JP2016018541A - Data generation device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for improving expression in a mosaic picture.SOLUTION: A data generation device acquires an original image of a mosaic picture formed of plural kinds of small pieces, each kind of the small pieces has a visible solid body and size of the solid body of each kind of the small pieces is different (S130), and acquires color density indicating density of each color in pixel regions including at least one pixel for forming the original image (S140). Then, the data generation device sets the small pieces satisfying a condition according to a use content inputted from outside, to the respective pixel regions (S150-S170). Setting of the small pieces to the respective pixel region is configured so that, as the color density in the pixel area is high, the small piece having the larger solid body is set among the small pieces which can be used for mosaic picture generation. In addition, the respective small pieces set to the respective pixel regions for forming the original image are associated each other, for generating mosaic picture data (S220).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for generating a mosaic image in which a target image is expressed by arranging small pieces.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a data generation device that generates mosaic image data indicating the type of small pieces arranged in each pixel constituting a mosaic image is known (see Patent Document 1).
In the data generation apparatus described in Patent Document 1, data representing the generation status of a shadow when each of a plurality of types of tiles prepared in advance is irradiated with light from a specific direction is prepared. The tiles referred to here are those in which at least one wall portion protrudes from the substrate, and a plurality of types are prepared depending on the type of the wall portion.

  In the data generation device described in Patent Document 1, a tile that represents a shadow generation state that most closely approximates the brightness of each pixel constituting an image for which a mosaic image is to be generated is assigned as a tile (ie, a small piece) to be assigned to the pixel. By determining, mosaic image data is generated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-346057

  By the way, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, although the small pieces that are the shadow generation status closest to the brightness of each pixel are set as the small pieces constituting the mosaic image, the small pieces constituting the mosaic image are set. The visibility of the small piece itself is not considered in the setting of. For this reason, the mosaic image generated by the technique described in Patent Document 1 may be different from the image desired by the creator.

That is, the conventional data generation device has a problem that the expressiveness of the generated mosaic image is insufficient.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the expressive power of a mosaic image.

The present invention made to achieve the above object is a data generation apparatus including an image acquisition unit, a density acquisition unit, an information acquisition unit, a setting unit, and a data generation unit.
Among these, an image acquisition means acquires the original image used as the original of the mosaic image using a small piece. The small piece referred to here has a visible solid. A plurality of types of small pieces having different three-dimensional sizes are used for generating a mosaic image in the present invention.

  The density acquisition unit acquires a color density representing the shade of each color of a pixel region including at least one pixel constituting the original image acquired by the image acquisition unit. The information acquisition unit acquires usage information. The usage information includes at least the types of small pieces that can be used to generate a mosaic image.

  Further, the setting means sets a small piece in each pixel area. The setting means according to the present invention indicates that, based on the color density acquired by the density acquisition means, the higher the color density in the pixel region, the more usable pieces included in the usage information acquired by the information acquisition means. A small piece having a large solid size is set in the pixel area.

The data generating unit generates mosaic image data representing a mosaic image generated by associating each of the small pieces set by the setting unit with each pixel area.
In such a data generation device, the smaller the color density of the pixel area, the smaller the larger three-dimensional size is set in the pixel area.

  Accordingly, in the mosaic image represented by the mosaic image data generated by the data generation device, the higher the density of the pixel area, the higher the density of the solids of the small pieces, and the lower the pixel density range of the pixel area, The density of the solid which a small piece has becomes low. For this reason, according to the present invention, the shading in the mosaic image can be expressed not only by the shadow formed by the small pieces but also by the density of the small pieces (solid).

As a result, in the mosaic image, the density difference between the pixel area ranges becomes clear, and a shadow can be expressed.
From the above, according to the data generation device of the present invention, it is possible to improve the shading and shadow expression in the mosaic image, and to reduce the difference between the mosaic image and the image desired by the creator.

That is, according to the data generation device of the present invention, it is possible to improve the expressive power in the mosaic image represented by the mosaic image data generated by the data generation device.
By the way, when generating a mosaic image, the total amount of usable small pieces is often limited. In this case, in the data generation device, it is important to improve the expressiveness of the mosaic image while maintaining the total amount of small pieces to be used within the range of the limited total amount.

Therefore, the information acquisition means of the present invention may acquire the total amount of usable pieces as one piece of usage information.
In this case, the setting means in the present invention sets the small pieces in each of the pixel areas so that the number of small pieces used for generating the mosaic image is within a range defined by the total amount of small pieces acquired by the information acquiring means. You may do it.

According to such a data generation device, the amount of small pieces set in each pixel region can be within a range defined from the total amount of small pieces.
The “total amount of usable small pieces” referred to here may be the total number of usable small pieces, or may be the total mass of usable pieces.

  Furthermore, the setting unit of the present invention may include a density calculation unit. This density calculation means calculates a density ratio that represents a ratio of the color density of each pixel area in the density range from the highest highest density to the lowest lowest density among the color densities of all the pixel areas.

In this case, the setting unit sets a small piece having a solid having a size corresponding to the density ratio of each pixel area calculated by the density calculating unit in the pixel area.
According to such a data generation device, a small piece corresponding to the density ratio can be set in each pixel region.

  Further, the setting means in the present invention may set a small piece having a solid size at a usable ratio corresponding to the density ratio of each pixel area calculated by the density calculating means in the pixel area. Note that the usable ratio referred to here is a ratio of the amount of small pieces used for each size of a solid used to generate a mosaic image in the total amount of usable small pieces acquired by the information acquisition unit.

The “total amount of usable small pieces” mentioned here may be the total number of usable small pieces, or may be the kind of usable small pieces and the number of the kinds.
According to the data generation device of the present invention, an optimal small piece can be set in each pixel area according to the usable ratio.

  Furthermore, the image acquisition means in the present invention may generate and acquire an original image by expanding and contracting the image so that the number of all pixel regions is within a range defined from the total amount of small pieces.

  According to such a data generation device, it is possible to generate an original image, and thus a mosaic image, from images of different sizes. Furthermore, the number of small pieces used in the mosaic image can be within a range defined by the total amount of small pieces.

In the data generation device of the present invention, the solid that the small piece has may be a sphere.
In this way, if a small piece having a sphere as a solid is used, the gloss and light reflection of the solid can be made uniform. As a result, the expressive power of the mosaic image represented by the mosaic image data generated by the data generation apparatus of the present invention can be further improved.

Furthermore, in the data generation device of the present invention, the solid included in the small piece may be formed of a metal material or stone.
The present invention can be implemented in various forms such as a program executed by a computer to generate mosaic image data, a method for generating mosaic image data, in addition to the above-described data generation device.

  In particular, if the present invention is implemented as a program, it can be used by being acquired and activated by a computer as necessary. And by making a computer perform each procedure, the computer can be functioned as a data generator described in claim 1. The computer may acquire the program from a computer-readable recording medium such as a DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, or hard disk, or a server via a communication line.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the data generation apparatus with which this invention was applied. It is a figure which illustrates a mosaic picture. It is a figure which shows the structure of the small piece in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a data generation process. It is a figure which shows an example of the generator screen which receives the input of the usage content required for execution of a data generation process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Data generation device>
A data generation device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a device that generates mosaic image data representing a mosaic image.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mosaic image in the present embodiment is configured by attaching one small piece 40 (see FIG. 3) set by the data generation device 10 to each pixel constituting the image. .

  The small piece 40 includes a pin 42 and a solid body 44 as shown in FIG. In the small piece 40, a pin 42 and a solid body 44 are integrally formed of a noble metal. The pin 42 is formed in a rod shape. The solid 44 in the present embodiment is a sphere formed so as to be visible. The solid 44 is fixed to one end of the pin 42.

  In the present embodiment, platinum is assumed as the noble metal forming the small piece 40. However, the noble metal forming the small piece 40 is not limited to platinum, and may be gold or silver. Furthermore, the material forming the small piece 40 may not be a noble metal, and may be a metal material such as iron, copper, or aluminum, or may be stone. The stones mentioned here may be diamonds, sapphire, rubies, pearls, jewels such as jade, or other stones. In the small piece 40 of the present invention, it is sufficient that at least the part of the solid 44 is formed of a noble metal, a metal material, or stone.

  A plurality of types of small pieces 40 in the present embodiment are prepared with different diameters Φ of a sphere as the solid 44. As the diameter Φ of the sphere in the present embodiment, for example, 2 [mm], 2.5 [mm], 3 [mm], 4 [mm], 5 [mm], 6 [mm], 7 [mm], 8 [Mm], 10 [mm], etc. are conceivable.

Here, the data generation device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an image acquisition unit 12, a display unit 14, an information reception unit 16, an output unit 18, a storage unit 20, and a control unit 22.
Among these, the image acquisition unit 12 acquires an image. The image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 includes an original image of a mosaic image. The image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12 may be an image captured by a camera or an image captured by a scanner.

The display unit 14 displays an image based on a signal from the control unit 32. The display unit 14 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display.
The information receiving unit 16 is a well-known mechanism that receives input of information from the outside. As this information reception part 16, well-known input mechanisms, such as a keyboard, a mouse | mouth, and a touch panel, are included, for example. In addition, when the information reception part 16 is comprised with the touch panel, the information reception part 16 may be comprised integrally with the display part 14. FIG.

  The output unit 18 outputs data in accordance with a signal from the control unit 22. As an output destination from which the output unit 18 outputs data, a network communication network, a printer, a storage unit 20, and the like are considered.

The storage unit 20 is a non-volatile storage device configured to be able to read and write stored contents. The storage unit 20 stores various processing programs and various data.
The control unit 22 is configured around a known computer having at least a ROM 24, a RAM 26, and a CPU 28.

Among these, the ROM 24 of the control unit 22 stores a processing program for executing data generation processing for generating mosaic image data. In the data generation process, mosaic image data is generated by acquiring an image as a generation target of a mosaic image and setting an optimum piece 40 for each pixel according to a result of analyzing the acquired image. The mosaic image data is data representing a mosaic image, and is generated by associating each specified small piece 40 with each pixel.
<Data generation processing>
Next, data generation processing executed by the control unit 22 of the data generation device 10 will be described.

This data generation process is started when an input of a start command is received via the information receiving unit 16.
In the data generation process, when activated, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 22 first acquires a target image (hereinafter referred to as “target original image”) (S110). This target original image may be an image newly acquired via the image acquisition unit 12 or may be an image stored in the storage unit 20 or the like. In addition, the target original image may be an image designated through the information receiving unit 16 from among a plurality of images, or may be an image defined as an initial value in advance.

  Subsequently, the control unit 22 detects the total number of pixels that are within a range defined from the small piece guide number (S120). The small piece guide number mentioned here is a number that serves as a guide for the number of small pieces used for generating a mosaic image. This small piece guide number may be input via the information receiving unit 16 or may be an initial value defined in advance. The total number of pixels referred to here is the result of multiplying the number of vertical pixels and the number of horizontal pixels in the original image.

  Specifically, in S120, the control unit 22 first maintains the ratio of the number of vertical pixels to the number of horizontal pixels (that is, the aspect ratio) in the target original image, and then minimizes the number of vertical pixels, and Calculate the number of horizontal pixels. If the calculated result of multiplying the number of vertical pixels by the number of horizontal pixels is less than the approximate number of small pieces, each of the number of vertical pixels and the number of horizontal pixels is incremented. These steps are repeated until the multiplication result of the number of vertical pixels and the number of horizontal pixels becomes equal to or larger than the small piece guide number. Then, the number of vertical pixels, the number of horizontal pixels, and the multiplication result thereof at the time when the number of small pieces is reached are calculated as the total number of pixels.

  Further, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 generates an original image by expanding and contracting the target original image based on the total number of pixels detected in S120 (S130). The original image referred to here is an image that is an original image of a mosaic image.

  Specifically, in S130, if the number of pixels of the target original image is larger than the total number of pixels, the control unit 22 generates the original image by compressing the target original image so as to be the total number of pixels. As a technique for compressing the image, a known technique may be used. On the other hand, when the number of pixels of the target original image is smaller than the total number of pixels, the original image may be generated by enlarging the target original image so as to be the total number of pixels. In this case, a known method may be used as a method for enlarging the image.

  In the data generation process, the control unit 22 acquires a color density that represents the shade of the color of each pixel constituting the original image generated in S130 (S140). Specifically, in S140, for each pixel, the control unit 22 divides the sum of the red luminance value R, the green luminance value G, and the blue luminance value B by “3” to obtain a color density ( Color density = (R + G + B) / 3) is calculated and acquired.

  Subsequently, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 applies the solid 44 of the usable small pieces 40 to the pixel of the original image having the maximum color density based on the color density of each pixel acquired in S140. The small piece 40 having the largest diameter φ is set (S150). In S150, the control unit 22 sets the small piece 40 having the smallest diameter φ of the solid 44 among the usable small pieces 40 for the pixel of the original image having the smallest color density.

  Further, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 calculates a density ratio RR in each pixel based on the color density of each pixel acquired in S140 (S160). The density ratio RR here is a ratio of the color density p of each pixel in the density range from the highest highest density pmax to the lowest lowest density pmin among the color densities in the original image. That is, in S160 of the present embodiment, the control unit 22 calculates the density ratio RR of each pixel in the original image at a ratio starting from the specified color density. The “specified color density” in the present embodiment is the minimum density pmin (RR = (p−pmin) / (pmax−pmin)). The “specified color density” is not limited to the minimum density, and may be the highest density or other color density.

  In the data generation process, the control unit 22 sets a small piece 40 having the size of the solid 44 at the usable ratio corresponding to the density ratio RR of each pixel of the original image to each pixel (S170).

  The usable ratio mentioned here is a table showing the small pieces 40 corresponding to the density ratio RR. The usable ratio in the present embodiment is that the small piece 40 having the maximum size of the solid 44 among the usable small pieces 40 corresponds to the maximum value pmax of the color density, and the size of the solid 44 among the usable small pieces 40. Is defined so as to correspond to the maximum value pmin of the color density. In the usable ratio, the ratio of the small pieces 40 that can be used for each size of the solid 44 occupies the amount of use of all the small pieces 40 used for generating the mosaic image between the maximum value pmax and the minimum value pmin. It is prescribed by.

  The ratio of the usable small pieces 40 may be equal for each size of the solid 44. Further, the ratio of the usable small pieces 40 may be inclined so that the ratio of the corresponding small pieces 40 is increased in accordance with the usage amount of the upper size and the usage amount of the lower size. In addition, the usage amount of the upper size mentioned here is the usage amount of the small piece 40 in which the size of the solid 44 is equal to or larger than the first specified value among all the small pieces 40 that can be used for generating the mosaic image. Further, the usage amount of the lower size referred to here is the usage amount of the small piece 40 whose size of the solid 44 is equal to or smaller than the second specified value among all the small pieces 40 that can be used for generating the mosaic image.

  Specifically, in S170, if the density ratio RR of one pixel in the original image is the upper x percent from the highest density, the control unit 22 determines the size of the solid 44 included in the upper x percent in the usable ratio. The small piece 40 is set to the pixel. Here, “x” is a code indicating a specific example of the concentration ratio RR and the usable ratio.

  The usable ratio for each size of each solid 44 (that is, for each type of small piece 40) may be calculated based on the total amount of usable precious metal input via the information receiving unit 16. In other words, in the present embodiment, the control unit 22 approximates the sum of the masses of the number of small pieces 40 that can be used for each size of each solid 44 (that is, for each type of the small pieces 40) to the total amount of usable precious metals. As such, the ratio for each type of each piece 40 may be calculated.

  Subsequently, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 displays a mosaic image based on the small piece 40 set for each pixel of the original image on the display unit 14 (S180). Specifically, in S180, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the control unit 22 displays the mosaic image on a part of the generator screen that receives input of information necessary for generating the mosaic image data. In the present embodiment, the generator screen is displayed on the display unit 14 when the data generation process is activated.

  Further, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 displays the usage contents of the small pieces (hereinafter referred to as “used small pieces”) 40 used for generating the mosaic image displayed on the display unit 14 in S180 on the generator screen. (S190). The usage contents referred to here include the approximate number of small pieces, the total number of used pieces 40 (that is, the total number of pixels), the total mass of the used pieces 40, and the number of pieces used for each kind of pieces 40. Further, the usage contents include a vertical size and a horizontal size in the mosaic image, a vertical margin size (that is, a margin), and a horizontal margin size in the mosaic image. Further, the usage content includes the usage amount of the upper size and the usage amount of the lower size.

The usage content in the embodiment is an example of usage information described in the claims.
Subsequently, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 determines whether an input of a completion command for generating mosaic image data has been received via the information reception unit 16 (S200). As a result of the determination in S200, if an input of a completion command is accepted (S220: YES), the control unit 22 shifts the data generation process to S220 described in detail later.

  On the other hand, as a result of the determination in S220, if the input of the completion command is not accepted (S220: NO), the control unit 22 shifts the data generation process to S210. In S <b> 210, the control unit 22 receives an input of change of usage content via the information reception unit 16. In the present embodiment, the usage content for accepting the change input includes the number of small pieces, the total number of used pieces 40, the vertical size and horizontal size in the mosaic image, the vertical margin size, the horizontal margin size, and the upper size. The amount used may be limited to the amount used in the lower size. Furthermore, the change in the usage content received in S210 may include a change in the target original image.

  Thereafter, in the data generation process, the control unit 22 executes steps S110 to S200 based on the usage content received in S210. In the data generation processing in this case, the small piece 40 to be set for each pixel is determined by giving priority to the use content whose change has been received in S210.

  By the way, as a result of the determination in S200, in S220 to which the process proceeds when an input of a completion command is received, the control unit 22 generates mosaic image data representing the mosaic image displayed on the display unit 14 in S180 and outputs the mosaic image data. 18 to output. That is, in S220, data representing the type of the small piece 40 set for each pixel constituting the original image is generated as mosaic image data. Then, the generated mosaic image data is output via a network communication network or a printer, or stored in the storage unit 20.

Thereafter, the control unit 22 ends the data generation process and waits until an input of the next start command is received.
That is, in the data generation process, the color density in each pixel constituting the original image is acquired. Then, a small piece 40 that satisfies the condition according to the content of use input from the outside is set to each of the pixels constituting the original image. As the setting of the small piece 40 to each of the pixels, the small piece 40 having a larger size of the solid 44 is set out of the small pieces 40 that can be used for generating the mosaic image as the color density in the pixel is higher.

Further, in the data generation process, mosaic image data is generated by associating each of the set small pieces 40 with each pixel constituting the original image.
[Effect of the embodiment]
As described above, the data generation apparatus 10 generates a mosaic image using the small piece 40 that has the solid 44 at one end of the pin 42 and is formed of a noble metal. In addition, the data generation device 10 sets the small piece 40 having a larger size of the solid 44 among the small pieces 40 that can be used for generating the mosaic image as the color density of the pixels constituting the original image is higher. Yes.

  In a mosaic image generated by such a data generation device 10, the density of the solid 44 included in the small piece 40 increases as the range including pixels with a higher color density, and the smaller the smaller as the range includes pixels with a lower color density. The density of the solid 44 that 40 has becomes low. Therefore, according to the data generation device 10, the light and shade in the mosaic image can be expressed not only by the shadow formed by the small pieces but also by the density of the small pieces (solid).

As a result, in the mosaic image, the density difference between pixels becomes clear and it becomes possible to express a shadow.
According to the data generation device 10, it is possible to improve the shading and shadow expression in the mosaic image, and to reduce the difference from the image desired by the creator.

That is, according to the data generation device 10, it is possible to improve the expressive power in the mosaic image generated by the data generation device 10.
By the way, since noble metals are expensive, the total amount of small pieces 40 that can be used for a mosaic image is usually limited. Therefore, in the data generation device 10, it is important to improve the expressiveness of the mosaic image while maintaining the total amount of the small pieces 40 to be used within the specified range.

  In the data generation process of this embodiment, the total number of pixels that fall within the range defined from the number of small pieces is detected, and the original image is generated so as to be the total number of pixels. And the small piece 40 is set to each pixel which comprises the produced | generated original image.

  According to such a data generation process, it is possible to set the small piece 40 having the solid body 44 of the optimum size for each pixel while maintaining the total amount of the small pieces 40 to be used within the range defined by the number of small pieces. .

As a result, it can be reduced that the total amount of the noble metal of the small piece 40 used for creating the mosaic image greatly exceeds the total amount planned by the creator.
In the present embodiment, the solid 44 of the small piece 40 is a sphere. For this reason, in the mosaic image of this embodiment, the reflection of light at each small piece 40 can be made uniform regardless of the orientation of the solid 44 of the small piece 40. As a result, the expressive power of the mosaic image generated by the data generation device 10 can be further improved.
[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to implement in various aspects.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the shape of the solid 44 of the small piece 40 is a sphere, but the shape of the solid 44 is not limited to this. That is, the shape of the solid 44 may be a rectangular parallelepiped or other polyhedron.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the total amount of the budget for the noble metal used for creating the mosaic image may be accepted as the usage content. In this case, for example, based on the total budget of the noble metal, the approximate number of small pieces, the type of small pieces 40 to be used, and the number of small pieces 40 of each type may be determined. In this case, the number that can be used for each size of the small piece 40 is calculated so that the sum of the multiplication results of the price of each piece 40 and the number that can be used for each size of the small piece 40 is within the budget. Just do it.

  In the above embodiment, the size of each pixel is fixed to the initial value. However, in the present invention, the size of the pixel may be changeable. In this case, the size of the mosaic image can be changed without changing the total number of small pieces 40 to be used.

  By the way, in the data generation process of the above embodiment, the small pieces 40 are associated with each pixel constituting the original image on a one-to-one basis. However, the object to be associated with the small pieces 40 is a pixel region having a plurality of pixels. May be. In this case, in the data generation process, the color density may be calculated for each pixel area in S140, and an appropriate small piece 40 may be set for each pixel area in S170. When the small piece 40 is set for each pixel region, in the data generation process, the color density may be calculated for each pixel in S140, and the appropriate small piece 40 may be set for each pixel region including the pixel in S170. In the data generation process in this case, S130 may be omitted.

  Further, the present invention may be realized in various forms such as a program executed by a computer for generating mosaic image data, a method for generating mosaic image data, in addition to the above-described data generation device.

In addition, the aspect which abbreviate | omitted a part of structure of the said embodiment as long as the subject could be solved is also embodiment of this invention. Further, an aspect configured by appropriately combining the above embodiment and the modification is also an embodiment of the present invention. Moreover, all the aspects which can be considered in the limit which does not deviate from the essence of the invention specified by the wording described in the claims are the embodiments of the present invention.
[Correspondence between Embodiment and Claims]
Finally, the relationship between the description of the above embodiment and the description of the scope of claims will be described.

  S130 in the data generation process of the above embodiment is an example of an image acquisition unit and an image acquisition procedure described in the claims. S140 is an example of the density acquisition means and the density acquisition procedure described in the claims. S170 and S210 are an example of the information acquisition means and the information acquisition procedure described in the claims.

  Furthermore, S150 to S170 in the data generation process are an example of setting means and setting procedures described in the claims. S220 is an example of a data generation means and a data generation procedure described in the claims. S160 is an example of the density calculating means described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Data generation device 12 ... Image acquisition part 14 ... Display part 16 ... Information reception part 18 ... Output part 20 ... Memory | storage part 22 ... Control part 24 ... ROM 26 ... RAM 28 ... CPU 32 ... Control part 40 ... Small piece 42 ... Pin 44 ... Solid

Claims (8)

An image acquisition means for acquiring an original image that is an original image of a mosaic image using a plurality of types of small pieces having a visible solid and having different sizes of the solid;
Density acquisition means for acquiring a color density representing the shade of the color of each pixel region including at least one pixel constituting the original image acquired by the image acquisition means;
Information acquisition means for acquiring usage information including at least the kind of small pieces that can be used for generating a mosaic image;
Setting means for setting the small piece in each of the pixel areas, and the information acquisition means indicates that the color density in the pixel area is higher based on the color density acquired by the density acquisition means. Setting means for setting a small piece having a large three-dimensional size in the pixel area among the usable small pieces included in the acquired use information;
A data generation apparatus comprising: data generation means for generating mosaic image data representing a mosaic image generated by associating each of the small pieces set by the setting means with each of the pixel areas. The information acquisition means acquires the total amount of the small pieces that can be used as one of the usage information,
The setting means includes
The small pieces are set in each of the pixel regions so that the number of small pieces used for generating the mosaic image is within a range defined by the total amount of small pieces acquired by the information acquisition unit. The data generation device according to claim 1. The setting means includes
Density calculating means for calculating a density ratio representing a ratio of color density of each of the pixel areas in a density range from the highest highest density to the lowest lowest density among the color densities of all the pixel areas;
3. The data generation according to claim 1, wherein a small piece having the solid having a size corresponding to a density ratio of each of the pixel areas calculated by the density calculating unit is set in the pixel area. apparatus. The setting means includes
The ratio of the usage amount of the small pieces for each size of the solid used for generating the mosaic image in the total amount of usable small pieces acquired by the information acquisition unit is set as a usable ratio.
The small piece having the size of the solid at the usable ratio corresponding to the density ratio of each of the pixel areas calculated by the density calculation unit is set in the pixel area. Data generator. The information acquisition means acquires the total amount of the small pieces that can be used as one of the usage information,
The image acquisition means includes
The original image is generated and acquired by expanding and contracting an image so that the number of all the pixel regions is within a range defined from the total amount of the small pieces. 5. The data generation device according to any one of up to 4. The data generation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the solid included in the small piece is a sphere. The data generation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the solid that the small piece has is formed of a metal material or stone. An image acquisition procedure for acquiring an original image that is an original image of a mosaic image using a plurality of types of small pieces having a visible solid and having different sizes of the solid;
A density acquisition procedure for acquiring a color density representing a color density of each of the pixel regions including at least one pixel constituting the original image acquired by the image acquisition procedure;
An information acquisition procedure for acquiring usage information including at least the types of small pieces that can be used to generate a mosaic image;
In the setting procedure for setting the small piece in each of the pixel regions, the higher the color density in the pixel region based on the color density acquired in the density acquisition procedure, the higher the information acquisition procedure. A setting procedure for setting, in the pixel area, a small piece having a large three-dimensional size among the usable small pieces included in the acquired usage information;
A data generation procedure for generating mosaic image data representing a mosaic image generated by associating each of the small pieces set in the setting procedure with each of the pixel regions,
A program characterized by being executed by a computer.