knit/ʇᴉuʞ

Conceptual

This collection of mesmerising knit simulations may seem rather frivolous, but they were actually inspired by a paper written by Keenan Crane, the Digital Geometer and Associate Professor of Computer Science & Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. Crane’s essay describes a set of closed-form expressions for creating curves (and orientations) which resemble a stockinette stitch, used in knitting.

Intrigued by this idea and looking to have a bit of fun, Matt Taylor decided to implement this theory in Houdini. He began by experimenting with knitted patches to see if he could simulate them to really make the knitting centre stage, showing it happen, slowly and in a way which was very tactile.

In an attempt to have more control over the system Matt challenged himself to knit the yarn slowly and carefully, showing the whole process, and then unknit the yarn, in the same animation. This became ‘knit/ʇᴉuʞ’.

A particular challenge was creating the 600,000 tiny loose threads on the knit and getting them to loop with the animation. Emerging from these experiments are his collection of simulations which have resulted in optical illusions that have never been seen before. They represent the most complicated looping animations Matt has ever created, and he’s created many!