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20240428 1009

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TRANSFORMATIONS

Move objects ​

position 

  • possesses 3 essential properties, which are x, y, and z
  • instance of the Vector3 class

Useful vector methods​

vector length

console.log(mesh.position.length())

distance from another Vector3 

console.log(mesh.position.distanceTo(camera.position))

normalise vector

console.log(mesh.position.normalize())

set x, y, z

mesh.position.set(0.7, - 0.6, 1)

Axes helper​

  • Display 3 lines corresponding to the x, y and z axes
  • each starts at the center of the scene and going in the corresponding direction
  • 🟢 y axis
  • 🔴 x axis
  • 🔵z axis
/**
 * Axes Helper
 */
const axesHelper = new THREE.AxesHelper(2) // length of line
scene.add(axesHelper)

Scale objects​

  • scale is also a Vector3
  • By default, x, y and z are equal to 1, meaning that the object has no scaling applied.
mesh.scale.x = 2
mesh.scale.y = 0.25
mesh.scale.z = 0.5

Rotate objects​

TLDR

  • Handle by updating rotation or quaternion

  • Updating one will update another

Euler​

  • also contains x, y, z

  • When you change the x, y, and z properties of a Euler, you can imagine putting a stick through your object's center in the axis's direction and then rotating that object on that stick.

  • Expressed in radians

mesh.rotation.x = Math.PI * 0.25
mesh.rotation.y = Math.PI * 0.25

  • changing one axis will affect another
  • rotation applies in the following order: x, y, and then z
  • Can result in gimbal lock when one axis has no more effect, all because of the previous ones
  • changing order of rotation
object.rotation.reorder('YXZ')
IMPORTANT

quaternion usually used because of ordering issues

Quaternion ​

  • Expresss rotation in a mathematical way
  • lookAt(...) 
    • lets you ask an object to look at something
    • object will automatically rotate its -z axis toward the target you provided
    • Can use to rotate camera
    • Parameter is the target and must be a Vector3
camera.lookAt(new THREE.Vector3(0, - 1, 0))

Combining transformations​

  • position, rotation, quaternion, scale can be combined in any order to give the same end result
mesh.position.x = 0.7
mesh.position.y = - 0.6
mesh.position.z = 1
mesh.scale.x = 2
mesh.scale.y = 0.25
mesh.scale.z = 0.5
mesh.rotation.x = Math.PI * 0.25
mesh.rotation.y = Math.PI * 0.25

Scene graph​

  • for objects that will be subject to similar actions
  • Inherits from the Object3D class, it has access to the previously-mentioned properties and methods

References​