Book Image

Learn Three.js - Fourth Edition

By : Jos Dirksen
5 (1)
Book Image

Learn Three.js - Fourth Edition

5 (1)
By: Jos Dirksen

Overview of this book

Three.js has become the industry standard for creating stunning 3D WebGL content. In this edition, you’ll learn about all the features of Three.js and understand how to integrate it with the newest physics engines. You'll also develop a strong grip on creating and animating immersive 3D scenes directly in your browser, reaping the full potential of WebGL and modern browsers. The book starts with the basic concepts and building blocks used in Three.js and helps you explore these essential topics in detail through extensive examples and code samples. You'll learn how to create realistic-looking 3D objects using textures and materials and how to load existing models from an external source. Next, you'll understand how to control the camera using the Three.js built-in camera controls, which will enable you to fly or walk around the 3D scene you've created. Later chapters will cover the use of HTML5 video and canvas elements as materials for your 3D objects to animate your models. You’ll learn how to use morph targets and skeleton-based animation, before understanding how to add physics, such as gravity and collision detection, to your scene. Finally, you’ll master combining Blender with Three.js and creating VR and AR scenes. By the end of this book, you'll be well-equipped to create 3D-animated graphics using Three.js.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Up and Running
5
Part 2: Working with the Three.js Core Components
7
Chapter 5: Learning to Work with Geometries
10
Part 3: Particle Clouds, Loading and Animating Models
14
Part 4: Post-Processing, Physics, and Sounds

Working with Light Sources in Three.js

In Chapter 1, Creating Your First 3D Scene with Three.js, you learned about the basics of Three.js, and in Chapter 2, The Basic Components that Make up a Three.js Application, we looked a bit deeper at the most important parts of the scene: the geometries, meshes, and cameras. You might have noticed that we skipped exploring the details of lights in that chapter, even though they make up an important part of every Three.js scene. Without lights, we won’t see anything rendered (unless we use basic or wireframe materials). Since Three.js contains several different light sources, each of which has a specific use, we’ll use this chapter to explain the various details of lights and prepare you for the upcoming chapters on material usage. By the end of this chapter, you’ll know the differences between the available lights and be able to choose and configure the correct light for your scene.

Note

WebGL itself doesn’t...