Effects of specular roughness on the perception of color and opacity

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that information concerning object shape is important for the perception of translucency. This study aims to explore how the perception of semi-opaque objects is influenced by surface gloss. We varied specular roughness, specular amplitude, and the simulated direction of a light source used to illuminate a globally convex bumpy object. We found that perceived lightness and roughness increased as specular roughness was increased. Declines in perceived saturation were observed but were far smaller in magnitude with these increases in specular roughness. There were inverse correlations found between perceived gloss and perceived lightness, perceived transmittance and perceived saturation, and between perceived roughness and perceived gloss. Positive correlations were found between perceived transmittance and glossiness, and between perceived roughness and perceived lightness. These findings suggest that specular reflections influence the perception of transmittance and color attributes, and not just perceived gloss. We also performed follow-up modeling of image data to find that perceived saturation and lightness could be explained by the reliance on different image regions with greater chroma and lower lightness, respectively. We also found systematic effects of lighting direction on perceived transmittance that indicate there are complex perceptual interactions that require further consideration.