Visit Sketchfab to choose a GLB or GLTF model suitable for your project. Ensure the model is freely available for web use and supports features such as detailed textures and materials that look good under various lighting conditions.
Welcome to Project 2 - Advanced 3D Model Viewer
This guide will walk you build on the previous Project, Project 1 - The Three Js 3D Model Viewer. We will be changing the background as well as the rotation to allow the viewer 360 rotation view of the object.
Project Steps
Completion
By following these steps, you have successfully enhanced a basic 3D model viewer into a more dynamic and interactive experience. This viewer now supports full 360-degree rotation and utilizes advanced lighting techniques to better showcase your 3D models.
Admire your work! You've not only set up a functional 3D viewer but also enhanced it with high-quality visual features. This setup forms a solid foundation for further exploration into more complex functionalities like animations, custom shaders, or integration with virtual reality (VR).
We can see that this updated version is a bit better than our previous version, but now with the black background it's extremely difficult to see! We can fix this by adding a very special thing called HDR (High Dynamic Range).
HDR is used in many visuals nowadays and it is used to enhance the overall quality of images by increasing the range of color and contrast. This means that lights can appear much brighter, and darks can be deeper, providing a more realistic or vivid scene. In the context of 3D visualization, HDR enhances the lighting environment, allowing for more realistic shadows and highlights that respond dynamically to the lighting conditions defined in the scene.
By incorporating HDR into our 3D model viewer, we will improve not only the aesthetic appeal but also the perceptual depth of the models. This makes the viewer more engaging and gives a better representation of how objects interact with light in a real-world setting. It also helps in bringing out the textures and materials of the models, making them look more lifelike and detailed.
To implement HDR in our project, we will utilize HDR environment maps which are pre-compiled panoramic images that store high dynamic range data. When used as the scene's environment background, these maps offer an advanced lighting effect that realistically lights the object, mimicking how light and color would interact in a real-world three-dimensional space.
In our next project, Project 3 we will be updating our 3D viewer to contain HDR at attempt for a more aesthetic model.
Additional Resources
- Three.js Documentation - Explore detailed documentation to deepen your understanding of Three.js and its capabilities.
- Three.js Fundamentals - A comprehensive resource for beginners and experienced developers alike, covering the fundamentals of Three.js.
- Learn OpenGL - While focused on OpenGL, this site provides great insights into graphics programming that can be beneficial for understanding underlying concepts in Three.js.
How to use
- Left Mouse Click to rotate the object and now enjoy 360 viewing!
- Right Mouse Click to move/transform the objects position
- Middle mouse scroll to zoom in/out on the object