Three.js Essentials

Create and animate beautiful 3D graphics with this fast-paced tutorial

Overview

• Acquire thorough knowledge of the essential features of Three.js, explained using comprehensive examples
• Animate HTML5 elements directly from Three.js using the CSS3 3D renderer
• Visualize information such as sound and open data in beautiful 3D

In Detail

Create beautiful visualizations and 3D scenes using Three.js with this practical, example-rich book. Learn all the core concepts of Three.js, and whether you are targeting mobile devices or desktop browsers, you will gain the necessary skills to build a 3D application and improve web performance.

From setting up a development environment and creating your first Three.js scene, you will quickly dive into more complex scene-making. Discover a variety of possible scenes from how to make a rotating planet with data overlay to mini games. Through these examples, you will be shown an array of skills from using materials, controls, and lighting to creating particle systems and geometries from scratch.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to effectively and confidently create 3D scenes using different lights and materials, create visualizations using particle systems, animate web pages, and incorporate Blender in your 3D workflow.

What you will learn from this book

• Create standard skeletons and animation loops for Three.js projects that support WebGL and CSS3 3D
• Use textures and materials to their fullest to enhance rendering of an object
• Apply different types of lighting using the different light sources available
• Animate geometries, particle systems, and HTML5 elements with Three.js and Tween.js
• Create procedural and random geometries from scratch
• Load geometries from external sources and work with Blender as a 3D modeling tool
• Work with particle systems for advanced visualizations

Approach

This book is an easy-to-follow guide that shows the essential parts of Three.js through a set of extensive examples. Through the explanation of these examples, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Three.js.

Who this book is written for

If you already know JavaScript and want to quickly learn the essentials of Three.js, this book is for you. No prior knowledge of Three.js, WebGL, 3D modeling, or Math is required.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Get Up and Running with Three.js
Chapter 2: Creating a 3D World Globe and Visualizing Open Data
Chapter 3: Navigate around a Randomly Generated Maze
Chapter 4: Visualizing Audio Data with a Particle System
Chapter 5: Programmatic Geometries
Chapter 6: Combining HTML and Three.js with CSS3DRenderer
Chapter 7: Loading and Animating External Models Using Blender