So I have done quite a bit with Java2D at this point, and started wondering: what’s next? LWJGL and JOGL look like too much to just jump right in right now, so is there an in-between step I can take? If so, are there any good tutorials out there for it?
Thanks,
-Nathan
How about slick? 
Slick will give you a lot better performance than java2d, but it pretty much hides lwjgl, so you won’t learn very much about it. If you don’t really care if you learn anything, definitely go with slick. It’s a great library!
I defiantly want to keep learning though. Should I just power through to LWJGL in that case? Are there good tutorials out there?
-Nathan
If you want to learn a lot, dive straight into OpenGL. If you want to be productive, pick a library that does the heavy lifting for you.
Coke and Code :point: has everything you need to get you started with both Slick and LWJGL, hope it helps!
Personally, I’d recommend doing some 2D stuff in OpenGL
Good choice.
If you read some opengl specific tutorials and articles to get the basics of how it works, you should then spend some time leaning lwjl and how it implements it. After that you’ll be able to just tinker.
Thanks! 
hmm, the Nehe tutorials? I really wouldn’t recommend you use those these days, they’re old and teach outdated OpenGL. If you are going to invest time in learning OpenGL you really should go straight to learning modern OpenGL. If you learn old opengl (fixed function pipeline) then its quiet a challenge later adapting to the mindset of new OpenGL (programmable pipeline) so best to just start with it.
I would recommend you use this tutorial/book ‘Learning Modern 3D Graphics Programming’ there are LWJGL ports of the examples in there here to assist you with your learning.
Dammit. I’ve been using the nehe tutorials! Oh well, thanks for the link, kappa!