Conclusions - Upper colors
 .
Just in case I haven't stressed this enough already, this is just my opinion. I feel that just about any of the colors in the Figure at the bottom of the page would be justified. With the exception of # 7 as I think it is pretty obviously yellowed. I would also put more weight on the original Munsel colors (labeled # 2 below) but I do not know how valid the colors are that I have presented here because I processed them through the on line munsel converter and have no idea how good the translator is. If any body has a way to validate the results of the converter i would appreciate the help.

But, based on the evidence available I have made the following two choices for my own use on my virtual work, and I plan to eliminate the NASM scheme entirely.

1 - The image on the left is based on color # 5. This is the map I have been using for almost all the DV/DVa renderings that I produced in the last 9 months or so. I am still pretty happy with it and feel it is a likely representation of the colors as they would appear on a new aircraft. I will probably generate a desaturated version to represent an older machine that had been in the field for some time.

2 - This is a new set of colors that I have yet to implement into my work that is closest to the colors # 7 as it is modified by action "A" below.
Essentially I dumped out some red and cut back the saturation a little. I like this scheme mainly because I question the overall warmth of the first scheme and would like an alternative.


Experimentation

After I had narrowed the field down to several related schemes, I thought it would be interesting to try some image processing on the colors in Photoshop to see what steps were required to bring them closer together. Whether or not this proves anything is open to debate. But I do believe that if you examine the data it can shed some light on the basic differences and similarities.
The results of this exercise are illustrated below.

The samples I selected are numbers 7, 5, and 2; they are labeled below in the upper left hand corner.
Modifications are as follows:
A Color Balance -20, -10, 12 = Cyan > Red....Magenta > green....yellow < blue
B Color Balance -20, 0, 0 = Cyan > Red
C Hue/Saturation Saturation -25, Lightness +7
D Color Balance -15, +10, +30 = Cyan > Red....Magenta < green....Yellow < Blue
Brightness/Contrast Brightness +16, Contrast +17

 

George Seurat
French Impresionist painter 1859-1891

These two images were taken from the painting "Port-en Bessin" by Georges Seurat painted in 1888.
Obviously, i have greatly enlarged small sections of the painting.
There is little doubt in my mind that whoever "invented" the lozenge scheme owed a lot to the works of Seurat.




Full painting can be seen at the Minniapolis Institute of Arts web site:
http://www.artsmia.org/