3D animation in Hamburg: CGI & Fluid Simulations

Carsten Böhnert – 3D artist & motion designer

Work

Mercedes Spec Ad – Vehicle in an Alpine Landscape
Personal spec-ad project: a Mercedes vehicle simulation in an alpine landscape – a showcase of vehicle simulation, storytelling and editing.
Vehicle animation, VFX
Cloth Simulation – Braided Rubber Bands in Cinema 4D
Personal project: a cloth simulation of braided rubber bands, built entirely with native Cinema 4D tools – a real eye-catcher.
Experimental animation
Coffee Splash from an Espresso Machine with Houdini
Personal spec-ad project: a coffee fluid simulation like a CGI shot from a TV commercial, simulated in Houdini and brought together in Cinema 4D.
Fluid simulation
VOSS Spec Ad – Premium Water in Motion
Personal spec-ad project for the premium brand VOSS: a realistic fluid simulation as a showcase of visual and technical skills.
Fluid simulation, VFX, Particle animation
Whitewater Simulation: Alien in a River
Personal project: an alien crawls through a river, generating realistic whitewater dynamics – a showcase of Houdini fluid skills.
Fluid simulation
Liquid animation with X-Particles
Personal project: a liquid animation simulated with Insydium X-Particles and rendered with Octane in Cinema 4D.
Fluid simulation, Experimental animation
Oldesloer Spec Ad – Bottle in Coastal Sand
Personal spec-ad project: an Oldesloer bottle set in a beach scene of millions of sand particles – a nod to its North German origin.
Particle animation, Experimental animation
Whiskey Spec Ad – Splash from Armenia
Personal spec-ad project for an Armenian whiskey: a fluid simulation with ice and splash, built in Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Liquid simulation made of 7 million particles
Personal project: a liquid simulation built from 7 million particles, simulated in Houdini and rendered with Octane in Cinema 4D.
Particle animation, Fluid simulation
Cloth Simulation – RINGANA Moisturiser Draped in Fabric
Personal project: a cloth simulation staging a RINGANA product in flowing fabric – built entirely in Cinema 4D.
Experimental animation
Fake Out-of-Home for Nike – Sneaker on the Screen
Personal spec-ad project: a Fake Out-of-Home clip for Nike, where a sneaker appears to break out of a building-sized video wall.
VFX, Experimental animation
Bulgari Spec Ad – Bottle in a Lava Landscape
Personal spec-ad project: a Bulgari bottle in a volcanic landscape of flowing lava and ash – a showcase of particle and VFX skills.
Particle animation, VFX
Air Jordan Spec Ad – Sneaker Dissolving into Particles
Personal spec ad: an Air Jordan 1 dissolves into a stream of particles, revealing a white, unpainted shoe – simulated with X-Particles.
Particle animation
Cosmetics Product Spot – Green Splash with LiquiGen
Personal project: a product spot for a cosmetics tube with green liquid splashing up around it – simulated with LiquiGen, rendered with Octane in Cinema 4D.
Fluid simulation
X-Particles: Oranges in a Juice Splash
Personal project: an orange juice splash simulation as an example of a food demo that could run in a TV commercial.
Fluid simulation
Elegant Liquid Simulation with X-Particles
Personal project: a golden, elegant-looking liquid simulation with splashes and droplets, simulated with X-Particles in Cinema 4D.
Fluid simulation
Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX Spec Ad – Driving through a CGI Landscape
Personal spec ad for the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX: a realistic vehicle animation through a vast mountain and coastal landscape, created with World Creator, Cinema 4D and Octane.
Vehicle animation
Crown Splash Simulation with Houdini FLIP
Personal project: a crown splash simulation in a coffee mug – fully CGI, simulated with Houdini FLIP Fluids.
Fluid simulation
Cherries and Milk – Houdini FLIP Fluids
Personal project: cherries flying through a creamy milk splash, accompanied by clear water splashes – simulated with Houdini FLIP Fluids.
Fluid simulation
Ehrmann Spec Ad – Blueberries in a Splash
Personal spec ad for the dairy brand Ehrmann: blueberries and a creamy splash, simulated with Houdini FLIP Fluids.
Fluid simulation
Bosch Sensors – Colourful Smoke with Houdini and Embergen
Client work for Bosch: a particle animation of colorful smoke and mist around a sensor product, simulated with Houdini and Embergen.
Particle animation, VFX
PLATH Group – Product Film for SDI CORE
Client work for PLATH Group, commissioned by PanFilm: a CGI product film for SDI CORE, shown at the IDEX defence technology exhibition.
VFX
PLATH Group – Product Video on Intelligence Technology
Client work for PanFilm: 3D animation and motion graphics for a PLATH Group product video about the SDI Core, shown in the keynote of Intelligence Day 2024 in Oslo.
VFX
PLATH Group – Image Film with CGI, Tracking and Motion Graphics
Client work for PLATH Group, commissioned by PanFilm: set supervision, motion tracking, CGI elements and a worldwide location overview as motion graphics.
VFX
Tension – Dystopian Fantasy Scene
Personal project: a dystopian fantasy scene – a particle animation wrapped in a short, atmospheric clip, created with Cinema 4D, X-Particles and Octane.
Experimental animation, Particle animation
LAB SERIES – Water Splash for a Cleanser
Client work for LAB SERIES: clear water shoots up the tube of the Anti-Age Maxi LS Cleanser and forms a splash crown – simulated with LiquiGen and Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Growing Particle Form with X-Particles
Personal project: an organic form made of countless particles that grows like a blossom while shifting from blue-green to glowing red – simulated with X-Particles.
Particle animation, Experimental animation
Pepsi Spec Ad – Can in a Cola Splash
Personal spec ad for Pepsi Zero Sugar: an ice-cold can lands in cola and triggers a splash – simulated with Houdini FLIP Fluids.
Fluid simulation
Twisted Cords – Twisting Ropes in Cinema 4D
Personal project: colourful braided cords wind and twist around each other – an experimental animation in Cinema 4D, rendered with Octane.
Experimental animation
Mercedes CLS – Driving at Dusk
Personal project: a Mercedes CLS on a country road at dusk – a vertical car animation created in Cinema 4D and rendered with Octane.
Vehicle animation
Astronaut in Whitewater – Houdini Test
Personal project: an astronaut runs through churning water, kicking up spray and foam – a whitewater test with Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Pepsi Spec Ad – Breakdown with X-Particles
Personal spec ad for Pepsi Zero Sugar: a breakdown showing the path from the X-Particles setup through meshing to the final render of a cola splash.
Fluid simulation
Escape – Cinematic CGI Scene with Volumetrics
Personal project: a cinematic CGI scene combining volumetrics from Embergen with Cinema 4D and Octane Render.
Experimental animation, Particle animation, VFX, Fluid simulation
Crumbling Bust – Destruction with X-Particles
Personal project: a stone bust crumbles from the bottom up into dust and fragments – a destruction simulation with X-Particles in Cinema 4D.
Particle animation, Experimental animation
Vehicle Spec Ad – Mercedes G-Class Off-Road
Personal spec-ad project: a vehicle simulation of a Mercedes G-Class driving off-road, built entirely in Cinema 4D and rendered with Octane.
Vehicle animation, VFX
FEROH Dry Construction System – A House from Building Blocks
Client work for Plan B, Kiel: a 3D explainer film for the FEROH dry construction system, which puts a house together like building blocks – created entirely in Cinema 4D and rendered with Octane.
3D product explainer
Cyberpunk Sports Car – Night Drive through a Shower of Sparks
Personal project in cyberpunk style: a sports car with glowing wheels drives at night through a wet cityscape, accompanied by sparks and light trails – created with Cinema 4D, X-Particles and Octane.
Vehicle animation, Particle animation
Chocolate Ice Cream – Thick Chocolate with X-Particles NeXus
Personal project: thick chocolate spreads over an ice cream bar – simulated with the NeXus solver of X-Particles in Cinema 4D.
Fluid simulation, Particle animation
Houdini: Chocolate Between Cookies
Personal project: a fluid simulation of melting chocolate between floating cookies, simulated in Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Cherries in Water – the Water Pass with Houdini FLIP
Personal project: halved cherries float with clear water splashes through a dark red space – the water pass for “Cherries and Milk”, simulated with Houdini FLIP.
Fluid simulation
Hallesche FEELfree – TV Commercial
Client work for ELEVEN VFX STUDIO: a TV commercial for Hallesche insurance – my part was everything involving the sphere, plus the throw towards the camera as a match frame into the end card.
VFX, TV commercials
Bild der Frau – TV Commercial Issue 24/2018
Client work for the commercial production company Hummelwerk: a TV commercial for the women's magazine Bild der Frau with golden 3D typography – created in Cinema 4D, Octane and After Effects.
TV commercials
La Roche-Posay Spec Ad – Flowing Cream
Personal spec ad for La Roche-Posay Toleriane: a white, creamy liquid flows around the bottle and spreads out on a blue surface – simulated with Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Desi – Mascot for Desical
Client work for Desical: Desi, a young cow, developed, modelled, rigged and animated as a 3D mascot – with facial animation and an AI voice for Instagram.
Character animation
Toffifee Spec Ad – Nougat in a Caramel Cup
Personal spec ad for Toffifee: a hazelnut drops into the caramel cup and creamy nougat flows in – in the classic look of a confectionery commercial, simulated with Houdini.
Fluid simulation
Stanfour “Learning to Breathe” – 3D Shots (Cutdown)
Client work for Q-Film Filmproduktion: 3D shots for the music video “Learning to Breathe” by the band Stanfour – a space capsule on its way from the moon back to Earth.
Music video, VFX
Hallesche FEELfree – TV Commercial with 3D Lettering in Space
Client work for ELEVEN VFX STUDIO: second version of the TV commercial for Hallesche insurance – my part was everything involving the sphere, plus the throw towards the camera as a match frame into the end card.
TV commercials, VFX

I create fluid simulations, particle animation and CGI product spots for advertising agencies, post-production companies and brands. My focus is splashes and liquids in Houdini, combined with Cinema 4D and Octane Render for the final look. Typical fields are beverages, cosmetics and food, plus VFX and CGI integration for TV commercials and image films. The work runs from the first idea through simulation and look development to the final render. I am based in Hamburg and work with clients across Germany and beyond. Get in touch via the contact form.