How to Create a 3D Cube in React ?

Creating a 3D cube in a web application can add a visually appealing element to the user interface. A 3D cube is a six-sided geometric shape that can be rotated and manipulated in 3D space.

In this article, we will be creating a 3D cube using the Three.js library

What is the Three.js library?

Three.js is a popular JavaScript library used for creating and displaying 3D graphics in a web browser. It provides a wide range of features for building 3D animations, games, visualizations, and interactive experiences.

Approach to Create a 3D Cube in React:

• Set up a Three.js scene, camera, and renderer using useRef to reference the DOM element.
• Defined materials for each face of the cube and created a cube mesh with BoxGeometry.
• Positioned the camera to view the scene.
• Implemented continuous cube rotation based on mouse movement using requestAnimationFrame.
• Tracked mouse movement and normalized coordinates for cube rotation.
• Added a mouse move event listener for tracking and cleaned up on unmount by removing the event listener and renderer's DOM element.

Steps to Create a 3D Cube in React:

Step 1: Create a React Project.

npx create-react-app cube

Step 2: Navigate to the project directory.

cd cube

Step 3: Installing required modules

npm install three

The updated dependencies in package.json file will look like:

"dependencies": {
 "@testing-library/jest-dom": "^5.17.0",
 "@testing-library/react": "^13.4.0",
 "@testing-library/user-event": "^13.5.0",
 "react": "^18.2.0",
 "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
 "react-scripts": "5.0.1",
 "three": "^0.162.0",
 "web-vitals": "^2.1.4"
}

Example of 3D Cube in React

Example: Below code snippet provides the implementation of 3D cube

Output:

👁 gfg_3d