My name is Christoph Kuehne. I am a structural biologist turned scientific animator/illustrator.

I create accurate and engaging visuals for a variety of clients, including researchers, science communicators, and life science companies.

This is a 3.5-minute introduction to the oxygen carrier hemocyanin - a protein I worked with during my dissertation.

Watch the breakdown and making of here.

This is a 1-minute exploration of microtubule formation and non-photorealistic rendering.
The video contains music.

Watch the breakdown and making of here.

I created this image as part of Dr. David Goodsell's CellSpace workshop. It shows a SARS-CoV-2 virion inside of a host cell vesicle. The membrane fusion process is already complete (lower right) while a second one is in progress (lower left). I included many recent scientific findings, such as bending or post-fusion-state spikes on the virion surface.

Many thanks to
Dr. David Goodsell and the CellSpace participants
Dr. Gloria Fuentes (The Visual Thinker) for generously providing the basis of pre-hairpin structure and for an always open ear.

Selected References
Yao et al., 2020: Molecular Architecture of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.018)
Ke et al., 2020: Structures and distributions of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins on intact virions (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2665-2)
Bar-On et al., 2020: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers (DOI: 10.7554/eLife.57309)
Turoňová et al., 2020: In situ structural analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike reveals flexibility mediated by three hinges (DOI: 10.1126/science.abd5223)

As a PhD structural biologist, I am fascinated by science and nature. I can dive quickly into scientific topics, and I love the challenge of communicating complex subjects.

Shape, color, light, composition - I draw from years of experience as a professional photographer. I am experienced working in creative and collaborative environments.

From inception to final delivery, I can take on various roles in the media production pipeline, working as part of a team or independently. I'm equally at home in front of a 3D-workstation, in an editing suite or even a music recording studio.

My main DCC package is SideFX Houdini with Redshift. I also use the Adobe CC suite, Pixologic ZBrush and Foundry Mari.

Selected science and non-science related projects - sound design, poster design, photography, etc.