Surface properties and the perception of color

We examined whether perception of color saturation and lightness depends on the three-dimensional (3D) shape and surface gloss of surfaces rendered to have different hues. In Experiment 1, we parametrically varied specular roughness of predominantly planar surfaces with different mesoscopic relief heights. The orientation of surfaces was varied relative to the light source and observer. Observers matched perceived lightness and chroma (effectively saturation) using spherical objects rendered using CIE LCH color space. We observed strong interactions between perceived saturation and lightness with changes in surface orientation and surface properties (specular roughness and 3D relief height). Declines in saturation and increases in lightness were observed with increasing specular roughness. Changes in relief height had greater effects on perceived saturation and lightness for blue hues compared with reddish and greenish hues. Experiment 2 found inverse correlations between perceived gloss and specular roughness across conditions. Experiment 3 estimated perceived specular coverage and found that a weighted combination of perceived gloss and specular coverage could account for perceived color saturation and lightness, with different coefficients accounting for the perceptual experience for each of the three hue conditions. These findings suggest that perceived color saturation and lightness depend on the separation of specular highlights from diffuse shading informative of chromatic surface reflectance.