WoodSwimmer is a stop-motion universe in which wood is the primary element. Designed by stop-motion animator Brett Foxwell, the sequences in the video are cross-sectional photographic scans of actual pieces of hardwood, burls, and branches.

The video follows a piece of raw wood through a milling machine - capturing its unique growth rings, knots, and weathered spots.

“Fascinated with the shapes and textures found in both newly-cut and long-dead pieces of wood, I envisioned a world composed entirely of these forms,” Foxwell told design blog Colossal. “As I began to engage with the material, I conceived a method using a milling machine and an animation camera setup to scan through a wood sample photographically and capture its entire structure. Although a difficult and tedious technique to refine, it yielded gorgeous imagery at once abstract and very real. Between the twisting growth rings, swirling rays, knot holes, termites and rot, I found there is a lot going on inside of wood.”

Foxwell said creating the video was straightforward, but brutally tedious to complete. Check out his other projects here.