Descriptor-Based Image Colorization and Regularization

We propose a new, fully automatic method for example-based image colorization and a robust color artifact regularization solution. To determine correspondences between the two images, we supplement the PatchMatch algorithm with rich statistical image descriptors. Based on detected matches, our method transfers colors from the reference to the target grayscale image. In addition, we propose a general regularization scheme that can smooth artifacts typical to color manipulation algorithms. Our regularization approach propagates the major colors in image regions, as determined through superpixel-based segmentation of the original image. We evaluate the effectiveness of our colorization for a varied set of images and demonstrate our regularization scheme for both colorization and color transfer applications.