3d Web Experience

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

Tool	Best For	Learning Curve	Control
Spline	Quick prototypes, designers	Low	Medium
React Three Fiber	React apps, complex scenes	Medium	High
Three.js vanilla	Max control, non-React	High	Maximum
Babylon.js	Games, heavy 3D	High	Maximum

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

Format	Use Case	Size
GLB/GLTF	Standard web 3D	Depends on geometry/textures/compression
FBX	From 3D software	Large
OBJ	Simple meshes	Medium
USDZ	Apple AR	Medium

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.

Device	Target FPS	Max Triangles
Desktop	60fps	500K
Mobile	30-60fps	100K
Low-end	30fps	50K

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.

Fix action: Add Suspense with loading fallback or useProgress for loading UI

No WebGL Fallback

Severity: MEDIUM

Message: No fallback for devices without WebGL support.

Fix action: Add WebGL detection and static image fallback

Uncompressed 3D Models

Severity: MEDIUM

Message: 3D models may be unoptimized.

Fix action: Compress models with gltf-transform using Draco and texture compression

OrbitControls Blocking Scroll

Severity: MEDIUM

Message: OrbitControls may be capturing scroll events.

Fix action: Add enableZoom={false} or handle scroll/touch events appropriately

High DPR on Mobile

Severity: MEDIUM

Message: Canvas DPR may be too high for mobile devices.

Fix action: Limit DPR to 1 on mobile devices for better performance

Collaboration

Optional collaboration areas

These are capability labels; check actual IDs and read their scope in the current catalog before recommending them. They do not authorize spawning agents.

• scroll animation|parallax|GSAP -> scroll-experience (Scroll integration)
• react|next|frontend -> frontend-developer (React integration)
• performance|slow|fps -> performance-engineer (3D performance optimization)
• product page|landing|marketing -> frontend-design (Product landing with 3D)

Product Configurator

Skills: 3d-web-experience, frontend-developer, frontend-design

Workflow:

1. Prepare 3D product model
2. Set up React Three Fiber scene
3. Add interactivity (colors, variants)
4. Integrate with product page
5. Optimize for mobile
6. Add fallback images

Immersive Portfolio

Skills: 3d-web-experience, scroll-experience, interactive-portfolio

Workflow:

1. Design 3D scene concept
2. Build scene in Spline or R3F
3. Add scroll-driven animations
4. Integrate with portfolio sections
5. Ensure mobile fallback
6. Optimize performance

Related Skills

Works well with: scroll-experience, interactive-portfolio, frontend-developer, frontend-design

When to Use

• Add a navigable product model or configurator to a web page while preserving ordinary product and purchase controls.
• Diagnose loading, frame-time, asset-size or input problems in an existing Three.js/R3F scene.
• Choose between a design-authored Spline scene and a code-owned scene based on interaction, deployment and maintenance needs.
• Plan a scroll-linked portfolio scene with an accessible static alternative and a reduced-motion path. Prefer ordinary DOM content when depth does not help the user's task.

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Assets and dependencies are project prerequisites, not shipped in this skill. Replace the illustrative Spline scene URL with an authorized asset; do not treat the placeholder as a working scene.
• Validate compression/decoder compatibility and visual quality using the installed CLI version and real target devices. See the glTF Transform CLI.
• Loading, runtime failures, accessible DOM controls and reduced motion require separate checks; a rendered canvas alone does not prove accessibility or performance.