes build color.
Imagine 3 people (r,g,b) standing across from each other playing a 3 way tug of war with a bowling ball in the center. They each can feed on certain ranges of radiation to help them pull the ball towards them, color is determined by where the ball ends up. If red and green pull equally the ball moves sideways out of the center to land on yellow.
Now take it one step further. The ball actually starts out in a deep pit, if everyones only pulling a little bit the ball lifts up but stays in the center, you have dark grey, if everyones pulling at their max, you get white. What seemed like a flat plane tug of war is actually a 3 dimensional cone.
Now take it one step further. The retina is typically composed of 95% red and green cells of various mixtures, and only 5% blue. That means the blue person has a very short rope to work with compared to the others and is not able to move the bowling ball into as many unique positions as the others.
If you are red green colorblind then you only have 2 people playing tug of war. Your color model is now 2 dimensional. If you have tetrachromacy you have another person playing and capable of placing the bowling ball into positions not possible with just 3 people. Additionally there is no such thing as pure green, because all radiation that green feeds on will also feed either red or blue as well.
edit/ I forgot to add the rod cells, they are another "one step further". They are one extra person but they stand directly over the bowling ball, only capable of pulling upwards, but they are very weak and can't lift it very high.
Re: Color: From Hex codes to Eyeballs
#10I've been trying to build my own mental model that's easy to visualize how your eyes build color. Imagine 3 people (r,g,b) standing across from each other playing a 3 way tug of war with a bowling ball in the center. They each can feed on certain ranges of radiation to help them pull the ball towards them, color is determined by where the ball ends up. If red and green pull equally the ball moves sideways out of the…
These sorts of mental models are pure, pure gold. I spent a lot of time looking at various descriptions of color spaces and while I could do all the calculations, I never had a clear understanding of _what_ I was doing and _why_ it worked.
So in 4 paragraphs you've managed to leapfrog my understanding far more than weeks of formal training.