It's appropriate that the animation department at Industrial Light & Magic responsible for R2-D2 is known as the rebel unit. That feisty little robot is quite the rebel, and in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, he is required to do a lot more physical activity than accustomed to: flying, climbing stairs and saving both his buddy, C-3PO, and the new heroine of the franchise, Senator Padme Amidala (played by Natalie Portman).

Making the CG R2-D2 move convincingly was the biggest hurdle for the Episode II team. Here, they send him flying. © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Digital work by Industrial Light & Magic.

R2 Gets A Boost
So it should come as no surprise that George Lucas demanded an all-new computer-modeled R2-D2 to append the motor-controlled practical model that's been a staple of all the previous films. The job went to Billy Brooks, a rebel unit artist and Star Wars fanboy, along with 15 other artists. "We are generalists," Brooks explains, "who are capable of doing all aspects of animation: modeling, texturing, animation, lighting, rendering and compositing. I computer-modeled R2-D2 for one CG shot in the middle of Phantom Menace, but I revamped the model and got it ready for 17 shots in Attack of the Clones. It took two weeks to remodel the head and four weeks to make sure the look of the metal matched the practical model."

A step by step progression of how ILM made the CG R2-D2 fly -- first they create the wireframe of the character.

As with the all-new CG Yoda, the challenge was to adhere as closely to the original character as possible. For example, when walking upstairs, Brooks had the CG legs still rock back and forth in that renowned "Kenny Baker shuffle"(supplied by the actor who fits inside the practical model).

Or when he swoops down to rescue Padme when she's trapped in a cauldron, Brooks introduced animated elements of the CG R2 correcting himself. "I would put in imperfections because I didn't want R2 to be too digital; I wanted him to be in character. I grew up with R2 and I didn't want to blow it. He's part of my childhood."

And why is the CG R2 Mac-based? Simple. Because the rebel unit is primarily Mac-based. And since Lightwave had some new tools, Brooks wanted to try it out for the first time in production instead of sticking with Maya or Softimage. Brooks says the results were very impressive.