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Learn Three.js
Learn Three.js

Learn Three.js: Programming 3D animations and visualizations for the web with HTML5 and WebGL , Third Edition

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Learn Three.js

The Basic Components that Make Up a Three.js Application

In the previous chapter, you learned the basics of Three.js. We looked at a couple of examples, and you created your first complete Three.js application. In this chapter, we'll dive a bit deeper into Three.js and explain the basic components that make up a Three.js application. In this chapter, you'll explore the following topics:

  • The main components that you can use to create a Three.js application
  • What you can do with the THREE.Scene object
  • How geometries and meshes are related
  • The difference between the orthographic and perspective cameras

We'll start by looking at how you can create a scene and add objects.

Creating a scene

In the previous Chapter 1, Creating Your First 3D Scene with Three.js, you created THREE.Scene, so you already know the basics of Three.js. We saw that for a scene to show anything, we need four types of component:

Component

Description

Camera

This determines what is rendered on the screen.

Lights

These have an effect on how materials are shown and are used when creating shadow effects (discussed in detail in Chapter 3Working with the Different Light Sources Available in Three.js).

Objects

These are the main objects that are rendered from the perspective of the camera, they include cubes, spheres, and point clouds.

Renderer

Uses the camera and the information from the scene to draw the output on the screen.

 

THREE.Scene serves as the container for the lights and the objects. THREE.Scene itself...

Geometries and meshes

In each of the examples so far, you've seen geometries and meshes being used. For instance, to add a sphere to the scene, we did the following:

var sphereGeometry = new THREE.SphereGeometry(4,20,20); 
var sphereMaterial = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({color: 0x7777ff); 
var sphere = new THREE.Mesh(sphereGeometry,sphereMaterial); 

We define the geometry (THREE.SphereGeometry), the shape of an object, and its material (THREE.MeshBasicMaterial), and we combined these two in a mesh (THREE.Mesh) that can be added to a scene. In this section, we'll take a closer look at geometries and meshes. We'll start with the geometry.

The properties and functions of a geometry

Three.js comes with a large...

Different cameras for different uses

There are two different camera types in Three.js: the orthographic camera and the perspective camera. In Chapter 3, Working with the Different Light Sources Available in Three.js, we'll take a much more detailed look at how to work with these cameras, so in this chapter, we'll stick to the basics. Note that Three.js also provides a couple of very specific cameras for creating scenes that can be viewed using 3D glasses or VR gear. We won't go into detail for those cameras in this book, since they work exactly the same as the cameras explained in this chapter.

If you're looking for simple VR cameras, you can use THREE.StereoCamera to create 3D scenes that are rendered side to side (standard stereo effect), use a parallel barrier (as 3DS provides), or provide an anaglyph effect where the different views are rendered in...

Summary

We discussed a lot in this second introductory chapter. We showed the functions and properties of THREE.Scene and explained how you can use these properties to configure your main scene. We also showed you how to create geometries. You can either create them from scratch using a THREE.Geometry object or use any of the built-in geometries Three.js provides. Finally, we showed you how to configure the two main cameras Three.js provides. THREE.PerspectiveCamera renders a scene using a real-world perspective, and THREE.OrthographicCamera provides the fake 3D effect often seen in games. We've also covered how geometries work in Three.js and you can now easily create your own geometries from the standard geometries provided by Three.js or by crafting them by hand.

In the next chapters, we'll look at the various light sources that are available in Three.js. You&apos...

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Key benefits

  • Enhance your 3D graphics with light sources, shadows, advanced materials, and textures
  • Load models from external sources, and visualize and animate them directly from JavaScript
  • Create your own custom WebGL shader and explore the postprocessing feature of Three.js

Description

WebGL makes it possible to create 3D graphics in the browser without having to use plugins such as Flash and Java. Programming WebGL, however, is difficult and complex. With Three.js, it is possible to create stunning 3D graphics in an intuitive manner using JavaScript, without having to learn WebGL. With this book, you’ll learn how to create and animate beautiful looking 3D scenes directly in your browser-utilizing the full potential of WebGL and modern browsers. It starts with the basic concepts and building blocks used in Three.js. From there on, it will expand on these subjects using extensive examples and code samples. You will learn to create, or load, from externally created models, realistic looking 3D objects using materials and textures. You’ll find out how to easily control the camera using the Three.js built-in in camera controls, which will enable you to fly or walk around the 3D scene you created. You will then use the HTML5 video and canvas elements as a material for your 3D objects and to animate your models. Finally, you will learn to use morph and skeleton-based animation, and even how to add physics, such as gravity and collision detection, to your scene. After reading this book, you’ll know everything that is required to create 3D animated graphics using Three.js.

Who is this book for?

The ideal target audience for this book would be JavaScript developers who who want to learn how to use the Three.js library

What you will learn

  • Work with the different types of materials in Three.js and see how they interact with your 3D objects and the rest of the environment
  • Implement the different camera controls provided by Three.js to effortlessly navigate around your 3D scene
  • Work with vertices directly to create snow, rain, and galaxy-like effects
  • Import and animate models from external formats, such as OBJ, STL, and COLLADA
  • Create and run animations using morph targets and bones animations
  • Explore advanced textures on materials to create realistic looking 3D objects by using bump maps, normal maps, specular maps, and light maps
  • Interact directly with WebGL by creating custom vertex and fragment shaders
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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Aug 31, 2018
Length: 528 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788833288
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Product Details

Publication date : Aug 31, 2018
Length: 528 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788833288
Category :
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Table of Contents

13 Chapters
Creating Your First 3D Scene with Three.js Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Basic Components that Make Up a Three.js Application Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Light Sources in Three.js Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Three.js Materials Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Learning to Work with Geometries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Geometries and Binary Operations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Points and Sprites Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating and Loading Advanced Meshes and Geometries Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Animations and Moving the Camera Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Loading and Working with Textures Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Render Postprocessing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Adding Physics and Sounds to Your Scene Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
(4 Ratings)
5 star 25%
4 star 0%
3 star 50%
2 star 0%
1 star 25%
Janco Verduin Feb 13, 2024
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
First i was sent the wrong version and then they claimed it was my fault. After several emails I finally got the pdf I thought I had bought, buy their service is repulsive.
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Benjamin Kieper Aug 29, 2023
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Es wird gerade soviel gezeigt, dass man ein 3D Modell laden kann. Es wäre aber genug Platz für LOD oder Layers gewesen...
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Michael Stather Jun 05, 2021
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Super ;)
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Rax Jan 30, 2020
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El libro tiene muy buena información, pero requerí investigar por mi cuenta para completar un proyecto que tenia.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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