# Using ShaderToy to Prototype a Graphics Idea Before Integrating It into an App

DevFeed: [Using ShaderToy to Prototype a Graphics Idea Before Integrating It into an App](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/make-a-prototype-30601.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://ryanharter.com/blog/2020/12/make-a-prototype/>)

Published: 2020-12-16T16:08:53Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Blogs on Ryan Harter](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/blogs-on-ryan-harter.md>)

Topics: [Code](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code.md>), [shaders](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/shaders.md>), [Graphics](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/graphics.md>), [Web](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/web.md>), [App](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/app.md>), [Mobile](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/mobile.md>)

Tags: [audio](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/audio.md>), [experimental](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/experimental.md>), [graphics](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/graphics.md>), [mobile](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mobile.md>), [performance](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/performance.md>), [prototype](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/prototype.md>), [shaders](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/shaders.md>), [web](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/web.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains how to use a lightweight ShaderToy prototype to investigate a graphics idea before investing time in a larger native app. The author used it to test a brush-stroke concept for Pigment, quickly confirm that the approach could work, and assess whether its performance might be feasible on high-resolution mobile hardware.

## Source excerpt

When coming up with ideas for new ways to solve problems in my code, there are usually a number of unknowns. As I brainstorm solutions, I don't mind a bit of hand-wavy magic over certain portions of the solution, but I find it valuable to be honest about which parts I'm sure of, and which parts will need some more investigation. I was recently thinking about an experimental brushing engine that I'm working on for Pigment, the coloring book app that I work on, and had an idea for a new way to draw brush strokes that had the potential to use far less memory and be able to draw faster. While I had the rough idea for how this drawing would work, I wasn't exactly sure if the code could be structure in a way that would give me the performance gains I had hoped for, so it was time for a prototype.