The Effect of Object Color on Depth Ordering
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Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship All Computer Science and Engineering Research Computer Science and Engineering Report Number: WUCSE-2007-18 2007 The Effect of Object Color on Depth Ordering Reynold Bailey, Cindy Grimm, Christopher Davoli, and Richard Abrams The relationship between color and perceived depth for realistic, colored objects with varying shading was explored. Background: Studies have shown that warm-colored stimuli tend to appear nearer in depth than cool-colored stimuli. The majority of these studies asked human observers to view physically equidistant, colored stimuli and compare them for relative depth. However, in most cases, the stimuli presented were rather simple: straight colored lines, uniform color patches, point light sources, or symmetrical objects with uniform shading. Additionally, the colors were typically highly saturated. Although such stimuli are useful for isolating and studying depth cues in certain contexts, they... Read complete abstract on page 2. Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cse_research Part of the Computer Engineering Commons, and the Computer Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Bailey, Reynold; Grimm, Cindy; Davoli, Christopher; and Abrams, Richard, "The Effect of Object Color on Depth Ordering" Report Number: WUCSE-2007-18 (2007). All Computer Science and Engineering Research. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cse_research/122 Department of Computer Science & Engineering - Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1045 - St. Louis, MO - 63130 - ph: (314) 935-6160. This technical report is available at Washington University Open Scholarship: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/ cse_research/122 The Effect of Object Color on Depth Ordering Reynold Bailey, Cindy Grimm, Christopher Davoli, and Richard Abrams Complete Abstract: The relationship between color and perceived depth for realistic, colored objects with varying shading was explored. Background: Studies have shown that warm-colored stimuli tend to appear nearer in depth than cool-colored stimuli. The majority of these studies asked human observers to view physically equidistant, colored stimuli and compare them for relative depth. However, in most cases, the stimuli presented were rather simple: straight colored lines, uniform color patches, point light sources, or symmetrical objects with uniform shading. Additionally, the colors were typically highly saturated. Although such stimuli are useful for isolating and studying depth cues in certain contexts, they leave open the question of whether the human visual system operates similarly for realistic objects. Method: Participants were presented with all possible pairs from a set of differently colored objects and were asked to select the object in each pair that appears closest to them. The objects were presented on a standard computer screen, against 4 different uniform backgrounds of varying intensity. Results: Our results show that the relative strength of color as a depth cue increases when the colored stimuli are presented against darker backgrounds and decreases when presented against lighter backgrounds. Conclusion: Color does impact our depth perception even though it is a relatively weak indicator and is not necessarily the overriding depth cue for complex, realistic objects. Application: Our observations can be used to guide the selection of color to enhance the perceived depth of objects presented on traditional display devices and newer immersive virtual environments. Department of Computer Science & Engineering 2007-18 The Effect of Object Color on Depth Ordering Authors: Reynold Bailey, Cindy Grimm, Christopher Davoli, Richard Abrams Corresponding Author: [email protected] Abstract: The relationship between color and perceived depth for realistic, colored objects with varying shading was explored. Background: Studies have shown that warm-colored stimuli tend to appear nearer in depth than cool-colored stimuli. The majority of these studies asked human observers to view physically equidistant, colored stimuli and compare them for relative depth. However, in most cases, the stimuli presented were rather simple: straight colored lines, uniform color patches, point light sources, or symmetrical objects with uniform shading. Additionally, the colors were typically highly saturated. Although such stimuli are useful for isolating and studying depth cues in certain contexts, they leave open the question of whether the human visual system operates similarly for realistic objects. Method: Participants were presented with all possible pairs from a set of differently colored objects and were asked to select the object in each pair that appears closest to them. The objects were presented on a standard computer screen, against 4 different uniform backgrounds of varying intensity. Results: Our results show that the relative strength of color as a depth cue increases when the colored stimuli are presented against darker backgrounds and decreases when presented against lighter backgrounds. Conclusion: Color does impact our depth perception even though it is a relatively weak indicator and is not necessarily the overriding depth cue for complex, realistic objects. Application: Our observations can be used to Type of Report: Other Department of Computer Science & Engineering - Washington University in St. Louis Campus Box 1045 - St. Louis, MO - 63130 - ph: (314) 935-6160 Depth by Color 1 Running head: OBJECT COLOR ON DEPTH ORDERING THE EFFECT OF OBJECT COLOR ON DEPTH ORDERING REYNOLD J. BAILEY,1 CINDY M. GRIMM,1 CHRISTOPHER C. DAVOLI,2 and RICHARD A. ABRAMS 2 1Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, St. Louis, Missouri, USA 2Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Psychology, St. Louis, Missouri, USA Address correspondence to: Reynold J. Bailey Department of Computer Science and Engineering Campus Box 1045 Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO, 63130 Email: [email protected] Depth by Color 2 Abstract Objective: The relationship between color and perceived depth for realistic, colored objects with varying shading was explored. Background: Studies have shown that warm- colored stimuli tend to appear nearer in depth than cool-colored stimuli. The majority of these studies asked human observers to view physically equidistant, colored stimuli and compare them for relative depth. However, in most cases, the stimuli presented were rather simple: straight colored lines, uniform color patches, point light sources, or symmetrical objects with uniform shading. Additionally, the colors were typically highly saturated. Although such stimuli are useful for isolating and studying depth cues in certain contexts, they leave open the question of whether the human visual system operates similarly for realistic objects. Method: Participants were presented with all possible pairs from a set of differently colored objects and were asked to select the object in each pair that appears closest to them. The objects were presented on a standard computer screen, against 4 different uniform backgrounds of varying intensity. Results: Our results show that the relative strength of color as a depth cue increases when the colored stimuli are presented against darker backgrounds and decreases when presented against lighter backgrounds. Conclusion : Color does impact our depth perception even though it is a relatively weak indicator and is not necessarily the overriding depth cue for complex, realistic objects. Application: Our observations can be used to guide the selection of color to enhance the perceived depth of objects presented on traditional display devices and newer immersive virtual environments. Depth by Color 3 THE EFFECT OF OBJECT COLOR ON DEPTH ORDERING Various sources of information in a scene contribute to our perception of depth. These sources are referred to as depth cues and are typically grouped into three categories: pictorial, occulomotor and stereo cues (Gillam, 1995). Pictorial depth cues are ones that we obtain from two-dimensional images. These include information such as relative size, distance to horizon, focus, occlusion, shadows, shading, relative brightness, atmospheric effects, and color (Pfautz, 2000). Perspective cues such as relative size, occlusion, and distance to the horizon are generally more effective at conveying depth than shading, luminance, and color (Hone & Davis, 1993; Surdick et al., 1994; Wanger, Ferwerda, & Greenberg, 1992). Although color is considered to be one of the weaker depth cues, its impact on depth perception has been studied extensively by psychologists and other vision researchers. Artists and designers refer to colors that appear closer to the red end of the visible spectrum as warm colors, and colors that appear closer to the blue end as cool colors.1 Early references to the color-depth relationship in literature refer to reds and oranges as advancing colors and blues as receding color s or retiring colors (Goethe, 1810/1982; Luckiesh, 1918). The actual experimental study of the effect of color on perceived depth began in latter half of the 19 th century (see Payne, 1964 and Sundet, 1978 for summaries). In most of these studies, different colored stimuli were presented to human observers and their depth preferences were recorded. It was generally observed that warmer colors tend to appear closer to the viewer than cooler colors. In order to account for these observed depth differences, several theories