This document discusses shading techniques in OpenGL, including flat shading, smooth shading, Gouraud shading, and Phong shading. It explains that shading calculations are done per vertex, and the vertex shades are then interpolated across polygons. Gouraud shading finds average vertex normals and applies shading at each vertex, while Phong shading interpolates normals across edges and polygons for a smoother result, at increased computational cost. Material properties, lighting, and normal vectors are also introduced as key components of the shading models.