Alex Harri deconstructs how to build a flowing, animated WebGL gradient by blending colors with shaders, time-driven motion, and GPU-accelerated rendering techniques.
Here's what Alex covers:
- Basic Gradient Setup: Alex introduces how to interpolate between two colors based on pixel position to create a simple horizontal gradient.
- Adding Motion: He explains using the sine function and time to animate the gradient and make it appear fluid and dynamic.
- Moving to WebGL: The article shifts focus from JavaScript to WebGL for performance, emphasizing how shaders efficiently handle pixel computations on the GPU.
- Writing the Shader: Alex walks through a minimal fragment shader setup in GLSL that computes colors based on UV coordinates and animated time.
- Enhancing the Effect: He shows how tweaking parameters like speed, frequency, and color palettes can produce more visually interesting and customizable gradients.