Herbal Essences

Jul 17

1 min read

Updated: Sep 3

PRODUCTION

A commercial for Herbal Essences, part of its "Unleash Mama Nature's Secrets" platform. The film

immerses the viewer in a lush tropical glasshouse, a botanical setting inspired by the Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew, where a woman moves through nature that seems to awaken as she passes. Leaves,

fronds, and flowers fill every shot, serving the brand's botanical, natural positioning.

I handled the rigging of every plant on screen. Rather than rig each leaf by hand, a massive task

given the density of the foliage, I developed a dedicated Python tool that automatically attaches a

joint chain to each leaf, starting from the root, making it possible to rig entire foliage in a fraction of

the time. I added a master controller able to animate all the leaves at once, on top of individual

control. Each leaf could curl and uncurl, fold, and twist, giving animators a fully living, controllable

vegetation, from the broad gesture down to the fine detail. All built in Maya. This custom rigging tool reflects my character work for advertising, from the same period as the Dementor rigging I did on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.