Wilhelm Ogterop co-authored Unreal Engine 5 Character Creation, Animation, and Cinematics, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Wilhelm: 3D Character Animation
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Wilhelm: Packt contacted Henk Venter first, but Henk felt that he needs to bring me aboard to write about the rigging and animation part of the book.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Wilhelm: I had to study the best new methods in the early access version of UE5 to find the best way of doing things and then develop the best lesson plan to put in the book. It took maybe 2-3 months worth of research.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Wilhelm: The UE5 documentation was not available in full yet so I had to go online and find the info from people who managed to figure it out and for the gaps, use trail and error.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Wilhelm: I think UE5 will only become bigger and bigger in the future and it is already at the cutting edge of real-time movie content creation. It is fast becoming the standard.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Wilhelm: Instead of just being a ‘do a, b and c’ we try to explain the concepts behind why you’re doing things. It is basically a foundation course in 3D art and animation in general. It has been written by industry veterans and we boiled it down to the most important things.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Wilhelm: We try to lay a solid starting foundation for each of the main disciplines in 3D art creation.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Wilhelm: Start broadly and discover what you like doing most, then specialize in that one thing.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Wilhelm: Yes, you can follow my blog here https://www.artstation.com/melowilo
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites, and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Wilhelm: https://twitter.com/rveenewman
Q. How would you describe your author’s journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Wilhelm: Writing for Packt I learned to structure my material in a clear and easy-to-understand way. Their experience in structuring content has been a great learning experience for me.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Wilhelm: Just a network of industry friends I made over the years.
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Wilhelm: Various Youtube channels like Harvey’s https://www.youtube.com/harveynewman
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Wilhelm: I wrote between other freelance contracts but I found writing late at night I could concentrate on the content without distraction. I am a bit of a night owl.
Q. What is the one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Wilhelm: Do it practically a few times and make notes. Then flesh it out and double-check a few times to make sure it makes sense. Don’t assume knowledge from the reader that you might take for granted, especially if you’re writing a beginner’s level book.
You can find Wilhelm’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here