OpenGL is definitely easier to learn and use than Vulkan, but it's reached the end of life so it won't be updated anymore. I'm not sure Vulkan can ever replace

OpenGL is definitely easier to learn and use than Vulkan, but it's reached the end of life so it won't be updated anymore. I'm not sure Vulkan can ever replace OpenGL since it's much more complex and low level. I think a better option for a beginner would be to use a rendering library like bgfx, sokol_gfx or even facebook's igl, since you can learn the basic concepts of rendering triangles and not bother too much with all the minute rendering details. One can get an idea of the complexity build-up of the current graphics APIs by measuring how much code it takes make a triangle show up on screen. Compared to the OpenGL fixed function days, the required Vulkan setup code is massive.