Yeah, getting one pixel drawn or one triangle up on a screen can be hard going and changes between different OS's and whatever API they have to offer. But once you have something - like WebGL - going then I would head off and get this book. Its not cheap but its an excellent read. Maybe see if a library has it to borrow. The other ones that people keep pointing to are Graphics Gems series.
http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Graph.../dp/0321399528
http://www.amazon.com/s?graphics+gem...s+gems&ie=UTF8