From web dev work only really relevant experience was C++. Mainly got the job based on side projects from outside work. Had always been casually interested in graphics and I spent around 2 years dabbling with side projects outside work (stuff like making a toy rendering engine), reading some graphics books, brushing up on linear algebra.
Transition was definitely tough in the beginning due to steep learning curve
You think you know a decent amount from doing tutorials/side projects but a real production engine is a lot more complicated because its been optimized over the years and as a noob its not obvious why things are designed the way they are.
I felt like web dev you can become pretty competent in like 2-3 years but with graphics it feels like the ceiling is much higher and starts to verge on research as you get more into the topic
A lot of newer rendering techniques you can't easily google and you have to end up reading papers if you want to understand/implement them
Transition was definitely tough in the beginning due to steep learning curve
You think you know a decent amount from doing tutorials/side projects but a real production engine is a lot more complicated because its been optimized over the years and as a noob its not obvious why things are designed the way they are.
I felt like web dev you can become pretty competent in like 2-3 years but with graphics it feels like the ceiling is much higher and starts to verge on research as you get more into the topic
A lot of newer rendering techniques you can't easily google and you have to end up reading papers if you want to understand/implement them