Palette-based photo recoloring

Abstract

Image editing applications offer a wide array of tools for color manipulation. Some of these tools are easy to understand but offer a limited range of expressiveness. Other more powerful tools are time consuming for experts and inscrutable to novices. Researchers have described a variety of more sophisticated methods but these are typically not interactive, which is crucial for creative exploration. This paper introduces a simple, intuitive and interactive tool that allows non-experts to recolor an image by editing a color palette. This system is comprised of several components: a GUI that is easy to learn and understand, an efficient algorithm for creating a color palette from an image, and a novel color transfer algorithm that recolors the image based on a user-modified palette. We evaluate our approach via a user study, showing that it is faster and easier to use than two alternatives, and allows untrained users to achieve results comparable to those of experts using professional software.