Actually i disagree with the first part of that statement. An artist who uses oil paint does not usually fully understand the chemical or molecular makeup of the paint, and someone who sculpts from stone may not fully appreciate the geological makeup of the stone, but both can still create a work of art using thire chosen medium.

Likewise; I have been a professional game developer for over 10 years, but still dont fully understand the inner workings of shaders, surface effects, or 101 other different bits of graphics technology that i use to create my work, I leave the deep understanding to guys like yourself who have the skills and interest in that area. My technical expertise, like many other artists, tends to be very broad, but not too deep. Likewise, I have worked with programmers who are also highly specialised, either in graphics, or AI or Networking, and who have only a "working" knowledge of things outside thire field of expertise or interest.

What i was trying to get across initialy was that there are generally two types of people using shaders: Techies and Arties - Both who have different ways of talking about things. What i believe we ALL need is a repository of effects that fits both camps. So, i'll take my artists hat off, and put on my designers hat, and come up with a sample of what i mean - in-between reading up about shaders on the net


Tone

BTW - I'm not trying to start an argument with anyone, just postin my opinion.