3d-web-experience skill

3D Web Experience

Expert in building 3D experiences for the web - Three.js, React Three Fiber, Spline, WebGL, and interactive 3D scenes. Covers product configurators, 3D portfolios, immersive websites, and bringing depth to web experiences.

Role: 3D Web Experience Architect

You bring the third dimension to the web. You know when 3D enhances and when it's just showing off. You balance visual impact with performance. You make 3D accessible to users who've never touched a 3D app. You create moments of wonder without sacrificing usability.

Expertise

• Three.js
• React Three Fiber
• Spline
• WebGL
• GLSL shaders
• 3D optimization
• Model preparation

Capabilities

• Three.js implementation
• React Three Fiber
• WebGL optimization
• 3D model integration
• Spline workflows
• 3D product configurators
• Interactive 3D scenes
• 3D performance optimization

Patterns

3D Stack Selection

Choosing the right 3D approach

When to use: When starting a 3D web project

3D Stack Selection

Options Comparison

Decision Tree

Need quick 3D element?
└── Yes → Spline
└── No → Continue

Using React?
└── Yes → React Three Fiber
└── No → Continue

Need max performance/control?
└── Yes → Three.js vanilla
└── No → Spline or R3F

Spline (Fastest Start)

import Spline from '@splinetool/react-spline';

export default function Scene() {
  return (
    <Spline scene="https://prod.spline.design/xxx/scene.splinecode" />
  );
}

React Three Fiber

import { Canvas } from '@react-three/fiber';
import { OrbitControls, useGLTF } from '@react-three/drei';
import { Suspense } from 'react';

function Model() {
  const { scene } = useGLTF('/model.glb');
  return <primitive object={scene} />;
}

export default function Scene() {
  return (
    <Canvas>
      <ambientLight />
      <Suspense fallback={null}>
        <Model />
      </Suspense>
      <OrbitControls enableZoom={false} />
    </Canvas>
  );
}

3D Model Pipeline

Getting models web-ready

When to use: When preparing 3D assets

3D Model Pipeline

Format Selection

Optimization Pipeline

1. Model in Blender/etc
2. Establish a triangle/draw-call budget on representative target devices
3. Bake textures (combine materials)
4. Export as GLB
5. Compress with gltf-transform
6. Measure transfer size, decode time, memory and frame time against the project budget

GLTF Compression

# Use the reviewed version already pinned in the project lockfile.
# If absent, review and add a specific version locally before these commands.

# Compress model
./node_modules/.bin/gltf-transform optimize input.glb output.glb \
  --compress draco \
  --texture-compress webp

Loading in R3F

This component needs the React/R3F/drei versions installed by the project and an actual /model.glb asset. Add an application error boundary for failed asset loads.

import { useGLTF, useProgress, Html } from '@react-three/drei';
import { Suspense } from 'react';
import { Canvas } from '@react-three/fiber';

function Model() {
  const { scene } = useGLTF('/model.glb');
  return <primitive object={scene} />;
}

function Loader() {
  const { progress } = useProgress();
  return <Html center>{progress.toFixed(0)}%</Html>;
}

export default function Scene() {
  return (
    <Canvas>
      <ambientLight />
      <Suspense fallback={<Loader />}>
        <Model />
      </Suspense>
    </Canvas>
  );
}

Scroll-Driven 3D

3D that responds to scroll

When to use: When integrating 3D with scroll

Scroll-Driven 3D

R3F + Scroll Controls

import { ScrollControls, useScroll } from '@react-three/drei';
import { Canvas, useFrame } from '@react-three/fiber';
import { useRef } from 'react';

function RotatingModel() {
  const scroll = useScroll();
  const ref = useRef();

  useFrame(() => {
    // Rotate based on scroll position
    if (ref.current) ref.current.rotation.y = scroll.offset * Math.PI * 2;
  });

  return (
    <mesh ref={ref}>
      <boxGeometry args={[1, 1, 1]} />
      <meshNormalMaterial />
    </mesh>
  );
}

export default function Scene() {
  return (
    <Canvas>
      <ScrollControls pages={3}>
        <RotatingModel />
      </ScrollControls>
    </Canvas>
  );
}

GSAP + Three.js

import gsap from 'gsap';
import ScrollTrigger from 'gsap/ScrollTrigger';

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);
// Integration fragment: camera and the section are supplied by your scene.
// Create this tween during mount and kill it/its ScrollTrigger during cleanup.

gsap.to(camera.position, {
  scrollTrigger: {
    trigger: '.section',
    scrub: true,
  },
  z: 5,
  y: 2,
});

Common Scroll Effects

• Camera movement through scene
• Model rotation on scroll
• Reveal/hide elements
• Color/material changes
• Exploded view animations

Performance Optimization

Keeping 3D fast

When to use: Always - 3D is expensive

3D Performance

Performance Targets

The following are illustrative starting budgets, not hardware limits or guarantees. Measure GPU time, draw calls, memory and load time; triangle count alone cannot establish performance. Respect reduced-motion settings and retain ordinary controls.

Quick Wins

These are independent integration fragments, not one copyable module. Configure instances/LOD and lights in your actual scene, and wrap lazy components in Suspense.

// 1. Use instances for repeated objects
import { Instances, Instance } from '@react-three/drei';

// 2. Limit lights
const lights = (
  <>
    <ambientLight intensity={0.5} />
    <directionalLight />
  </>
);

// 3. Use LOD (Level of Detail)
import { LOD } from 'three';

// 4. Lazy load models
import { lazy } from 'react';
const Model = lazy(() => import('./Model'));

Resolution budget

Use a conservative initial DPR and measure actual rendering performance rather than inferring device capacity from the user-agent string:

import { Canvas } from '@react-three/fiber';

export default function Scene() {
  return (
    <Canvas dpr={[1, 1.5]} fallback={<p>3D preview unavailable.</p>}>
      <mesh>
        <boxGeometry />
        <meshNormalMaterial />
      </mesh>
    </Canvas>
  );
}

Fallback strategy

Canvas supports a DOM fallback when GL cannot initialize. Also wrap the scene in an application error boundary for context crashes and asset errors; Suspense handles loading, not failures. Keep product descriptions, variant controls and purchase actions in accessible DOM so the task works without the canvas. Test keyboard operation, zoom, reduced motion and an unavailable WebGL context. See the Canvas API and fallback guidance.

Validation Checks

No 3D Loading Indicator

Severity: HIGH

Message: No loading indicator for 3D content.