Anyone sick and tired of posts about WALL-E yet? Good, ’cause neither am I.

CGSociety has an excellent article detailing the techniques used to model and rig the little yellow guy. The complexity of the model is surprising. I doubt many of us paid much attention to WALL-E’s treads, but there was a lot going on down there. The tread was designed with little coils to allow it to stretch much like a metal watch band. Additionally, complex proprietary collision detection and very specific controls were used to keep those treads locked to whatever terrain they were traversing.

For those who say that Pixar isn’t pushing the envelope anymore, (I know you are out there. I hear it with every film they produce.) Just read the article.