Three.js Textures
Quick Start
javascript
import * as THREE from "three";
// Load texture
const loader = new THREE.TextureLoader();
const texture = loader.load("texture.jpg");
// Apply to material
const material = new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial({
map: texture,
});
Texture Loading
Basic Loading
javascript
const loader = new THREE.TextureLoader();
// Async with callbacks
loader.load(
"texture.jpg",
(texture) => console.log("Loaded"),
(progress) => console.log("Progress"),
(error) => console.error("Error"),
);
// Synchronous style (loads async internally)
const texture = loader.load("texture.jpg");
material.map = texture;
Promise Wrapper
javascript
function loadTexture(url) {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
new THREE.TextureLoader().load(url, resolve, undefined, reject);
});
}
// Usage
const [colorMap, normalMap, roughnessMap] = await Promise.all([
loadTexture("color.jpg"),
loadTexture("normal.jpg"),
loadTexture("roughness.jpg"),
]);
Texture Configuration
Color Space
Critical for accurate color reproduction.
javascript
// Color/albedo textures - use sRGB colorTexture.colorSpace = THREE.SRGBColorSpace; // Data textures (normal, roughness, metalness, AO) - leave as default // Do NOT set colorSpace for data textures (NoColorSpace is default)
Wrapping Modes
javascript
texture.wrapS = THREE.RepeatWrapping; // Horizontal texture.wrapT = THREE.RepeatWrapping; // Vertical // Options: // THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping - Stretches edge pixels (default) // THREE.RepeatWrapping - Tiles the texture // THREE.MirroredRepeatWrapping - Tiles with mirror flip
Repeat, Offset, Rotation
javascript
// Tile texture 4x4 texture.repeat.set(4, 4); texture.wrapS = THREE.RepeatWrapping; texture.wrapT = THREE.RepeatWrapping; // Offset (0-1 range) texture.offset.set(0.5, 0.5); // Rotation (radians, around center) texture.rotation = Math.PI / 4; texture.center.set(0.5, 0.5); // Rotation pivot
Filtering
javascript
// Minification (texture larger than screen pixels) texture.minFilter = THREE.LinearMipmapLinearFilter; // Default, smooth texture.minFilter = THREE.NearestFilter; // Pixelated texture.minFilter = THREE.LinearFilter; // Smooth, no mipmaps // Magnification (texture smaller than screen pixels) texture.magFilter = THREE.LinearFilter; // Smooth (default) texture.magFilter = THREE.NearestFilter; // Pixelated (retro games) // Anisotropic filtering (sharper at angles) texture.anisotropy = renderer.capabilities.getMaxAnisotropy();
Generate Mipmaps
javascript
// Usually true by default texture.generateMipmaps = true; // Disable for non-power-of-2 textures or data textures texture.generateMipmaps = false; texture.minFilter = THREE.LinearFilter;
Texture Types
Regular Texture
javascript
const texture = new THREE.Texture(image); texture.needsUpdate = true;
Data Texture
Create texture from raw data.
javascript
// Create gradient texture
const size = 256;
const data = new Uint8Array(size * size * 4);
for (let i = 0; i < size; i++) {
for (let j = 0; j < size; j++) {
const index = (i * size + j) * 4;
data[index] = i; // R
data[index + 1] = j; // G
data[index + 2] = 128; // B
data[index + 3] = 255; // A
}
}
const texture = new THREE.DataTexture(data, size, size);
texture.needsUpdate = true;
Canvas Texture
javascript
const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
canvas.width = 256;
canvas.height = 256;
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
// Draw on canvas
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, 256, 256);
ctx.fillStyle = "white";
ctx.font = "48px Arial";
ctx.fillText("Hello", 50, 150);
const texture = new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas);
// Update when canvas changes
texture.needsUpdate = true;
Video Texture
javascript
const video = document.createElement("video");
video.src = "video.mp4";
video.loop = true;
video.muted = true;
video.play();
const texture = new THREE.VideoTexture(video);
texture.colorSpace = THREE.SRGBColorSpace;
// No need to set needsUpdate - auto-updates
Compressed Textures
javascript
import { KTX2Loader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/KTX2Loader.js";
const ktx2Loader = new KTX2Loader();
ktx2Loader.setTranscoderPath("path/to/basis/");
ktx2Loader.detectSupport(renderer);
ktx2Loader.load("texture.ktx2", (texture) => {
material.map = texture;
});
Cube Textures
For environment maps and skyboxes.
CubeTextureLoader
javascript
const loader = new THREE.CubeTextureLoader(); const cubeTexture = loader.load([ "px.jpg", "nx.jpg", // +X, -X "py.jpg", "ny.jpg", // +Y, -Y "pz.jpg", "nz.jpg", // +Z, -Z ]); // As background scene.background = cubeTexture; // As environment map scene.environment = cubeTexture; material.envMap = cubeTexture;
Equirectangular to Cubemap
javascript
import { RGBELoader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/RGBELoader.js";
const pmremGenerator = new THREE.PMREMGenerator(renderer);
pmremGenerator.compileEquirectangularShader();
new RGBELoader().load("environment.hdr", (texture) => {
const envMap = pmremGenerator.fromEquirectangular(texture).texture;
scene.environment = envMap;
scene.background = envMap;
texture.dispose();
pmremGenerator.dispose();
});
HDR Textures
RGBELoader
javascript
import { RGBELoader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/RGBELoader.js";
const loader = new RGBELoader();
loader.load("environment.hdr", (texture) => {
texture.mapping = THREE.EquirectangularReflectionMapping;
scene.environment = texture;
scene.background = texture;
});
EXRLoader
javascript
import { EXRLoader } from "three/examples/jsm/loaders/EXRLoader.js";
const loader = new EXRLoader();
loader.load("environment.exr", (texture) => {
texture.mapping = THREE.EquirectangularReflectionMapping;
scene.environment = texture;
});
Background Options
javascript
scene.background = texture; scene.backgroundBlurriness = 0.5; // 0-1, blur background scene.backgroundIntensity = 1.0; // Brightness scene.backgroundRotation.y = Math.PI; // Rotate background
Render Targets
Render to texture for effects.
javascript
// Create render target
const renderTarget = new THREE.WebGLRenderTarget(512, 512, {
minFilter: THREE.LinearFilter,
magFilter: THREE.LinearFilter,
format: THREE.RGBAFormat,
});
// Render scene to target
renderer.setRenderTarget(renderTarget);
renderer.render(scene, camera);
renderer.setRenderTarget(null); // Back to screen
// Use as texture
material.map = renderTarget.texture;
Depth Texture
javascript
const renderTarget = new THREE.WebGLRenderTarget(512, 512); renderTarget.depthTexture = new THREE.DepthTexture( 512, 512, THREE.UnsignedShortType, ); // Access depth const depthTexture = renderTarget.depthTexture;
Multi-Sample Render Target
javascript
const renderTarget = new THREE.WebGLRenderTarget(512, 512, {
samples: 4, // MSAA
});
CubeCamera
Dynamic environment maps for reflections.
javascript
const cubeRenderTarget = new THREE.WebGLCubeRenderTarget(256, {
generateMipmaps: true,
minFilter: THREE.LinearMipmapLinearFilter,
});
const cubeCamera = new THREE.CubeCamera(0.1, 1000, cubeRenderTarget);
scene.add(cubeCamera);
// Apply to reflective material
reflectiveMaterial.envMap = cubeRenderTarget.texture;
// Update in animation loop (expensive!)
function animate() {
// Hide reflective object, update env map, show again
reflectiveObject.visible = false;
cubeCamera.position.copy(reflectiveObject.position);
cubeCamera.update(renderer, scene);
reflectiveObject.visible = true;
}
UV Mapping
Accessing UVs
javascript
const uvs = geometry.attributes.uv; // Read UV const u = uvs.getX(vertexIndex); const v = uvs.getY(vertexIndex); // Modify UV uvs.setXY(vertexIndex, newU, newV); uvs.needsUpdate = true;
Second UV Channel (for AO maps)
javascript
// Required for aoMap
geometry.setAttribute("uv2", geometry.attributes.uv);
// Or create custom second UV
const uv2 = new Float32Array(vertexCount * 2);
// ... fill uv2 data
geometry.setAttribute("uv2", new THREE.BufferAttribute(uv2, 2));
UV Transform in Shader
javascript
const material = new THREE.ShaderMaterial({
uniforms: {
map: { value: texture },
uvOffset: { value: new THREE.Vector2(0, 0) },
uvScale: { value: new THREE.Vector2(1, 1) },
},
vertexShader: `
varying vec2 vUv;
uniform vec2 uvOffset;
uniform vec2 uvScale;
void main() {
vUv = uv * uvScale + uvOffset;
gl_Position = projectionMatrix * modelViewMatrix * vec4(position, 1.0);
}
`,
fragmentShader: `
varying vec2 vUv;
uniform sampler2D map;
void main() {
gl_FragColor = texture2D(map, vUv);
}
`,
});
Texture Atlas
Multiple images in one texture.
javascript
// Atlas with 4 sprites (2x2 grid)
const atlas = loader.load("atlas.png");
atlas.wrapS = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping;
atlas.wrapT = THREE.ClampToEdgeWrapping;
// Select sprite by UV offset/scale
function selectSprite(row, col, gridSize = 2) {
atlas.offset.set(col / gridSize, 1 - (row + 1) / gridSize);
atlas.repeat.set(1 / gridSize, 1 / gridSize);
}
// Select top-left sprite
selectSprite(0, 0);
Material Texture Maps
PBR Texture Set
javascript
const material = new THREE.MeshStandardMaterial({
// Base color (sRGB)
map: colorTexture,
// Surface detail (Linear)
normalMap: normalTexture,
normalScale: new THREE.Vector2(1, 1),
// Roughness (Linear, grayscale)
roughnessMap: roughnessTexture,
roughness: 1, // Multiplier
// Metalness (Linear, grayscale)
metalnessMap: metalnessTexture,
metalness: 1, // Multiplier
// Ambient occlusion (Linear, uses uv2)
aoMap: aoTexture,
aoMapIntensity: 1,
// Self-illumination (sRGB)
emissiveMap: emissiveTexture,
emissive: 0xffffff,
emissiveIntensity: 1,
// Vertex displacement (Linear)
displacementMap: displacementTexture,
displacementScale: 0.1,
displacementBias: 0,
// Alpha (Linear)
alphaMap: alphaTexture,
transparent: true,
});
// Don't forget UV2 for AO
geometry.setAttribute("uv2", geometry.attributes.uv);
Normal Map Types
javascript
// OpenGL style normals (default) material.normalMapType = THREE.TangentSpaceNormalMap; // Object space normals material.normalMapType = THREE.ObjectSpaceNormalMap;
Procedural Textures
Noise Texture
javascript
function generateNoiseTexture(size = 256) {
const data = new Uint8Array(size * size * 4);
for (let i = 0; i < size * size; i++) {
const value = Math.random() * 255;
data[i * 4] = value;
data[i * 4 + 1] = value;
data[i * 4 + 2] = value;
data[i * 4 + 3] = 255;
}
const texture = new THREE.DataTexture(data, size, size);
texture.needsUpdate = true;
return texture;
}
Gradient Texture
javascript
function generateGradientTexture(color1, color2, size = 256) {
const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
canvas.width = size;
canvas.height = 1;
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
const gradient = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 0, size, 0);
gradient.addColorStop(0, color1);
gradient.addColorStop(1, color2);
ctx.fillStyle = gradient;
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, size, 1);
return new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas);
}
Texture Memory Management
Dispose Textures
javascript
// Single texture
texture.dispose();
// Material textures
function disposeMaterial(material) {
const maps = [
"map",
"normalMap",
"roughnessMap",
"metalnessMap",
"aoMap",
"emissiveMap",
"displacementMap",
"alphaMap",
"envMap",
"lightMap",
"bumpMap",
"specularMap",
];
maps.forEach((mapName) => {
if (material[mapName]) {
material[mapName].dispose();
}
});
material.dispose();
}
Texture Pooling
javascript
class TexturePool {
constructor() {
this.textures = new Map();
this.loader = new THREE.TextureLoader();
}
async get(url) {
if (this.textures.has(url)) {
return this.textures.get(url);
}
const texture = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
this.loader.load(url, resolve, undefined, reject);
});
this.textures.set(url, texture);
return texture;
}
dispose(url) {
const texture = this.textures.get(url);
if (texture) {
texture.dispose();
this.textures.delete(url);
}
}
disposeAll() {
this.textures.forEach((t) => t.dispose());
this.textures.clear();
}
}
Performance Tips
- •Use power-of-2 dimensions: 256, 512, 1024, 2048
- •Compress textures: KTX2/Basis for web delivery
- •Use texture atlases: Reduce texture switches
- •Enable mipmaps: For distant objects
- •Limit texture size: 2048 usually sufficient for web
- •Reuse textures: Same texture = better batching
javascript
// Check texture memory console.log(renderer.info.memory.textures); // Optimize for mobile const maxSize = renderer.capabilities.maxTextureSize; const isMobile = /iPhone|iPad|Android/i.test(navigator.userAgent); const textureSize = isMobile ? 1024 : 2048;
See Also
- •
threejs-materials- Applying textures to materials - •
threejs-loaders- Loading texture files - •
threejs-shaders- Custom texture sampling