Create an oil painting with this WebGL experience

WebGL Fluid experiment

This WebGL experiment creates stunning patterns throughout

Almost all modern computers and most smartphones have powerful GPUs; graphics processors that often have more number-crunching power than the CPU. But until recently web pages and mobile websites couldn't use them - meaning slow, low-quality graphics, almost always in 2D.

That all changed when WebGL was released in the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome. WebGL (opens in new tab), based on the well-known OpenGL (opens in new tab) 3D graphics standard, gives JavaScript plugin-free access to the graphics hardware, via the HTML5 canvas element - making realtime 3D graphics in web pages possible. And creating a whole host of amazing examples of WebGL in action (opens in new tab).

Created by George Corney (opens in new tab), this incredible website (opens in new tab) is experimenting by coupling a CPU-based rigid body simulation with a GPU-based fluid simulation in OpenGL ES; the results are absolutely beautiful. Best viewed in the latest version of Chrome, scroll, swipe and click away to create an almost oil-painting-like effect.

What did you think of this WebGL experiment? Let us know in the comments box below!

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Sammy Maine

Sammy Maine was a founding member of the Creative Bloq team way back in the early 2010s, working as a Commissioning Editor. Her interests cover graphic design in music and film, illustration and animation. Since departing, Sammy has written for The Guardian, VICE, The Independent & Metro, and currently co-edits the quarterly music journal Gold Flake Paint.