Sailor Moon Color Correction

  • This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more.

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#41
After the whole episode being different shades of red, of course this happens on the preview. It was a night mare, it would have looked much better if I just redid it with the frames from the actual episode, but I wanted to try and see what can be done with this kind of... Yeah, the red shots are much easier to work with overall. Still weird how this kind of extremes could happen on the same episode. Color correcting the whole show is something only a fan could do properly. If someone is being payed to do it they will ultimately rush the job as they are payed for their time.

 
Last edited:

NJ_

Gurges Ater
Oct 31, 2009
9,482
3,748
1,665
37
Wallington, NJ
#42
And it will still look [BLEEP], because they will use their terrible upscale for future releases, which is a shame. Even color corrected it would still be
a blurry mess.
And god help anyone if they move to 4k, they already started for their movies...


^Ironically the regular HD Blu-rays included has the 4:3 versions which is new because the original Blu-rays for those were 16:9 only...
 
Likes: Starlight

Rika-Chicchi

Staff member
Site Admin
May 7, 2009
43,546
6,650
1,665
#44
And god help anyone if they move to 4k, they already started for their movies...


^Ironically the regular HD Blu-rays included has the 4:3 versions which is new because the original Blu-rays for those were 16:9 only...
Reminding me of those pirated PGSM DVDs over here back then when the show was still airing in Japan - they didn't have the supposed DVD quality because their "masters" were TV recordings (complete w/ the time stamp at a top corner of the screen). lol
 

JunoDX

Solaris Luna
Nov 8, 2018
2,148
3,647
1,665
39
#45
After the whole episode being different shades of red, of course this happens on the preview. It was a night mare, it would have looked much better if I just redid it with the frames from the actual episode, but I wanted to try and see what can be done with this kind of... Yeah, the red shots are much easier to work with overall. Still weird how this kind of extremes could happen on the same episode. Color correcting the whole show is something only a fan could do properly. If someone is being payed to do it they will ultimately rush the job as they are payed for their time.

This makes me wanna watch the entire series with your corrections :-D Amazing how crisp yours look!
 

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#46
This makes me wanna watch the entire series with your corrections :-D Amazing how crisp yours look!
I don't have the time, just tried with one episode. Maybe one day, when I am retired :D But the creator of the thread is working on it as well and seems determined.
 
Dec 24, 2017
12
5
5
#47
I like the idea and strongly believe in the use of color correction and dirt removal when needed (which this series definitely needs), however I don't agree with the idea of adding grain back to the footage to try and artificially replicate a cel look because I personally believe doing this artificially makes the footage look grainier than it actually does naturally, with the Italian DVD's (which I'd really love to get for the footage alone but can't find or afford the entire series and am stuck with the Japanese R2 DVD singles for the first 46 episodes :() a straightforward upscale and color correction alone should be sufficient as a better alternative to Toei's DNR'd Blu-ray release.
 
Last edited:
Likes: Starlight

Rika-Chicchi

Staff member
Site Admin
May 7, 2009
43,546
6,650
1,665
#48
I like the idea and strongly believe in the use of color correction and dirt removal when needed (which this series definitely needs), however I don't agree with the idea of adding grain back to the footage to try and artificially replicate a cel look because I personally believe doing this artificially makes the footage look grainier than it actually does naturally
How about adding grain back to imitate the grainy TV screens of the 90s? :lol:
 

lansing

Luna Nova
May 26, 2018
48
68
65
43
#50
If you're going for cel color in your correction, this will not be the right approach. You'll have to go the color matching route, that is having a color reference (cel) and then matching your source to the reference with software.

Well you don't really need to have the cel, you just need to get a hand on the character model sheets and the actual color chart. The character model sheet look something like this:



I have the color chart and I can share it but without the character model sheet it wouldn't work.
 

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#51
I haven't made a ton of progress on this, mainly due to other projects and the fact that my previous upscaling methods are pretty bad. Here's a comparison between Topaz (what I used before) and ESRGAN (what I plan to use going forward. Not entirely sure what model I'm going to use though, I'm thinking about training a custom one on sailor moon cel scans but it's a bit difficult to find clean, high res scans) Imgsli

As you can see, the linework is alot thinner/cleaner in the ESRGAN upscale.Thankfully, the episodes that I've cleaned dust/dirt from can still be used, I just have to re-upscale/color correct them (one of the disadvantages of ESRGAN is that it takes hours to upscale even a minute of footage) I want to say that I don't want to abandon this, though it may take some time. If you want something like what sapphire91 has posted here, an uploader by the name of [EG]/RX782 has released the first 3 seasons, upscaled to 1080p, but only with minor color correction and no dirt/artifact removal. There are also a few other issues with his release, but overall if you want something now I'd go looking for it.





I assume you're referring to Dr Dre's color matching tool, which is actually what I've been using, albeit in a weird way. Is there a definite way to use the tool for this sort of project? Also, I believe I found your scanned color code chart, but the labels on your Ami image either don't match with the right colors or they aren't there.
Where are these upscales by EG]/RX782 available?
 

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#53
I haven't made a ton of progress on this, mainly due to other projects and the fact that my previous upscaling methods are pretty bad. Here's a comparison between Topaz (what I used before) and ESRGAN (what I plan to use going forward. Not entirely sure what model I'm going to use though, I'm thinking about training a custom one on sailor moon cel scans but it's a bit difficult to find clean, high res scans) Imgsli

As you can see, the linework is alot thinner/cleaner in the ESRGAN upscale.Thankfully, the episodes that I've cleaned dust/dirt from can still be used, I just have to re-upscale/color correct them (one of the disadvantages of ESRGAN is that it takes hours to upscale even a minute of footage) I want to say that I don't want to abandon this, though it may take some time. If you want something like what sapphire91 has posted here, an uploader by the name of [EG]/RX782 has released the first 3 seasons, upscaled to 1080p, but only with minor color correction and no dirt/artifact removal. There are also a few other issues with his release, but overall if you want something now I'd go looking for it.





I assume you're referring to Dr Dre's color matching tool, which is actually what I've been using, albeit in a weird way. Is there a definite way to use the tool for this sort of project? Also, I believe I found your scanned color code chart, but the labels on your Ami image either don't match with the right colors or they aren't there.
This ESRGAN produced a gorgeous result, but I cannot really get how it is supposed to work. It looks like a very user unfriendly process. I am willing to try it, but it looks so confusing. If you are willing to share a guide for idiots, and this idiot here is able to get it :D I might help with the upscaling process.
 
Last edited:

lansing

Luna Nova
May 26, 2018
48
68
65
43
#54
I haven't made a ton of progress on this, mainly due to other projects and the fact that my previous upscaling methods are pretty bad. Here's a comparison between Topaz (what I used before) and ESRGAN (what I plan to use going forward. Not entirely sure what model I'm going to use though, I'm thinking about training a custom one on sailor moon cel scans but it's a bit difficult to find clean, high res scans) Imgsli

As you can see, the linework is alot thinner/cleaner in the ESRGAN upscale.Thankfully, the episodes that I've cleaned dust/dirt from can still be used, I just have to re-upscale/color correct them (one of the disadvantages of ESRGAN is that it takes hours to upscale even a minute of footage) I want to say that I don't want to abandon this, though it may take some time. If you want something like what sapphire91 has posted here, an uploader by the name of [EG]/RX782 has released the first 3 seasons, upscaled to 1080p, but only with minor color correction and no dirt/artifact removal. There are also a few other issues with his release, but overall if you want something now I'd go looking for it.
You can check out this thread in videohelp forum comparing the different AI upscale. The VSGAN with DigiFrames model looks amazing. But I haven't dig deeper because of other works.
Anime re-mastering - how to achieve a particular look?

I assume you're referring to Dr Dre's color matching tool, which is actually what I've been using, albeit in a weird way.
Nah, I'm using 3D LUT Creator. The main problem I had with Dr. Dre's tool is that it doesn't have an accuracy rating "average DeltaE", so I wouldn't know how accurate the match is, therefore no further adjustment can be done. It would be a lot tolerable for live movie, but for animation, a slight shift in hue would be immensely noticeable.

Also, I believe I found your scanned color code chart, but the labels on your Ami image either don't match with the right colors or they aren't there.
I want to address some differences before it gets confused. There were two kind of paint animation studios use back then. The older Saito Tele-Anima Colors (STAC) and Taiyo-Shikisai (Sun Color). Anime from Toei (Sailor Moon) all use STAC.

This is database of my scan of the STAC chart.

I think what you were referring to was this chart? This is the Sun Color chart, not STAC. It was made by a Japanese animator 20 years ago using a measuring device of that time. The device, however, is faulty, as it couldn't capture all the brighter/lighter/saturated color.


Is there a definite way to use the tool for this sort of project?
Unfortunately the development of 3DLC was pretty much dead. Its author was pushing his other software and abandoned the project for over a year now, it was a pity.

My thought on general workflow of this sort of project is first collect the color design sheets of characters, then do the color matching using the sheets and the color chart, and then apply the generated lut file for each scene, and repeat for every scene.

In practice though, that's not going to be a simple one two three. For example, hunting down color design sheets is going to be a headache because they don't come by often. In case of not finding any, we would have to rebuild one ourselves from the scattering genga sheets that has the color code and piece them back together. Another challenge we may have is that there would be artifact in the matching result when we have a grainy source. In that case, an AI upscaled image would be much desired, cleaner source = no artifact.

I think what you can do now is start collecting the color design sheets or rebuild it yourself, and testing out the AI upscale options.

Currently I'm working on building the Sun Color chart database. The chart had like 700 color, so it's going to take time and luck lol. Fortunately I was able to find another enthusiast that's going to send me his cels for scan since he doesn't have the proper measuring equipment.
 
Likes: Starlight

lansing

Luna Nova
May 26, 2018
48
68
65
43
#55
I stitched together a color design sheet for Sailor Moon in the first season and tried it out on that infamous introduction posing scene. Note that the only color code that I can confirm are the yellow hair, skin color and the white. The rest of the color codes are just my educational guess.





Surprisingly the result looks very similar to LD screenshot from the earlier post, what the...does that means that the LD were actually the color accurate reference we're looking for all this time?
 
Last edited:

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#56
I stitched together a color design sheet for Sailor Moon in the first season and tried it out on that infamous introduction posing scene. Note that the only color code that I can confirm are the yellow hair, skin color and the white. The rest of the color codes are just my educational guess.





Surprisingly the result looks very similar to LD screenshot from the earlier post, what the...does that means that the LD were actually the color accurate reference we're looking for all this time?
As you can see, this is not the right approach - it looks completely wrong. If you try to make her hair as yellow - the blues and reds go out of the window. They were never consistent with Usagi's hair color in the anime. It looks absolutely alien and unnatural like this.
 

lansing

Luna Nova
May 26, 2018
48
68
65
43
#57
As you can see, this is not the right approach - it looks completely wrong. If you try to make her hair as yellow - the blues and reds go out of the window. They were never consistent with Usagi's hair color in the anime. It looks absolutely alien and unnatural like this.
That yellow is the correct cel color of Usagi's hair under the sRGB color space, it was not make up by me. What we used to see on all those color casted version were wrong. The inconsistency came from the different issues introduced along the chain of production, such as the amount of layers of cels stacked during the shoot. As more cels were stacked, the darker the color of the bottom layer gets. The intended color of Usagi's hair had probably never changed.

It looks odd probably because of the lack of shadows in the drawing.

I updated the screenshot of the last post because I got the hair shadow wrong. It should be E-2 instead of X-16.
 

sapphire91

Stella Nova
Jul 6, 2018
6,547
9,347
1,665
#58
That yellow is the correct cel color of Usagi's hair under the sRGB color space, it was not make up by me. What we used to see on all those color casted version were wrong. The inconsistency came from the different issues introduced along the chain of production, such as the amount of layers of cels stacked during the shoot. As more cels were stacked, the darker the color of the bottom layer gets. The intended color of Usagi's hair had probably never changed.

It looks odd probably because of the lack of shadows in the drawing.

I updated the screenshot of the last post because I got the hair shadow wrong. It should be E-2 instead of X-16.
Toei happen to advertise their shitty upscale with that exact frame taken from a very good source. This looks a bit greenish, but still looks correct. I would love to know the source of this frame - this looks like a proper hd
 
Likes: kasumigenx