Talks to Watch

Learn to Paint with Mathematics

191K views · Jul 14, 2014 · 24:02 · 3 HN recommenders · 3 mentions · discussed 2022–2025

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.

Why Hacker News points people here: Recommended as the most beginner-friendly way into shader programming and procedural graphics.

“Watch "Learn to paint with mathematics" to see a simple shader being built gradually”HN comment, 2025

What Hacker News said 3

RecommendsdjmipsJun 2022

“Inigo Quilez has many instructional videos on his channel in how to code procedural graphics from the very beginner to the advanced.”

Beginner instructional video on coding procedural graphics by Inigo Quilez.

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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. this video Advanced. link Website. link

in “Source code for 4kb demoscene production “Elevated” released (2016)” · view on HN
Recommendsjoenot443Apr 2023

“is probably the the most beginner friendly.”

Most beginner-friendly starting point for learning shader programming.

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link is what I'm talking about. It's not necessarily a from-zero introduction, but it's a nice resource. this video is probably the the most beginner friendly. link is another great place to start. Good luck and enjoy!

in “Show HN: Unknown Pleasures, a tiny web experiment with WebGL” · view on HN
RecommendsmodernerdJan 2025

“Watch "Learn to paint with mathematics" to see a simple shader being built gradually”

Shows a simple shader being built up gradually from scratch.

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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: this video 3. Work through link .

in “Dissecting "Tiny Clouds" shadertoy (2017)” · view on HN