This hands-on two-day workshop introduces the fundamentals of writing shaders and harnessing the power of the GPU for parallel processing. Shaders are small programs that run on the graphics processing unit (GPU) and are primarily used for rendering and vertex manipulation. Throughout this workshop, we'll explore shader programming from the basics to advanced concepts, starting with fundamental rendering techniques and progressing to complex parallel processing applications.
Day 1: Fundamentals of Shader Programming Master shader language basics and understand how data flows through the graphics pipeline. Create specialized unlit shaders that manipulate vertex and fragment data. Learn to implement lighting models using dot product calculations for directional, point, and spot lights. Apply mathematical functions to create procedural textures, gradients, and simple visual effects like fire and electricity. By day's end, build several custom non-PBR shaders that demonstrate core rendering concepts.
Day 2: Advanced Particle Systems with Compute Shaders Master GPU compute capabilities through particle system development. Transition from standard shaders to compute shaders, implementing efficient particle data structures and physics on the GPU. Connect your computational data to Unity's rendering pipeline for dynamic visual effects, and optimize performance for real-time applications. Complete an interactive particle system featuring user controls and environmental interaction that showcases the power of GPU parallel processing.
For more workshops like this, visit Tandon at The Yard's 2025 Summer Workshops page.
Who Is This For
- XR / game / VFX developers wanting deeper control over real-time visuals
- Creative coders & technical artists eager to harness parallel processing
- Educators & tinkerers who need optimized, bespoke graphics for installations
- Comfort with any game engine or 3D software is helpful; no prior shader coding required.
Materials
- Laptop with modern GPU (NVIDIA / AMD, DX11+ or Metal)
- Unity 2022 LTS (or later) pre-installed + Visual Studio / VS Code
- 3-button mouse / trackpad for viewport control
Workshop Schedule (10 AM – 5 PM each day)
Day 1 – Fundamentals of Shader Programming
10:00 – 10:15
Welcome & Setup
Introductions; verify Unity installs; open starter project
10:15 – 11:15
GPU Pipeline & Shader Languages
How vertices become pixels; GLSL vs HLSL; ShaderLab basics
11:15 – 12:15
First Unlit Shader
Manipulate vertex position & fragment color; live coding in Unity
12:15 – 12:30
Break
12:30 – 1:30
Lighting Models by Hand
Dot-product math for Lambert, Blinn-Phong; directional, point, spot lights
1:30 – 2:30
Procedural Textures & FX
Noise, gradients, UV tricks; fire, electricity, scanlines
2:30 – 2:45
Break
2:45 – 3:45
Custom Non-PBR Showcase
Build & test several stylized shaders; QA, optimization tips
3:45 – 4:00
Wrap-Up Day 1
Review, commit code, prep for compute-shader install
Day 2 – Compute Shaders & GPU Particle Systems
10:00 – 10:15
Project setup
Get your project ready and set up.
10:15 – 11:15
Compute Shader Essentials
Clone the template repo and confirm that it is functional, overview of the basics: Data structures, buffers, dispatching, draw instanced.
11:15 – 12:15
Basic physics
Position, acceleration, velocity. Setting and getting positions over the CPU.
12:15 – 12:30
Break
12:30 – 1:30
Rendering the Swarm
Instanced meshes & sprite shaders.
1:30 – 2:30
LLM help
A brianstorm of all the things you can do with this technique and how to ask for help
2:30 – 2:45
Break
2:45 – 3:45
Capstone Build
Create an interactive particle playground with UI sliders or MIDI input
3:45 – 4:00
Showcase & Closing
Demo projects, share repos, next-step learning paths
Outcomes
- Understand the GPU graphics pipeline and shader language syntax
- Create custom vertex/fragment shaders with lighting & procedural textures
- Implement compute-shader particle systems that run physics entirely on the GPU
- Optimize real-time visuals for games, XR, and large-format installations
- Take away a Unity project packed with reusable shader assets and particle rigs
Presenter
David Lobser — Creative technologist, Unity/C# specialist, and founder of Light Clinic. David builds XR and real-time graphics for brands like Meta and Samsung, crafts therapeutic VR powered by biometric feedback, and created the particle-physics art app Cosmic Sugar. He’s taught graphics programming at Harvard, NYU, and beyond, translating deep GPU knowledge into accessible, project-driven learning
LOCATION
For walking directions from the gate to the workshop venue, click here.
