🎨 React Three Fiber Tutorial Series

Complete React Three Fiber tutorial series: 7 courses, 41 examples, 12 projects. Learn 3D web development from basics to advanced - 3D models, animations, physics, post-processing, optimization & deployment.

A comprehensive, hands-on learning roadmap to master React Three Fiber (R3F) - a React renderer for Three.js that allows you to build stunning 3D web experiences declaratively with React.

🎯 Learning Goals

By the end of this series, you will be able to:

• ✅ Build interactive 3D web experiences with React
• ✅ Understand Three.js fundamentals through React
• ✅ Create animations, interactions, and immersive experiences
• ✅ Load and manipulate 3D models
• ✅ Implement physics simulations
• ✅ Optimize 3D performance in React applications
• ✅ Deploy 3D applications to production
• ✅ Follow R3F best practices and patterns

📚 Course Overview

Course	Focus	Examples	Projects	Duration
Course 0: Foundation & Setup	Understanding 3D concepts, Three.js basics, R3F setup	5	1	1-2 weeks
Course 1: Core Concepts	R3F primitives, components, and basic interactions	6	2	2-3 weeks
Course 2: Advanced Geometry & Materials	Complex geometries, custom materials, textures	6	2	3-4 weeks
Course 3: Lighting & Post-Processing	Advanced lighting, shadows, post-processing effects	6	2	2-3 weeks
Course 4: Animation & Physics	Animations, physics simulation, interactions	6	2	3-4 weeks
Course 5: Performance & Optimization	Performance optimization, LOD, instancing	6	2	2-3 weeks
Course 6: Advanced Techniques & Production	Advanced patterns, deployment, real-world applications	6	2	3-4 weeks
Total		41	12	16-22 weeks

🛠️ Prerequisites

Before starting this series, you should have:

• React Fundamentals: Components, hooks, state management
• JavaScript ES6+: Modern JavaScript features (arrow functions, destructuring, async/await)
• Basic 3D Math: Understanding of 3D coordinates (helpful but not required)
• Node.js & npm: Package management and development tools
• Git: Version control basics
• Code Editor: VS Code recommended (with React and GLSL extensions)

🗺️ Learning Path

Phase 1: Foundation (Courses 0-1)

Build understanding of 3D concepts and R3F basics. Learn primitives, transformations, and basic interactions.

Phase 2: Building Blocks (Courses 2-3)

Learn to create complex scenes with models, materials, lighting, and post-processing effects.

Phase 3: Interactivity (Course 4)

Add animations and physics for dynamic, interactive experiences.

Phase 4: Production (Courses 5-6)

Optimize performance and deploy real-world 3D applications.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/TechnoBlogger14o3/react-three-fiber-tutorials.git
   cd react-three-fiber-tutorials

2. Navigate to a course

   cd Course-0-Foundation-Setup

3. Choose an example or project

   cd examples/example-1-hello-3d

4. Install dependencies

   npm install

5. Start development server

   npm run dev

6. Open in browser

   • Navigate to the URL shown in terminal (usually http://localhost:5173)

📖 Course Structure

Each course follows this structure:

CourseX-Topic/
├── README.md          # Theory, concepts, examples overview
├── examples/          # Small working examples
│   ├── example-1-topic/
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   ├── public/
│   │   ├── package.json
│   │   └── README.md
│   └── ...
└── project/           # Full 3D applications
    ├── project-1/
    │   ├── src/
    │   ├── public/
    │   ├── package.json
    │   └── README.md
    └── ...

📦 Technologies & Libraries

Core

• React Three Fiber (@react-three/fiber) - React renderer for Three.js
• Three.js - 3D graphics library
• React Three Drei (@react-three/drei) - Helpers and utilities

Animation

• React Spring (@react-spring/three) - Animation library
• GSAP (optional) - Advanced animations

Physics

• Rapier (@react-three/rapier) - Physics engine

Post-Processing

• Postprocessing (postprocessing) - Effects library

Utilities

• Leva (leva) - GUI controls for debugging
• Zustand - State management (optional)

📊 Course Statistics

• Total Courses: 7 (Course 0-6)
• Total Examples: 41 examples
• Total Projects: 12 projects
• Estimated Duration: 16-22 weeks (4-5.5 months)
• Difficulty: Beginner to Advanced
• Estimated Code Files: 150+

📚 Resources

Official Documentation

• React Three Fiber Docs
• Three.js Docs
• React Three Drei

Learning Resources

• Three.js Fundamentals
• WebGL Basics
• 3D Math Basics

Communities

• R3F Discord
• Three.js Forum
• Stack Overflow

🎯 Project Ideas by Course

Course 0: Foundation

• 3D Scene Viewer: Basic scene with multiple objects

Course 1: Core Concepts

• Interactive 3D Gallery: Clickable objects with animations
• 3D Product Showcase: Rotating product display

Course 2: Advanced Geometry

• 3D Model Viewer: Load and display 3D models
• Material Showcase: Interactive material library

Course 3: Lighting & Effects

• Lighting Studio: Interactive lighting tool
• Post-Processing Demo: Effects showcase

Course 4: Animation & Physics

• Physics Playground: Interactive physics simulation
• Animated 3D Scene: Complex animation sequences

Course 5: Performance

• Optimized 3D City: Large scene optimization
• Performance Benchmark: Optimization comparison

Course 6: Production

• 3D Portfolio Website: Complete portfolio with 3D elements
• Interactive 3D Experience: Full-featured 3D application

📝 Learning Checklist

Track your progress with our comprehensive learning checklist. See each course README for detailed checklists.

Course 0: Foundation & Setup

• Understand what R3F is and why it's useful
• Set up R3F development environment
• Create first 3D scene
• Understand Scene, Camera, Renderer
• Learn basic 3D coordinate system
• Set up camera controls

Course 1: Core Concepts

• Master R3F primitives
• Understand transformations
• Use refs in 3D context
• Handle 3D interactions
• Create basic animations
• Organize objects in groups

See individual course READMEs for complete checklists.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! This is a learning resource, so improvements and examples are encouraged.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-example)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing example')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-example)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Related Tutorial Series

Check out our other comprehensive React tutorial series:

• React Web Tutorials - Complete React web development series
• React Native Tutorials - Complete React Native mobile development series

🙏 Acknowledgments

• React Three Fiber - The amazing R3F team
• Three.js - The Three.js community
• React Three Drei - Helpful utilities and helpers

📖 Additional Documentation

• Course Plan - Detailed course breakdown
• Step-by-Step Guide - Day-by-day learning guide
• Repository Structure - Complete structure reference
• Summary - Plan summary

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Ready to start your 3D journey? Begin with Course 0: Foundation & Setup!

Last updated: January 2025