Droid K2

        There is one reoccurring thing that tends to happen in Star Wars films. That thing happens to be droids. From the first movies to the most recent, there is always a robot or robots that can steal the stage. Those robots are C-3PO, R2D2, BB-8, and most recently on screens there is K-2SO. A sassy and charismatic droid. But how do you get a personality to show itself in a CGI creation? Well, this week's article tells us just how they added personality to K2.

        K-2SO being made who he is is something impressive. Alan Tudyk, the actor, was on set in a gray marker suit. Motion capture was also used, and the actual animation of the droids happened in CG through Industrial Light and Magic. The droid's inner essence was found by letting Tudyk experiment with a digital marionette of himself, the ILM's capture suit, and making the eyes pop. K2, unlike the very flappable C-3PO, is unflappable. He has sarcasm and wit, something not every Star Wars' bot has.

        Something uncommon in the Star Wars droids are facial features like eyebrows and mouths to give them expressions. They worked around with K2 until they could find something that gave him the expression aesthetic. They decided to work with the eyes to find an expressing robot. At first, they thought that giving him the ability to blink would be the key, but it wasn't so they took it a step back. Instead, they gave him the ability to rotate his eyes. They bounce around a little and have little thinking moments, much like humans. The eyes really boosted his personality.

        Another thing that upped his whole being as a droid was his voice. He's funny and has amazing timing. Tudyk being his actor gives him a lift as well, seeing as he's played robots in previous movies. Tudyk used special stilts to be the correct height for this droid and to give him that long-legged gait oompf. A motion capture suit took in all his actions to bring movement to this droid, and though the eyes were never tracked they were able to study and put them in later.

        Animating this droid had to have been a blast, he has a complex gait and calculated eye movements. Even without a widely varied face, he has a large personality and touch of humor reserved solely for Star Wars.

        This article was a cool read, I liked being able to follow their process for this character. Have CGI characters by actual actors is always cool, and it is really cool to get a grasp of how it happens. The whole process seems like a hassle though, and I don't think I would find interest in it.

        This article makes me wonder about other processes in the Star Wars universe. Like how they made BB-8 and R2D2, and Jabba. The fictional world they have is so extensive and filled with CGI, it must be out of this world to be anywhere in the process of bringing it to life.