A Practical Color Transfer Algorithm for Image Sequences

This paper presents a practical color transfer algorithm for image sequences. The algorithm proposes a Revised Color Transfer algorithm (RCT) to eliminate the appearance of over-transformation, which occurs when the input image and reference image are not compatible. Besides, we present a generalized color variation curve (GCVC), providing more flexible control for color transfer over in- between images. The GCVC allows a user to select a desirable number of frames as reference images, on which color transfer is performed using the new RCT algorithm. A B-spline curve is then automatically generated, representing a GCVC to interpolate color statistics for in-between images. Experimental results show that our algorithm is able to automatically render an image sequence in several seconds with user-specified weights where the color characteristics are borrowed from both the source and reference images. The resultant image sequence thus rendered shows versatile color variations, and produces a visually plausible appearance.