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

Geometries you can use for debugging

Three.js comes with two helper geometries out of the box that make it easier to see the details or just the outline of a geometry:

  • THREE.EdgesGeometry, which provides a geometry that only renders the edges of a geometry
  • THREE.WireFrameGeometry, which renders just the geometry without showing any faces

First, let’s look at THREE.EdgesGeometry.

THREE.EdgesGeometry

With THREE.EdgesGeometry, you wrap an existing geometry, which is then rendered by just showing the edges and not the individual vertices and faces. An example of this is shown in the edges-geometry.html example:

Figure 6.12 – EdgesGeometry only showing the edges, not the individual faces

Figure 6.12 – EdgesGeometry only showing the edges, not the individual faces

In the previous screenshot, you can see that the outline of RoundedBoxGeometry is shown, where we just see the edges. Since RoundedBoxGeometry has smooth corners, those are shown when using THREE.EdgesGeometry.

To use this geometry...