# 1. Color Maps

## 1.1. Objective

• To introduce colormaps.

## 1.2. Motivation

• To display a table of numbers (i.e., a matrix) as a color image, you need to define a colormap.

## 1.3. Introduction

 A colormap is used to assign colors to numbers. In this example, integer decimal numbers are assigned colors. More generally, any number can be assigned a color. In computing, the shapes that we want to color in will be square and the numbers need not be integers.

## 1.4. Motivation

 Most of the time a computer simulation returns a matrix of numbers that we want to represent as an image. It is (usually) easier for a human to make sense of an image with 10,000 pixels than a table of 10,000 numbers. In the example to the right, a 100x100 matrix is displayed as an image. It is much easier to look for patterns in the image than patterns in the table of numbers (matrix). In addition, more information can be packed into a smaller space. Here we can only view 18 columns and about 20 rows of numbers in the same space that we can see 100x100 colored squares.

## 1.5. Motivating Question

Suppose that you have a table of numbers. How would you represent these numbers as colors?

• For each numeric value, assign a color (Similar to painting by numbers).
• One can also assign colors for ranges (e.g., blue = 6.66 to 10.00).
• Keep in mind that we are assigning numbers to colors and that colors are associated with a set of numbers (for example, red is 255, 0, 0 or 1.0, 0.0, 0.0).

The table of numbers in this image is colored based on the rules specified in the bottom image.

## 1.7. Colormap definition

A colormap maps (translates) a decimal number (or a range of numbers) to a color. Humans refer to the colors with words. MATLAB and other programs generally understand both these words or a list of three numbers that is equivalent to these words.

 Spreadsheet colormap: 0.0-3.33 is associated with Red = (255,0,0) or (1.0,0.0,0.0) 3.33-6.66 is associated with Green = (0,255,0) or (0.0,1.0,0.0) 6.66-10 is associated with Blue = (0,0,255) or (0.0,0.0,1.0) Giraffe colormap 1 = Red ... 5 = Yellow ... 16 = White

## 1.8. How to create a colormap

• To create a colormap, we need to create a matrix that tells MATLAB the list of allowed colors (a colormap) (using the r,g,b representation).
• That is, to render a matrix containing decimal numbers as an image, we need another "helper" matrix, called the colormap matrix (which always has three columns).
• When asked to display a matrix as an image, MATLAB will refer to this colormap.
• It will associate the lowest value in the matrix the color given in the first row of the colormap.
• It will associate the highest value in the matrix the color given in the last row of the colormap.

To tell MATLAB that the allowed colors that it may use when it is asked to plot a table of numbers, use these commands.

C = [1,0,0;0,1,0;0,0,1];
colormap(C)

• The first command creates a colormap matrix, which has three columns and as many rows as we want. In the above example, the first row corresponds to red, the second row corresponds to blue, etc.
• The second command tells MATLAB: "These are the colors that you are allowed to use".

Now we are ready to plot a different matrix as an image. The matrix can values that are any decimal numbers - MATLAB assumes that the lowest value in the matrix should be associated with color in the first row in the colormap.

## 1.9. Important

• In MATLAB, you render a matrix as an image by defining a colormap.
• But the colormap is also a matrix! This fact often causes confusion.
• Think of the colormap matrix as the "helper" matrix. The colormap always has three columns. In contrast, the matrix to be rendered can have any number of columns.
• To minimize confusion, I'll always use the letter C to refer to the colormap helper matrix and another letter as the matrix that we want to render as an image.

## 1.10. The imagesc function

To display a matrix M as an image, use the command imagesc(M)

Example:

% Specify the allowed colors
C = [1.0, 0.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 1.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 0.0, 1.0];

% Tell MATLAB to use these colors
colormap(C);

% Create a matrix with 9 rows and 10 columns
% having values between zero and 10.  Each time the
% program is executed, M will have different values!
M = round(rand(10*rand(9,10)))

% Tell MATLAB to render the matrix M as an image
imagesc(M);

% Tell MATLAB to show a colorbar
colorbar;

% Save as .eps and .png files
print -depsc imagscdemo.eps
print -dpng  imagescdemo.png


## 1.11. The colorbar function

The colorbar function tells MATLAB to show a color scale so that one can determine what decimal number in a matrix is associated with each color. As shown by the colorbar, MATLAB has mapped the numbers

• 0.00 to 3.33 to red,
• 3.33 to 6.66 to green,
• 6.66 to 10.00 to blue,

The green square in the upper-left corner of the image corresponds to the upper-left number in the matrix (5). The blue square in the lower-right corner of the image corresponds to the lower-right number in the matrix (7).

The colorbar has five colors because these are the number of colors (rows) that were specified in the colormap matrix C. In addition, the color specified in the first row (red) of the colormap matrix was used for the smallest numbers in the matrix M. The color specified in the last row of the colormap matrix was used for the largest numbers in the matrix M.

# 2. Problems

## 2.1. Interpreting an image I

Which of the following matrices are consistent with the image and colorbar shown? (You may use MATLAB to check your answer.)

 A.  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89  B.  0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 2 12 22 32 42 52 62 72 82 3 13 23 33 43 53 63 73 83 4 14 24 34 44 54 64 74 84 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 6 16 26 36 46 56 66 76 86 7 17 27 37 47 57 67 77 87 8 18 28 38 48 58 68 78 88 9 19 29 39 49 59 69 79 89  C.  80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  D.  9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80  E.  89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0  F.  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 

## 2.2. Interpreting an image II

Which of the following matrices are consistent with the image and colorbar shown?

 A.  90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 89 79 69 59 49 39 29 19 9 88 78 68 58 48 38 28 18 8 87 77 67 57 47 37 27 17 7 86 76 66 56 46 36 26 16 6 85 75 65 55 45 35 25 15 5 84 74 64 54 44 34 24 14 4 83 73 63 53 43 33 23 13 3 82 72 62 52 42 32 22 12 2 81 71 61 51 41 31 21 11 1  B.  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 80 79 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 90 89 88 87 86 85 84 83 82 81  C.  81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  D.  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89  E.  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90  F.  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 

## 2.3. Experimentation I

Open the MATLAB editor and copy and paste the following commands (You do not need to delete the lines (comments) that start with a % character. MATLAB will ignore these lines). Save the file to your desktop as cm_experimentI.

% Specify the allowed colors
C = [1.0, 0.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 1.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 0.0, 1.0 ; 0.5, 0.5, 0.5 ; 0.0, 0.0, 0.0];

% Tell MATLAB to uses these colors
colormap(C);

% Create a matrix with two rows
M = [1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4; 1 2 3 4];

% Tell MATLAB to render the matrix M as an image
imagesc(M);

% Tell MATLAB to show a colorbar
colorbar;


1. Modify the colormap matrix C so that when you run the program, the only colors that are shown are red, green, blue and black. Enter your colormap matrix below.

2. Using the same colormap matrix used to answer the previous question, modify the values in the matrix M so that the middle two columns in the image are blue. Enter your matrix M below.

3. What is a colormap matrix, that when used with the matrix M to answer the previous question, would make the middle two columns red?

## 2.4. Experimentation II

Open the MATLAB editor and copy and paste the following commands (You do not need to delete the lines (comments) that start with a % character. MATLAB will ignore these lines). Save the file to your desktop as cm_experimentII.

% Specify the allowed colors
C = [0.0, 0.0, 0.0; 0.5, 0.5, 0.5 ; 1.0, 1.0, 1.0];

% Tell MATLAB to uses these colors
colormap(C);

% Create a matrix with two rows
M = [0 5 10 0; 0 5 10 0; 0 5 10 0; 0 5 10 0]

% Tell MATLAB to render the matrix M as an image
imagesc(M);

% Tell MATLAB to show a colorbar
colorbar;


1. Modify the colormap matrix C so that when you run the program, the black area is white and the white area are black. Enter your colormap matrix below

2. Using the same colormap matrix used to answer the previous question, modify the matrix M so that so that the gray area is white.

3. Starting with the original program, modify either the colormap matrix C and/or the matrix M so that the following image is produced.

4. Starting with the original program, modify either the colormap matrix C and/or the matrix M so that the following image is produced.

## 2.5. Create your own colormap

Create a colormap with 8 unique colors. The R,G,B codes for a few colors is listed here: http://cloford.com/resources/colours/500col.htm (you will need to convert them to r,g,b).

Use a nested for loop to create a matrix with five rows and ten columns with values between 1 and 50 (inclusive).

Plot the matrix.

## 2.6. Black and white image

Use a nested for loop with an if statement along with a colormap to produce the image shown.

Extra credit: Use a nested if statement so that the lowest five tiles along the diagonal are white instead of black.

## 2.7. Matrix Problem

 How should lines A and B be modified in order to produce the image shown? clear; M(10,10) = 0; for i = [1:10] for j = [1:10] if (______)  % Line A. M(___) = 1;  % Line B. else M(i,j) = 0; end end end C = [1 1 1;0 0 0]; imagesc(M); colormap(C); colorbar; 

## 2.8. Colormap I

Suppose that you have the following colormap matrix: C = [1.0, 0.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 1.0, 0.0 ; 0.0, 0.0, 1.0] Which commands could be used to remove the color green and replace it with the color represented by equal amounts of Red, Green, and Blue? Circle the best answer.

 A. C(2,1) = 128; C(2,2) = 128; C(2,3) = 128;  B. C(2,1) = 0.50; C(2,2) = 0.50; C(2,3) = 0.50;  C. C(1,1) = 0.50; C(2,1) = 0.50; C(3,1) = 0.50;  D. C(1,1) = 128; C(2,1) = 128; C(3,1) = 128; 

## 2.9. Colormap II

Suppose that you entered the following commands:

counter = 1;
for i = [1:10]
for j = [1:10]
M(i,j) = counter;
counter = counter+1;
end
end

for j = [1:100]
C(j,1) = j/100;
C(j,2) = 0;
C(j,3) = 0;
end

imagesc(M)
colormap(C)


Which is the correct image?

• A
• B
• C
• D
 A B C D

## 2.10. Colormap III

Suppose that you entered the following commands:

counter = 1;
for i = [1:10]
for j = [1:10]
M(i,j) = counter;
counter = counter+1;
end
end

for j = [1:100]
C(j,1) = 0;
C(j,2) = j/100;
C(j,3) = 0;
end

imagesc(M)
colormap(C)


Which is the correct image?

• A
• B
• C
• D
 A B C D

## 2.11. Colormap IV

Which of the following matrices was used as an input to imagesc in order to create the plot shown below?

 A. M = 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50  B. M = 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100  C. M = 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 30 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 40 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 50 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 60 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 70 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 80 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 90 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 100 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99  D. M = 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 70 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 20 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 80 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 90 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 100 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 30 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 40 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 50 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 60 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 

## 2.12. Colormap VI

 C = [1 1 1;0 0 0];
for i = [1:10]
for j = [1:10]

M(i,i) = 1; % Option A.

M(i,j) = 1; % Option B.

M(i,1) = 1; % Option C.
M(i,2) = 1; % Option C.

M(1,j) = 1; % Option D.
M(2,j) = 1; % Option D.

end
end
imagesc(M)
colormap(C)
axis square;
colorbar;

 To produce the image shown, which line or lines should be kept in the program? The single line with % Option A. shown The single line with % Option B. shown The two lines with % Option C. shown The two lines with % Option D. shown