The Return to Primitives

For the last five years, my professional life has been defined by structure.

I’ve built scalable architectures, optimized React render cycles, and obsessed over pixel-perfect implementations. I’ve learned to think in components, hooks, and clean architecture. I love that world. There is a specific beauty in a well-oiled system.

But recently, I realized something was missing.

In the pursuit of efficiency, I had lost touch with exploration. I was building houses, but I had forgotten how to play with the blocks.

Why "Curious Primitive"?

In 3D graphics, everything starts with a primitive. A simple cube. A sphere. A plane.

These shapes are boring on their own. But when you apply math, light, and logic to them, they can become entire worlds. They are the "First Principles" of the digital universe.

I chose the name Curious Primitive because it represents the two sides of my brain that I want to merge here:

1. The Engineer (Primitive): The part of me that wants to understand the foundational truths. The "First Principles" thinker. The one who cares about how things work under the hood.
2. The Artist (Curious): The part of me that wants to break the rules. The one who wants to make the browser feel alive, not just functional.

The Shift to 3D

My journey into Creative Coding (WebGL, R3F, Shaders) isn't about abandoning my engineering background. It’s about leveraging it.

I realized that the same discipline I apply to Calisthenics—the repetition, the form, the slow progression towards a muscle-up—is exactly what's needed to master 3D. You don't just "hack" a shader together. You understand the math. You debug the pipeline. You fail, and you try again.

What to Expect in These Logs

This is not a traditional tech blog. You won't find generic "Top 10 React Libraries" posts here.

This is a Digital Garden. It is a collection of:

• Field Notes: Raw logs of what I’m learning in Three.js and React Three Fiber.
• Experiments: "Useless" things I built just to see if I could.
• Deep Dives: breaking down complex topics (like React reconciliation or Shader math) into simple, human terms.

I am treating this site as a laboratory. Some experiments will break. Some visual styles will clash. But that is the point.

The Commitment

I am launching this space at a pivotal time in my life—right before a major personal milestone. It marks a new chapter.

If you are a developer who feels stuck in the loop of "fetching data and displaying tables," or if you are just curious about how beautiful things are made on the web, I invite you to follow along.

Let’s break things down to their primitives, and build them back up again.

Himanshu.