5 HN users recommended this talk5 months2013–2021score 5.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
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.
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.
“It's a fantastic, FANTASTIC tour of 3D graphics fundamentals.” (HN, 2016)
In addition to the recommendation by lastofus, I highly highly recommend this presentation: [this 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]
Best presentation on how matrix math relates to graphics
Another very good overview of rendering algorithms was given by Steven Wittens on his Making Webgl Dance [1, 2] [1] slides: [link] [2] video: [this video]
#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 - [this 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
Visual crash course in linear algebra despite its title
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 [this 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.
Illuminating intro to vectors and matrices for 3D graphics
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![Frame from [JSConfUS 2013] Steven Wittens: Making WebGL Dance](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GNO_CYUjMK8/hq2.jpg)
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