swiftui model3dview

Render 3d models with SwiftUI effortlessly

236
18
Swift

Model3DView

Effortlessly render 3D models in your SwiftUI app

SwiftUI
SwiftUI
Swift
Xcode
MIT

With Model3DView you can effortlessly display 3D models in your SwiftUI app just like you would with images. Additionally you can manipulate the camera and transform the model, all while keeping things SwiftUI-friendly.

Warning Model3DView is still in very early stages of development. The API is not final and may will change over the course of upcoming version releases.


Model3DView in action


Index


Examples

Examples


Features ✨

  • glTF support!
    Model3DView supports loading and rendering glTF models right out of the box.

  • Skyboxes and IBL (image based lighting)
    Does your model use PBR materials? Change the global lighting by setting an IBL image. (OpenEXR files supported!)

  • Interactive camera controls
    Let users interact with your model by moving the camera. Model3DView comes with OrbitControls (aka arcball) that will take care of this.


Installation 🛠

In Xcode add the dependency to your project via File > Add Packages > Search or Enter Package URL and use the following url:

https://github.com/frzi/Model3DView.git

Once added, import the package in your code:

import Model3DView

Note If Xcode throws errors while resolving dependencies, you can temporarily link to the main branch, opposed to using a tagged version.*


Quickstart 🚀

The code is provided with ample documentation, including DocC. For detailed information about views, methods, etc, please use Xcode’s documentation features.

Below a quick rundown of Model3DView’s features.

Using Model3DView couldn’t possibly be more easy. Use the Model3DView like any other view:

import Model3DView

struct MyView: View {
	var body: some View {
		Model3DView(named: "duck.gltf")
	}
}

This renders a 3D model with the filename “duck.gltf” that’s located in the app’s bundle.

Model3DView

Transform

Model3DView(named: "house.glb")
	.transform(
		rotate: Euler(y: .degrees(45)),
		scale: 1.2,
		transform: [0, 0, -1]
	)

Rotate, scale and/or translate the 3D asset, relative to its origin. These properties are animatable!

onLoad handler

Model3DView(file: model.path)
	.onLoad { state in
		self.modelLoaded = state == .success
	}

For performance and UX reasons, 3D assets are loaded asynchronously. Use the .onLoad view modifier to attach a listener when the assets have fully loaded. This gives you the opportunity to place a temporary placeholder over the Model3DView.


Cameras

If the default camera is not to your liking you can just as easily set your own camera.

Model3DView(named: "robot.gltf")
	.camera(PerspectiveCamera(fov: .degrees(75)))

The available camera types are PerspectiveCamera and OrthographicCamera.


Interactive cameras

To ease the burden of doing the hard work yourself, Model3DView comes with interactive camera controls support. As of now the only included camera controls are OrbitControls (also known as “arcball”).

@State var camera = PerspectiveCamera()

Model3DView(named: "garden.obj")
	.cameraControls(OrbitControls(
		camera: $camera,
		sensitivity: 0.5,
		friction: 0.1
	))

Skybox and IBL (image based lighting)

Model3DView does not allow you to place lights in the scenery. Instead you can set the mood by using environment maps and the skybox texture.

Model3DView(file: product.path)
	.ibl(named: "studio_env.exr", intensity: 2)
	.skybox(named: "studio.jpg")

Note: IBL only affects assets using a PBR material.


FAQ ✋

Can I use this to make 3D games?

No. It is very important to understand Model3DView is made to only render 3D models in your SwiftUI app, with very limited interaction. It’s nothing more than an ‘ImageView’ to easily spruce up your app with 3D graphics.

Why use Model3DView instead of SceneView?

SceneView (included with SwiftUI) is very limited in its nature. It simply wraps a SKSceneView for SwiftUI. But due to it being closed source gives no control on this view. For instance: giving the view a transparent background is practically impossible.

Model3DView also provides a workflow more inline with SwiftUI’s ecosystem; using view modifiers to manipulate the model and camera.


Known issues 💢

  • Animating cameras using SwiftUI’s animation model is still very wonky.
  • Lackluster error handling when a model fails to load.
  • Depending on the asset’s origin, they may not be centered correctly by default.

Thanks 🙇

  • GLTFSceneKit - This project wouldn’t be half as interesting if it didn’t have glTF support.
  • DisplayLink - A wrapper around DisplayLink for SwiftUI.

License 📄

MIT License.