tl;dr: Graphics programming splits into two tracks: CPU-side (modern explicit APIs like DX12/Vulkan/Metal in C++) and GPU-side (lighting math, PBR, path tracing, shader languages like HLSL/GLSL). The author recommends building a portfolio with an engine-like renderer using PBR and a separate path tracer for verification, starting with resources like "Ray Tracing in One Weekend," LearnOpenGL's PBR section, and eventually PBRT. Required math is minimal—linear algebra, trig, some calculus—and C++ remains the dominant language, though Rust and WebGPU have small footholds.