Learn to Paint with Mathematics

Inigo Quilez · 190.9K views · 2014-07-14 · 24:02

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Overview

Inigo Quilez live-codes a painting using only mathematics in a shader, building it up step by step. The linked Shadertoy source shows the result.

On Hacker News

Recommended as the most beginner-friendly way into shader programming and procedural graphics.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2022–2025

Topics

Creative coding & generative art Computer graphics & rendering

What people said

modernerd · 2025-01 · Recommendation
Yes, but you can learn it! 1. Get inspired, get motivated. Shaders like these are breathtaking (and well-commented): [LINK] 2. Watch "Learn to paint with mathematics" to see a simple shader being built gradually: [VIDEO] 3. Work through [LINK] .
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joenot443 · 2023-04 · Recommendation
[LINK] is what I'm talking about. It's not necessarily a from-zero introduction, but it's a nice resource. [VIDEO] is probably the the most beginner friendly. [LINK] is another great place to start. Good luck and enjoy!
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djmips · 2022-06 · Recommendation
Thankfully for the graphics the very person who did the graphics in this Elevated demo is very generous with their time. Inigo Quilez has many instructional videos on his channel in how to code procedural graphics from the very beginner to the advanced. I link a couple of examples. You can watch the more advanced video even as a beginner but trying yourself is easier at the beginner level. Beginner. [VIDEO] Advanced. [LINK] Website. [LINK]
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Sources

Video by Inigo Quilez, played through YouTube.

HN Library · Source license

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