Gradient Descent

3D Editorial / Math Animation • Quanta Magazine • 2021

FOR
Quanta Magazine, 2021. Reuse prohibited.

WORK
Art direction, concept, 3D motion

TOOLS
Cinema 4D, Redshift

INFO
3D illustration for a Quanta Magazine article about gradient descent, by Nick Thieme: Computer Scientists Discover Limits of Major Research Algorithm.

While this is technically simulation rather than animation in terms of how it works (procedural methods, physics-based vs manually moving elements), this is a stylized, editorial artwork and not a mathematically-accurate / educational simulation of what would happen in real gradient descent.

3D art: light blue, abstract wave-like form

Still frame

WIP screenshots

Process, from early material development (personal work) to testing materials, animation, and lighting for the final product. Despite its minimalistic appearance, work like this can take a lot of testing and visual developement.

© Olena Shmahalo