Virtually knitted sheep jumper to revolutionize computer animation

London, Aug 21 (ANI): The images of a sheep in a virtually knitted jumper could lead to far more realistic animated characters wearing ultra-realistic clothes, experts have claimed.

The images are the first time researchers have managed the incredibly complex feat of recreated knitting inside a computer.

To put clothes on their characters, computer graphic artists usually simulate cloth by creating a thin sheet, then adding some sort of texture.

However, this doesn't work for knitted garments, as they are simply too complex.

To make the image realistic, the computer has to simulate the surface right down to the intricate intertwining of yarn.

So computer scientists are in effect teaching the computer to knit.

The research, from Cornell University, was unveiled at a computer graphics conference.

"We are actually changing the shape of the yarn loops that make up the stitches," the Daily Mail quoted Professor Steve Marschner from cornell, who led the research, as saying, "simulating how they wrap around other loops."

The result is a simulation with detail down to the yarn level.

The trickiest part, Marschner said, is to make sure the images of yarn loops don't slide through each other like ghosts.

That would cause the simulation to "unravel" like a dropped stitch in real knitting.

The team has also revealed far more natural looking knitted outfits for human. Funded by Pixar, the research could be seen on a cinema screen soon.

In knitting, a single stitch is formed by pulling yarn through a loop. Rows of stitches, built on the loops formed by previous rows, make up the finished garment.

The yarn can be pulled through in a variety of ways or multiple times, creating various shapes and textures.

To simulate this realistically, a computer graphic artist would have to painstakingly model the 3-D structure of every stitch.

The researchers tested their method with several patterns from knitting books and created images of dresses, sweaters, a shawl and a tea cozy.

The simulations are highly realistic, but the researchers noted that the results of knitting a particular pattern depend on the yarn and needles used, as well as the style of the individual knitter.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and Pixar. (ANI)