In this image the 62770 non-CYAN (rgb(255,0,255)) pixels above the red line constitute the dataset for this problem. They are ordered according to their HSV values, with the Y-axis being hsv-V(0..255), the X-axis(0..255) the hsv-S value within 31, 256x256 hsv-H value frames distributed along the X-axis.

I can make the same dataset available as text (rgb & hsv triples) should anyone be interested; but it is too big to post here.

The fully populated hsv-H frames below the red line are for comparison and discussion only, and are not a part of the dataset.

The data are a uniqified (and sub-setted; only hsv-H frames 30..60 inclusive) of the pixel colors found in this image picked for its aesthetics from the net.

(Using this code:

<Reveal this spoiler or all in this thread>

My goal is to reduce those 62770 pixel values to a coherent, progressive, aesthetically pleasing 'gold scale' (after 'greyscale) of 256 values running from black to white, but encompassing as much of the range (nebulous term) of the full dataset as possible. An altogether unsatisfactory description, but I haven't hit upon anything better yet.

If you look at the data pixels in the middle to lower right corners of the left-most frames, any gold color is quite to very dark, coming from the shadowed parts of the source image. And the few pixels in the right most frames anything that isn't (close to) white, is a quite bright, pale lemon yellow; coming from the reflective highlights in the original image.

I want to select 256 shades, tints and tones that progress from black, through dark gold to gold, to bright gold, to yellow then white. And after 4 or 5 days of playing I haven't a clue how to go about it. Any thoughts, speculations or suggestions gratefully received.

With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". The enemy of (IT) success is complexity.
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

In reply to A data selection problem(in3D). by BrowserUk

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.