Lesson 6: first knitted results

First results: (the computer and knitting software is finally working, in a nice collaboration with Gera!)

image coming from the cellular automaton example made in Processing (altered pde, see former posts)
102 x 100 pixels (knitting pixels that is :-)

two versions: positive and negative (knitted two times, can you spot the line: a mistake!)

The triangle signature is very visible, in using the Special Applet (see last post), other signatures will explored and knitted...

Lesson 5: an applet to play with

To get more varied results we will use this very exciting applet:

http://www.mirekw.com/ca/mjcell/mjcell.html

This is the program which is used making the catalog shown in an earlier post.

Lesson 4: Using a Program 2

Extended program to test patterns

We have modified the Wolfram example:

We now can make the rectangles bigger (in the code),
we have an indication of the combining rules, in yellow on a gray background left top, so that we can save an interesting setting.
We can enhance the starting points (seeds).

download:

http://www.contrechoc.com/crosslab/cellular_knitting_2.zip

Try playing with this example! (We will look at it in class.)

A few examples of the results:

Lesson 1: A catalogue of machine generated patterns

Intro

In this class we will use knitting machines to make the patterns we design by computer.
The patterns are designed using the principles of the cellular automata.

 A first glance at the possibilities of "Cellular automata" patterns:

http://www.mirekw.com/ca/ca_gallery.html

In this site you can see "all" possibilities:
  

Explaining the concept of cellular automata:
http://nirmukta.com/2009/12/10/complexity-explained-11-cellular-automata/

Lesson 2: Some patterns found on internet

Some existing results:

Patterns can be made by hand, but you could also program:
Google Image Search for "cellular automata knitting":

The teapot cover in the middle has a signature pattern for cellular automata (which are in fact related to fractals).

A lot of the patterns are based on triangles, some of these are very symmetrical, some are extremely asymmetrical.

http://boingboing.net/2009/05/27/celluar-automata-at.html

http://complementinversion.blogspot.com/2008/03/beautiful-science.html

 http://www.complexification.net/gallery/machines/invaderfractal/

Lesson 3: Using a program 1

Trying to programming a bit ourselves! We will start at the beginning.

First step:

Some programs to make patterns (very good ones!) can be found on the internet. But we start doing it using Processing.

download Processing at Processing.org

Some very basic and comprehensible intro's in programming can be found on the site of Processing:http://processing.org/learning/

Under the tab File (when having started Processing) you can find "Examples". Under examples/topics you can find a folder "cellular automata". The program "Wolfram" is an example to generate "the triangles". But this is already complex to start with...

We start much simpler:
First we program a few rectangles and try to make a pattern, by hand (knitting1a):

and by loops (knitting1b):

This is the program we are going to test today to generate design.
Not all is good!
Explore the possibilities.

Download:

http://www.contrechoc.com/crosslab/knitting1a.zip

http://www.contrechoc.com/crosslab/knitting1b.zip

 

Second step:

Now we generate the pattern from "arrays": (using a double loop)
Arrays are like knitting stitches.

http://www.contrechoc.com/crosslab/knitting1c.zip

Third step:

 In the third step we generate "the next row" of knitting (digital knitting that is) from the row above, using very simple rules:

Download file:
 http://www.contrechoc.com/crosslab/cellular_knitting.zip