🎨 ColorFlow

Retrieval-Augmented Image Sequence Colorization

Authors: Junhao Zhuang, Xuan Ju, Zhaoyang Zhang, Yong Liu, Shiyi Zhang, Chun Yuan, Ying Shan

         

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🌟 Abstract

Automatic black-and-white image sequence colorization while preserving character and object identity (ID) is a complex task with significant market demand, such as in cartoon or comic series colorization. Despite advancements in visual colorization using large-scale generative models like diffusion models, challenges with controllability and identity consistency persist, making current solutions unsuitable for industrial application.

To address this, we propose ColorFlow, a three-stage diffusion-based framework tailored for image sequence colorization in industrial applications. Unlike existing methods that require per-ID finetuning or explicit ID embedding extraction, we propose a novel robust and generalizable Retrieval Augmented Colorization pipeline for colorizing images with relevant color references.

Our pipeline also features a dual-branch design: one branch for color identity extraction and the other for colorization, leveraging the strengths of diffusion models. We utilize the self-attention mechanism in diffusion models for strong in-context learning and color identity matching.

To evaluate our model, we introduce ColorFlow-Bench, a comprehensive benchmark for reference-based colorization. Results show that ColorFlow outperforms existing models across multiple metrics, setting a new standard in sequential image colorization and potentially benefiting the art industry.

🚀 Getting Started

Follow these steps to set up and run ColorFlow on your local machine:

• Clone the Repository

  Download the code from our GitHub repository:

  git clone https://github.com/TencentARC/ColorFlow
  cd ColorFlow
  

• Set Up the Python Environment

  Ensure you have Anaconda or Miniconda installed, then create and activate a Python environment and install required dependencies:

  conda create -n colorflow python=3.8.5
  conda activate colorflow
  pip install -r requirements.txt
  

• Run the Application

  You can launch the Gradio interface for PowerPaint by running the following command:

  python app.py
  

• Access ColorFlow in Your Browser

  Open your browser and go to http://localhost:7860. If you're running the app on a remote server, replace localhost with your server's IP address or domain name. To use a custom port, update the server_port parameter in the demo.launch() function of app.py.

🎉 Demo

You can try the demo of ColorFlow on Hugging Face Space.

🛠️ Method

The overview of ColorFlow. This figure presents the three primary components of our framework: the Retrieval-Augmented Pipeline (RAP), the In-context Colorization Pipeline (ICP), and the Guided Super-Resolution Pipeline (GSRP). Each component is essential for maintaining the color identity of instances across black-and-white image sequences while ensuring high-quality colorization.

🤗 We welcome your feedback, questions, or collaboration opportunities. Thank you for trying ColorFlow!

📰 News

• Release Date: 2024.12.17 - Inference code and model weights have been released! 🎉

📋 TODO

• ✅ Release inference code and model weights
• ⬜️ Release training code

📜 Citation

@article{zhuang2024colorflow,
  title={ColorFlow: Retrieval-Augmented Image Sequence Colorization},
  author={Zhuang, Junhao and Ju, Xuan and Zhang, Zhaoyang and Liu, Yong and Zhang, Shiyi and Yuan, Chun and Shan, Ying},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.11815},
  year={2024}
}

📄 License

Please refer to our license file for more details.