This guide will build on Project 1 - The Three.js 3D Model Viewer by enhancing the visual quality with HDR lighting and allowing for 360-degree rotation of the model.
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.