Getting started with three.js

Remarks#

The aim of the project is to create a lightweight 3D library with a very low level of complexity — in other words, for dummies. The library provides canvas, svg, CSS3D and WebGL renderers.

Versions#

Version	Changelog	Release Date
R85	Link	2017-04-25
R84	Link	2017-01-19
R83	Link	2016-12-15
R82	Link	2016-12-15
R81	Link	2016-09-16
R80	Link	2016-08-23
R79	Link	2016-07-14
R78	Link	2016-06-20

Installation or Setup

You can install three.js via npm:

npm install three
You can add it from a CDN to your HTML:
You can use the three.js editor to give it a try and download the project as an example or starting point.

Simple Boilerplate : spinning cube and orbit controls with damping

This is the basic HTML file that can be used as a boilerplate when starting a project. This boilerplate uses orbit controls with damping (camera that can move around an object with deceleration effect) and creates a spinning cube.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Three.js Boilerplate</title>

        <!--This is important to get a correct canvas size on mobile-->
        <meta name='viewport' content='width=device-width, user-scalable=no'/>

        <style>
            body{
                margin:0;
                overflow:hidden;
            }

            /*
              Next 2 paragraphs are a good practice. 
              In IE/Edge you have to provide the cursor images.
            */
            canvas{
                cursor:grab;
                cursor:-webkit-grab;
                cursor:-moz-grab;
            }
            canvas:active{
                cursor:grabbing;
                cursor:-webkit-grabbing;
                cursor:-moz-grabbing;
            }
        </style>
    </head>
    <body>
        
        <script src='three.js/build/three.js'></script>
        <script src='three.js/examples/js/controls/OrbitControls.js'></script>

        <script>
            var scene, renderer, camera, controls, cube;
        
            init();

            function init () {
                renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer();
                
                //this is to get the correct pixel detail on portable devices
                renderer.setPixelRatio( window.devicePixelRatio );

                //and this sets the canvas' size.
                renderer.setSize( window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight );
                document.body.appendChild( renderer.domElement );

                scene = new THREE.Scene();

                camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera( 
                    70,                                         //FOV
                    window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight,     //aspect
                    1,                                          //near clipping plane
                    100                                         //far clipping plane
                );
                camera.position.set( 1, 3, 5 );

                controls = new THREE.OrbitControls( camera, renderer.domElement );
                controls.rotateSpeed = .07;
                controls.enableDamping = true;
                controls.dampingFactor = .05;

                window.addEventListener( 'resize', function () {
                    camera.aspect = window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight;
                    camera.updateProjectionMatrix();
                    renderer.setSize( window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight );
                }, false );

                cube = new THREE.Mesh(
                    new THREE.BoxGeometry( 1, 1, 1 ),
                    new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial()
                   );
                scene.add( cube );

                animate();
            }

            function animate () {
                requestAnimationFrame( animate );
                controls.update();
                renderer.render( scene, camera );
                
                cube.rotation.x += 0.01;
            }
        </script>
    </body>
</html>

Hello world!

The example is taken from threejs website.

You may want to download three.js and change the script source below.

There are many more advanced examples under this link.

HTML:

<html>
<head>
    <meta charset=utf-8>
    <title>My first Three.js app</title>
    <style>
        body { margin: 0; }
        canvas { width: 100%; height: 100% }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/three.js/r83/three.js"></script>
    <script>
        // Our JavaScript will go here.
    </script>
</body>

The basic scene with a static cube in JavaScript:

var scene = new THREE.Scene();
var camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera( 75, window.innerWidth/window.innerHeight, 0.1, 1000 );

var renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer();
renderer.setSize( window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight );
document.body.appendChild( renderer.domElement );

var geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry( 1, 1, 1 );
var material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial( { color: 0x00ff00 } );
var cube = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
scene.add( cube );

camera.position.z = 5;

To actually see anything, we need a Render() loop:

function render() {
    requestAnimationFrame( render );
    renderer.render( scene, camera );
}
render();