The Easiest Way to Learn GLSL by Simon

Ready to make your 3D projects pop with custom visual effects? This course breaks down GLSL shader programming in Three.js, making it super accessible even if you’ve never written a shader before. You’ll go from understanding the basics to creating complex lighting, procedural effects, and even raymarching.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• GLSL fundamentals and syntax
• Vertex shader techniques for geometry deformation
• Procedural generation and Signed Distance Functions (SDFs)
• Advanced color manipulation and post-processing effects
• Integrating complex lighting models like Phong and toon shading
• Building a full planet shader with stars
• Raymarching for advanced 3D scene rendering
• Creating dynamic 2D UI displays procedurally

✅ Requirements

• Skills: No prior shader programming knowledge needed. Basic familiarity with 3D concepts is helpful.
• Tools: A code editor (like VS Code) and a web browser.
• Hardware: A computer capable of running modern web applications and 3D graphics.

📝 Description

This course is your fast track to understanding and creating GLSL shaders within the Three.js framework. Simon, an ex-Google engineer with deep experience in graphics and optimization, guides you through building visually impressive effects. You’ll start with the absolute basics of shader programming, covering everything from simple color manipulation to complex lighting models and advanced techniques like Signed Distance Functions (SDFs) and raymarching. The course emphasizes a “learn by building” approach, where you’ll construct multiple real-world projects, including a full planet shader and procedural noise systems. All the code and projects you create are yours to use in your own work.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Anyone interested in graphics programming or shader development.
• Game developers looking to add custom visual flair to their projects.
• Artists who want to create unique and dynamic visual effects for the web.
• Web developers aiming to build cutting-edge, visually rich websites.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Simon is an ex-Google Engineer and graphics programmer with about 20 years of industry experience. He specialized in 3D graphics and optimization throughout his game development career and worked on performance infrastructure for Chrome at Google. His early career involved working on the original Xbox and PlayStation 2. This extensive background means he brings a wealth of practical knowledge and optimization insights to the course.

🏁 Final Result

• A portfolio of custom-built shaders and 3D projects, including a complete planet shader, procedural noise landscapes, post-processing effects, and raymarched scenes, all created using GLSL and Three.js.