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How does this 3D rendering work?

Although this torus knot (in high resolution) looks like one smooth object, it is actually built from thousands of tiny triangles. Modern graphics cards render almost every 3D model using this same idea.

• Vertices are points in 3D space. Every triangle is defined by three vertices.
• Triangles are the basic building blocks of computer graphics. Complex surfaces are approximated by many small triangles.
• Geometry stores all of the vertices, triangles, normals and other information that describes the object's shape.
• Material determines how light interacts with the surface (colour, shininess, transparency, etc.).
• Mesh combines a geometry with a material. It is the object that Three.js sends to the GPU to render.

Use the Geometry Resolution Slider to increase or decrease the number of triangles. Switching to Transparent Mesh lets you see the triangle structure hidden beneath the smooth surface.

Made by JCPC with ❤️ & Three.js