HackerTube.dev

[JSConfUS 2013] Steven Wittens: Making WebGL Dance

JSConf · 56.4K views · 2013-08-05 · 30:55

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Steven Wittens' JSConf US 2013 talk on drawing with WebGL, using animated visuals to walk through vectors, matrices and the rendering pipeline. Despite the title, it works as a visual primer on the linear algebra behind 3D graphics.

On Hacker News

HN treats it as one of the best intros to the math of 3D graphics and a staple answer to how to learn graphics programming.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2013–2021

Topics

Search by tags

What people said

Fr0styMatt88 · 2016-05 · Strong recommendation

In addition to the recommendation by lastofus, I highly highly recommend this presentation: [VIDEO] Despite the title, the talk is NOT WebGL specific. It's a fantastic, FANTASTIC tour of 3D graphics fundamentals. This is, IMHO, quite simply the best presentation I've ever seen on how matrix math relates to graphics programming. Also see Stevens' site: [LINK] Side note - There are some great pages there, be sure to check this one out if you're at all interested in how math is applied to animation: [LINK]

Read the original HN comment ↗
theandrewbailey · 2021-02 · Recommendation

I was sort of at the same place at one time. I found a presentation years ago that would have helped, so here you go: Steven Wittens: Making WebGL Dance [VIDEO] It doesn't actually get into the math until about 12 minutes in, but it might be illuminating. Matrixes, vectors, and how they are multiplied with each other are the fundamental magic of 3D graphics.

Read the original HN comment ↗
seltzered_ · 2018-04 · Recommendation

#Softwarish - I'm biased a bit more towards interface development: greg wilson - What We Actually Know About Software Development, and Why We Believe It’s True - [LINK] steve wittens - making webgl dance - the title is deceptive, it's in some ways a visual crash course in linear algebra - [VIDEO] glenn vanderburg - software engineering doesn't work - [LINK] chris granger - in search of tomorrow - [LINK] alan kay - tribute to ted nelson at intertwingled fest - [LINK] bret victor - this is already mentioned but if I had to pick one it'd be 'the humane representation of thought' - [LINK] #Hardwarish: saul griffith - soft, not solid: beyond traditional hardware engineering - [LINK] deb chachra - Architectural Biology and Biological Architectures - [LINK] #Getting more meta in technology and history: James Burke - Connections

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by JSConf, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources