Wilhelm Ogterop
Wilhelm Ogterop is a veteran game animator with 25+ years of experience across AAA studios including Raven Software, Dambuster Studios and Traveller's Tales. He has shipped titles like Call of Duty, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and the LEGO franchise. He also co-authored a book on Unreal Engine 5 character animation and is passionate about Blender.
Core Coaching Topics
Gameplay Animation Locomotion, combat, mocap cleanup and FPV weapon animations for AAA games
Locomotion, combat, mocap cleanup and FPV weapon animations for AAA games
Cinematic & Cutscene Animation Real-time cinematics, camera work and performance-driven storytelling.
Real-time cinematics, camera work and performance-driven storytelling.
Stylised & Cartoony Animation Bringing appeal, exaggeration and personality to character work.
Bringing appeal, exaggeration and personality to character work.
Blender Switching to Blender for animators and making your own tools in Blender
Switching to Blender for animators and making your own tools in Blender
Animation Reviews Review of animations and showreels
Review of animations and showreels
Meet Wilhelm Ogterop
Wilhelm Ogterop is a veteran character animator with over 30 years of industry experience, spanning 20+ game titles since the mid-1990s. Having served as a Lead Character Animator at three different game studios, he now operates his own small studio, Melowilo Character Animation. Based out of a scenic village in Bulgaria, the studio delivers remote contract work for global projects of all scales while developing its own internal indie game.
Interested in modern animation workflows, Wilhelm is the co-author of the Amazon #1 bestseller, Unreal Engine 5 Character Creation, Animation, and Cinematics. After successfully transitioning his studio’s primary pipeline from Maya to Blender, he authored several specialized animation add-ons for the platform. He champions Blender as a democratic counter-movement against technofeudalism, dedicated to teaching others how to have fun animating in an open-source world.
Passionate about education, Wilhelm has lectured throughout his career and pioneered the first 3D animation course at the Open Window Art Academy in South Africa during its foundational years. His diverse portfolio includes work on some major franchises such as: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, Deadspace Extraction, Homefront: The Revolution, LEGO Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and more.
Portfolios & Reels
Mentorship Packages Available
One Hour
Once, for 1 hour. Book the day and time that suits you.
- 1-on-1 individual session or a Studios that Needs Consultations on Animation Pipelines
- Showreel review, tips & tricks
- Video recording of each session
One Month- Coaching - 1h/week
1 hour a week over a month (4 hours total). Book the days and times that suit you.
- 1-on-1 individual session
- Showreel review, tips & tricks
- Video recording of each session
One Month- Coaching - 2x 1h/week
2x 1h over a week for 4 weeks (8 hours total). Book the days and times that suit you. Intensive 1-on-1 Training over a month.
- 1-on-1 individual session
- Showreel review, tips & tricks
- Video recording of each session
Short 1-on-1 Showreel Review
1x 30 mins session to review your showreel form a lead game animators point of view.
- 1-on-1 individual sessions
One Month- Coaching - 1x 30min/week
30min a week over a month (4x30min, 2 hours total). Most likely project/exercise based with the weekly feedback and progression. Book the days and times that suit you.
- 1-on-1 individual sessions
One Month- Coaching - 2x 30min/week
2x30min a week over a month (8x30min, 4 hours total). Most likely project/exercise based with the weekly feedback and progression. Book the days and times that suit you.
- 1-on-1 individual sessions
Showreel
Watch Will's Interview
Ask Wilhelm a Question
On the fence, or just curious about something? Ask away. Your question goes straight to Wilhelm and the answer lands in your inbox.
Ready to level up?
Book a 1-on-1 session with Wilhelm Ogterop today. Take your gameplay animation, rigging, and frame mechanics to professional studio standard.