Image editing system
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for combining images in three dimensions, comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of independent components wherein each said component is assigned to one of a plurality of X-Y planes, said X-Y planes being on different levels from each other in the Z direction, and said X-Y planes being overlayed on each other in a direction so as to define relative positions of said components with respect to three dimensions, and so as to define an image of a background;
providing an image of an independent object to be positioned with respect to the image of the background, wherein the position of said image of said object is defined in the X, Y and Z directions with respect to said plurality of said X-Y planes; and
positioning the image of the object with respect to the image of the background to form a first composite image, while maintaining the independence of the components and the object, wherein a portion of a component which is closer than the object to a viewing location in the Z direction and which corresponds to the position of a first portion of the object in the X-Y plane will obscure said first portion of the object from view and wherein a portion of a component which is further than the object from the viewing location in the Z direction, and which corresponds to the position of a second portion of the object in the X-Y plane will be obscured from view;
wherein the objects and the components are comprised of at least one pixel and wherein each pixel has a plurality of attributes, a one of said attributes indicative of substantial transparency by the pixel to pixels on underlyinq X-Y planes.
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Abstract
A system and method for editing digital images in three dimensions includes a computer for storing a digital image of an object and a background, as well as at least one additional background image which includes various components in a three dimensional configuration. The periphery, or edge, of the object has a first hue, and the surrounding background has a second hue. Based upon the difference between the hues and a predetermined hue difference, the computer locates the edge of the object and removes portions of the image (i.e., the background) that are outside the edge. Then, the object can be combined with a preselected one of the other background images so as to form a composite image. Components of the preselected background image are assigned relative positions in the X-Y plane, and are also assigned a value defining their location in one of a plurality of layers which form the Z dimension of the image. The object to be combined with the background is also assigned a value defining its location in at least one of those layers. Optionally, the gamma of the image of the preselected background and the gamma of the image of the object can be matched, thereby making the object appear as if it was imaged under the same lighting conditions as the preselected background.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for combining images in three dimensions, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of independent components wherein each said component is assigned to one of a plurality of X-Y planes, said X-Y planes being on different levels from each other in the Z direction, and said X-Y planes being overlayed on each other in a direction so as to define relative positions of said components with respect to three dimensions, and so as to define an image of a background; providing an image of an independent object to be positioned with respect to the image of the background, wherein the position of said image of said object is defined in the X, Y and Z directions with respect to said plurality of said X-Y planes; and positioning the image of the object with respect to the image of the background to form a first composite image, while maintaining the independence of the components and the object, wherein a portion of a component which is closer than the object to a viewing location in the Z direction and which corresponds to the position of a first portion of the object in the X-Y plane will obscure said first portion of the object from view and wherein a portion of a component which is further than the object from the viewing location in the Z direction, and which corresponds to the position of a second portion of the object in the X-Y plane will be obscured from view; wherein the objects and the components are comprised of at least one pixel and wherein each pixel has a plurality of attributes, a one of said attributes indicative of substantial transparency by the pixel to pixels on underlyinq X-Y planes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for combining images in three dimensions, comprising:
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means for providing a plurality of independent components wherein each said component is assigned to one of a plurality of X-Y planes, said X-Y planes being on different levels from each other in the Z direction, and said X-Y planes being overlayed on each other in a direction so as to define relative positions of said components with respect to three dimensions, and so as to define an image of a background; means for providing an image of an independent object to be positioned with respect to the image of the background, wherein the position of said image of said object is defined in the X, Y and Z directions with respect to said plurality of said X-Y planes; and means for positioning the image of the object with respect to the image of the background to form a first composite image, while maintaining the independence of the components and the object, wherein a portion of a component which is closer than the object to a viewing location in the Z direction and which corresponds to the position of a first portion of the object in the X-Y plane will obscure said first portion of the object from view and wherein a portion of a component which is further than the object from the viewing location in the Z direction, and which corresponds to the position of a second portion of the object in the X-Y plane will be obscured from view; wherein the objects and the components are comprised of at least one pixel and wherein each pixel has a plurality of attributes, a one of said attributes indicative of substantial transparency by the pixel to pixels on underlying X-Y planes. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. In a graphics system having a plurality of image layers, a method of editing an image, comprising the steps of:
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providing a digitized image having a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel has a plurality of attributes, a one of said attributes indicative of substantial transparency by the pixel to pixels on underlyinq layers, and wherein the image has a plurality of components, each component comprising at least one of said pixels and being located on a selected layer of the image; selecting an image modification operation from a plurality of image modification operations; selecting at least one of said attributes or said components to modify; storing the selected operation and selected attribute or component in a memory; prioritizing the layers of the image based on the selected operation; identifying at least one layer to be operated on by the operation; performing the selected operation on a layer by layer basis in response to the prioritizing step and the identifying step. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. In a graphics system utilizing a plurality of image layers, a method of layer manipulation, comprising the steps of:
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providing a digitized image having a plurality of objects, each object being located on a selected layer of the image and wherein each object is comprised of at least one pixel; identifying at least one object from the image; writing an alpha-bit flag of each pixel for each identified object to a memory, wherein the alpha-bit flag is indicative of substantial transparency by pixels of the object to pixels at the same X-Y layer position on underlying layers; and displaying each identified object based on the alpha-bit flag of the pixels for the identified object. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification