Setting up an image background in three.js: A beginner's guide

I tried setting up an image background for my scene with a globe in three.js, but unfortunately, the main object of my scene turned black (the same color as the background). I attempted using the following method:

renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: false, alpha:true });

This method makes the default background transparent. Then, I added the image-background in the CSS section.

The script for my entire scene looks like this:

Code snippet removed for brevity.

My CSS code is as follows:

body {
  color: #ffffff;
  font-family:'Futura';
  font-size:20px;
  text-align: center;
  background-image: url(textures/starfield.png);
  background-color: black;
  margin: 0px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

Any suggestions on how to make the globe visible and fix this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer №1

When it comes to the background image, ensure that you are correctly setting the alpha value for the WebGLRenderer. It's important to note that the background image should be set on your container, rather than on the canvas element.

In addition, make sure to comment out this line of code:

renderer.setClearColor(0x000000, 0);

This is because there is no need to set a clear color when clearing to transparency instead of a specific color. Doing this should fix any issues with the background image.

For the issue of having an all-black model, you will need to include a light source in your scene. Try adding the following code to your init method:

var light = new THREE.PointLight(0xffffff, 1, Infinity);
camera.add(light);

By adding a light source at the camera's location, it will move along with the camera and provide illumination to the scene.

Edit to add snippet:

// JavaScript code snippet
// Include three.js library
var container, stats;
var camera, scene, renderer;
var group;
var mouseX = 0,
  mouseY = 0;

var windowHalfX = window.innerWidth / 2;
var windowHalfY = window.innerHeight / 2;

// Initialization function
function init() {

  // Set up the container
  container = document.getElementById('container');

  // Create the camera
  camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(60, window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight, 1, 2000);
  // Move the camera closer
  camera.position.z = 500;
  
  var light = new THREE.PointLight(0xffffff, 1, Infinity);
  camera.add(light);

  // Create the scene
  scene = new THREE.Scene();

  group = new THREE.Group();
  scene.add(group);

  // Add earth model with texture
  var loader = new THREE.TextureLoader();
  loader.crossOrigin = '';
  
  // Load the texture for the earth model
  loader.load('https://example.com/earth_texture.jpg', function(texture) {
    var geometry = new THREE.SphereGeometry(180, 32, 32);

    var material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
      map: texture,
      overdraw: 0.5
    });
    
    var mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
    group.add(mesh);

  });
  
  // Add shadow
  var canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
  canvas.width = 128;
  canvas.height = 128;

  var context = canvas.getContext('2d');
  var gradient = context.createRadialGradient(
    canvas.width / 2,
    canvas.height / 2,
    0,
    canvas.width / 2,
    canvas.height / 2,
    canvas.width / 2
  );
  gradient.addColorStop(0.1, '#000000');
  gradient.addColorStop(1, '#000000');

  context.fillStyle = gradient;
  context.fillRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);

  var texture = new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas);

  var geometry = new THREE.PlaneBufferGeometry(300, 300, 3, 3);
  var material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
    map: texture,
    overdraw: 0.5
  });

  var mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
  mesh.position.y = -200;
  mesh.rotation.x = -Math.PI / 2;
  group.add(mesh);

  renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({
    antialias: false,
    alpha: true
  });
  renderer.setPixelRatio(window.devicePixelRatio);
  renderer.setSize(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight);
  // Commented out clear color
  // renderer.setClearColor(0x000000, 0);
  container.appendChild(renderer.domElement);

  stats = new Stats();
  container.appendChild(stats.dom);

  document.addEventListener('mousemove', onDocumentMouseMove, false);

  //

  window.addEventListener('resize', onWindowResize, false);

}

// Function to handle window resize event
function onWindowResize() {

  windowHalfX = window.innerWidth / 2;
  windowHalfY = window.innerHeight / 2;

  camera.aspect = window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight;
  camera.updateProjectionMatrix();

  renderer.setSize(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight);

}

// Function to handle mouse movement
function onDocumentMouseMove(event) {

  mouseX = (event.clientX - windowHalfX);
  mouseY = (event.clientY - windowHalfY);

}

//

// Animation function
function animate() {

  requestAnimationFrame(animate);

  render();
  stats.update();

}

// Rendering function
function render() {

  camera.position.x += (mouseX - camera.position.x) * 0.08;
  camera.position.y += (-mouseY - camera.position.y) * 0.08;
  camera.lookAt(scene.position);

  group.rotation.y -= 0.003;

  renderer.render(scene, camera);

}
// CSS code snippet
body {
  color: #ffffff;
  font-family: 'Futura';
  font-size: 20px;
  text-align: center;
  background-image: url(https://example.com/background_image.jpg);
  background-color: black;
  margin: 0px;
  overflow: hidden;
}
<script src="https://threejs.org/build/three.js"></script>
<script src="https://threejs.org/examples/js/renderers/Projector.js"></script>
<script src="https://threejs.org/examples/js/libs/stats.min.js"></script>
<div id="container"></div>

Using version r86 of three.js

Answer №2

For some time now, the following code has been in place:

const texture = new THREE.TextureLoader().load( "textures/background.jpg" );
scene.background = texture;

This implementation is specifically for three.js version 0.87.

Answer №3

There are a couple of methods you can use to achieve this effect.

1) Upload an image using TextureLoader and designate it as the background. This will create a static background that may not appear very realistic.

 var texture = new THREE.TextureLoader().load(
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=650&w=940"
    );
   scene.background = texture;

2) Utilize a skybox to load images for the top, left, right, bottom, front, and back sides. Then place them in either a cube or sphere geometry.

var urls = [
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg",
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg",
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg",
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg",
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg",
      "https://images.pexels.com/photos/110854/pexels-photo-110854.jpeg"
    ];

    var materialArray = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < 6; i++)
      materialArray.push(
        new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
          map: new THREE.TextureLoader().load(urls[i]),
          side: THREE.BackSide
        })
      );

    var skyGeometry = new THREE.SphereGeometry(400, 32, 32);
    var skyMaterial = new THREE.MeshFaceMaterial(materialArray);
    var skybox = new THREE.Mesh(skyGeometry, skyMaterial);
    scene.add(skybox);

This setup will create a sphere with images as textures on the backside. Simply replace THREE.SphereGeometry with THREE.CubeGeometry to replicate an envMap.

Answer №4

After trying out different approaches, I found that the key element missing in previous solutions was the utilization of a callback. This became essential starting from version 0.124 of the library. Here is how you can successfully set the background image for the scene:

  var texture_bg = new THREE.TextureLoader().load("img/bg.jpg", () => {
    scene.background = texture_bg;
  });

Similar questions

If you have not found the answer to your question or you are interested in this topic, then look at other similar questions below or use the search

What is causing the while loop in Mongodb to repetitively insert the same document rather than cycling through the documents?

Currently, I am in the process of redesigning a MongoDB database structure where the reviews for a specific product will be integrated into the product document itself, rather than maintaining separate collections for products and reviews. I have created a ...

What is the best way to add an array of JSON objects to another array of JSON objects?

The current JSON array obtained from the response is as follows: comments:[{id: "3124fac5-9d3e-4fa9-8a80-10f626fbf141", createdDate: 1469606019000,…},…] 0:{id: "3124fac5-9d3e-4fa9-8a80-10f626fbf141", createdDate: 1469606019000,…} createdBy:{id: "cf2 ...

Transform JSON String into Object using jQuery

Recently, I came across a JSON String in this format. {"label":"label","label1":"67041","label2":"745","label3":"45191","label4":"11‌​464"} I needed to convert it into an object structure like this [{"label":"label","label1":"67041","label2":"745"," ...

Integrating webpack with kafka-node for seamless communication between front

I am in the process of embedding a JavaScript code that I wrote into an HTML file. The script requires kafka-node to function properly, similar to the example provided on this link. To achieve this, I am using webpack to bundle everything together. I am fo ...

Is there a way to trigger a function upon the loading of a template in Angular 2?

I'm a newcomer to angular2 and I need to trigger a function when a template loads or initializes. I have experience with achieving this in angular1.x, but I'm struggling to figure out how to do it in angular-2. Here's how I approached it in ...

Jquery Triggers Failing to Work Following Ajax Request

I have worked on 2 PHP pages, called "booking.php" and "fetch_book_time.php". Within my booking.php (where the jquery trigger is) <?php include ("conn.php"); include ("functions.php"); ?> $(document).ready(function(){ $(".form-group"). ...

In my experience, when trying to utilize Material-UI(React) Button alongside CSS, the functionality of "select all immediate children" appears to be ineffective

Here is the HTML code in question: <div className="button-container"> <Button variant="contained"> Default </Button> <Button variant="contained" color="primary"> Primary ...

Guide on subscribing to an object from a service in Angular 2/5

I am facing an issue where I need to update my property component with data received from the server. In the Service, I have implemented something like this: private events: Event[] = []; eventChanged = new Subject<any>(); // Edit: added an observa ...

Determine the latest date within each group and display the corresponding output value

I am seeking a way to showcase only the most recent value for each group. For example, in the CSV data provided below, the total amount of Bagels in the Cinnamon Raisin variety were collected during three different sampling periods: May 2017, March 2017, ...

Can we find a method to incorporate multicolored borders?

I currently have a td element with the following CSS styling: td { border-bottom: 3px solid aqua; } I want to be able to click on these cells and change their color, similar to the images linked below: https://i.sstatic.net/5DscU.png Is there a way ...

Nodejs functions properly on a local machine, however, it encounters issues when deployed on a VPS

My nodejs/javascript code seems to be running fine on my local pc, but when I try to run it on my vps, it's not working properly. Even though I have the same node_modules installed and the code is identical. Here's a snippet of my code for refere ...

Can you explain the distinction between using ":" and "::" both before and after a word?

Can someone clarify whether I should use ":" or "::" before and after in this context? I'm curious if there's any distinction between the two. ...

"Despite the successful execution of the PHP script, the error function in the Ajax POST request

I am working on developing a mobile app using jQuery, jQuery Mobile, and HTML with PhoneGap. I have successfully implemented AJAX to call PHP scripts on the server for tasks like updating, inserting data, and sending emails. However, I consistently encoun ...

The loading feature of jQuery UI Autocomplete - .ui-autocomplete-loading is ingenious

When fetching the XML file for the search box, I would like to apply this css. It currently takes around 3 seconds to load the file. In the autocomplete.js file, I found these two functions: _search: function( value ) { this.term = this.element ...

"I'm facing an issue with aligning elements in my ReactJS application using CSS Flexbox. Despite setting up a flexbox layout, I am unable to

Despite setting up a flexbox to align my elements, I am struggling with vertical centering on my page. I have made sure to use a container for the page and set brute size with viewport units. Here is my sandbox: https://codesandbox.io/s/rlk3j68pmq. Belo ...

Best practice for detecting external modifications to an ngModel within a directive

I've been working on creating a directive that can take input from two sources and merge them into one. To achieve this, I'm monitoring changes in both inputs and updating the combined value in the ngModel of my directive. However, there's ...

Do not let CKEditor interact with widget content

Even though the HTML content within the aside tag is not editable, CKEditor still performs content filtering and removes tags while displaying hidden input fields. Here is the relevant HTML widget code: <aside class="widget widget-form" contenteditabl ...

Tips for refreshing only a portion of a webpage using JavaScript/jQuery

I have two distinct navigational sections on my website. The left column has its own navigation menu, while the right column (main content area) contains a separate set of links: My goal is to click on a link in the left-hand sidebar (such as "Resume", "E ...

What is the best way to achieve a seamless CSS transition for my sticky navigation bar?

Looking to create a sticky bar with a smooth CSS transition instead of the current rough effect. Any tips or hints would be greatly appreciated! For reference, I found the exact animation I'm aiming for on this website: https://css-tricks.com/ Here i ...

Issue with Jquery Crop: image not updating when using cropper

Here is the code I'm working with: <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css"> <script src="/static/js/jquery/2.1.4/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="http://fengyuanchen.github.io/cropper/js/cropper.min.js"></script> &l ...