Rimowa
2026
Rimowa (Spec)
A Ten Second Adventure
I created this spec commercial for Rimowa to showcase their Classic Aluminum travel suitcase. The story is simple: bring the suitcase to life and send it on a short adventure, from a snowy departure, up through the clouds on a plane, and down onto a sunny beach.
The challenge was telling a clear story in only ten seconds while still showing off the design and build quality that make the Classic Suitcase so recognizable. Every frame had to do double duty, moving the story forward and putting the product in its best light.
No AI was used in the creation of this piece. It is 100% CGI, crafted in 3D from start to finish.
Final Commercial
Three Scenes, One Journey
The commercial is built from three separate 3D scenes: a snow scene at the beginning, a plane flying through the sky, and a beach scene at the end. Each one is a single, clear beat, so the story reads at a glance: the trip starts, the trip happens, the trip ends somewhere better.
The snow and beach scenes deliberately share a very similar composition. The suitcase ends in the same spot it started, only the world around it has changed. That mirrored framing completes the story loop and makes the transformation instantly obvious without a single word on screen.
Design Principles
01
Story in Seconds
With only ten seconds, every shot has one job. The journey has to read instantly, even with the sound off and a thumb ready to scroll.
02
Product as Hero
The suitcase is always the star. Framing and lighting are built to show off the aluminum shell, the details, and the build quality.
03
Grounded Motion
The suitcase has personality, but it moves like a real object with real weight. Believable motion keeps the focus on craftsmanship.
04
Full Circle
The opening and closing scenes mirror each other in composition, so the story lands as a complete loop from snow to sand.
Storyboard
Planning
With so little time to work with, the story had to be locked before any 3D work began. The storyboard maps out every beat of the journey and the framing of each shot, including the matching compositions of the opening and closing scenes.
Animatic
Timing
The animatic turns the storyboard into time. It set the pacing of each scene, the camera moves, and the transitions between them, making sure the whole story fit cleanly inside ten seconds before any final animation or rendering.
Early Animation Tests
Exploration
These tests explore different movements for the suitcase and the blocking of the plane. The hardest question was how to get the suitcase into the plane, and I tried many different ways of solving it.
Some directions made the suitcase feel magical, as if it could fly into the cabin on its own. That idea was eventually scrapped in favor of a more grounded, realistic movement. It kept the character charming without losing the sense that this is a real, well-made object you could own.
Stay Tuned
Coming Soon
This case study is still growing. I will be updating it with a full environment breakdown, the cloud simulation setup, and the water simulation behind the beach waves in the final scene. Stay tuned.