Shader programming - art?

[JukkaKevät]

What are people's opinions on shader programming? Is it art or just 'not our stuff'?

Sure, it's mostly math and programming, but having practiced for a short while I'm already doing things such as relief-mapping, soft shadows and screen space ambient occlusion. I know this isn't very close to content creation, but I find some artistic pleasure after I succeed implementing that certain artistic effect into the scene that I want.

[Carina]

I reckon it's art. It's very easy for "artists" to dismiss what in their eyes is tedious and technical, but in actuality, it takes eye and talent to be a good shader writer, as indeed it takes eye and talent to do many games related programming jobs..

Obviously, I'm in the dev side of things so I'd be biased

[switchblade327]

Art is about the finished product; not the process. A shader programmer still needs to have a good eye to make a good shader, right? So sure, why not?

[Talon]

Yeah, I'd say shader programming is art.

And frankly the more you understand about it (and every other facet of how engines work and are written) the better artist you will be.

[Xoliul]

Originally Posted by Talon

Yeah, I'd say shader programming is art.

And frankly the more you understand about it (and every other facet of how engines work and are written) the better artist you will be.

Very true!

[switchblade327]

"By keenly confronting the enigmas that surround us, and by considering and analyzing the observations that I have made, I ended up in the domain of mathematics, Although I am absolutely without training in the exact sciences, I often seem to have more in common with mathematicians than with my fellow artists."

-MC Escher

[thanoz]

Art or not, it's a very small segment of larger job titles usually. Enviro or Character Artists usually handle that stuff themselves and through the engine. Get good at if you want, I just wouldn't expect to get a job doing only that unless it's in film.