User interactive copy processing for selective color conversion or adjustment without gradation loss, and adjacent non-selected-color areas are not affected

An image processing method comprising the steps of:

• specifying a color on a color image to be converted;
• specifying a color after color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;
• specifying a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after the color conversion;
• specifying a criterion range on a color image to be converted;
• and
• converting a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion,
• wherein at least one of chroma and brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range, and each of said first, second, third, and fourth specifying steps are specified in accordance with a user's instructions.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a first specifying unit, that specifies a color to be converted among a plurality of colors on a color image;
• a second specifying unit, that specifies a color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;
• a third specifying unit, that specifies a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after color conversion;
• a fourth specifying unit, that specifies a criterion range in color conversion;
• and
• a processor, that processes a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion,
• wherein at least one of the chroma and the brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range, and
• wherein each of said first specifying unit and said second specifying unit comprise a color palette, and information on the color palette is stored in a detachable memory.

An image processing method comprising the steps of:

• specifying a color on a color image to be converted;
• specifying a color after color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;
• specifying a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after the color conversion;
• specifying a criterion range on a color image to be converted;
• and
• converting a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion;
• and
• presenting process results obtained in said converting step using a display, wherein the display presents as multiple images the images that are processed at a plurality of degrees of color change, and
• wherein at least one of the chroma and the brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range.