webgl-raymarched-hero
Helps your agent generate a real-time 3D 'metaballs' effect. It uses no meshes or textures, creating fluid, glowing shapes. Perfect for a modern, abstract 3D look.
What it does
Creates a shiny, animated 3D scene that appears on a webpage. It uses a technique called 'raymarching' to draw organic shapes that move and change, without using traditional 3D models or textures.
When to use it
- ✓When you need a striking, modern 3D look for a page's hero section.
- ✓If you want to showcase smoothly transforming 3D shapes, like merging 'blobs'.
- ✓To create a unique visual effect without the complexity of 3D models and textures.
Example of what to ask your AI
“Create a 3D visual with slowly orbiting 'metaballs'.”
Want more? Open the sections below.
How to use
The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.
Skill link
Ready-to-paste message
How it works
The program draws a full-screen triangle and uses special code (a fragment shader) to calculate the color of each pixel. It simulates light rays traveling through 3D space to create the shapes and shadows.
Installation
Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.
In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:
npx skills add nexu-io/open-design --skill webgl-raymarched-heroOr download just the file:
curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nexu-io/open-design/main/plugins/_official/examples/webgl-raymarched-hero/SKILL.md -o SKILL.mdTechnical content (original SKILL.md)
Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.
Raymarched Hero Skill
Produce a single self-contained index.html that renders a real-time 3D scene entirely in a fragment shader via sphere tracing, full-screen, with a clean typographic overlay on top.
Why this is a powered artifact
OpenDesign detects getContext('webgl2') and renders this file in powered preview — a cross-origin-isolated iframe with allow-same-origin. The full GPU pipeline is available; you do not need to work around the opaque sandbox.
Resource map
webgl-raymarched-hero/
├── SKILL.md ← you're reading this
└── example.html ← a working SDF metaball raymarcher (READ FIRST)
Workflow
Step 0 — Read the reference
Read example.html end to end. Note the shape: one fullscreen triangle; a map(p) signed-distance function that smooth-unions (smin) several moving spheres; normals by finite differences; a softShadow march; and a camera built from ro/ta with a slow orbit. Shading = diffuse × soft shadow + fresnel rim + a tight specular.
Step 1 — Choose the SDF
Keep the marcher cheap so it holds 60fps:
- Metaballs (default): a few spheres blended with
smin— organic, always readable. - Rounded primitives: box/torus/capsule SDFs with domain repetition for a structured hero.
- Displaced surface: a sphere plus a low-amplitude noise displacement for a molten look.
Step 2 — Build index.html
- One file, zero external requests. Fullscreen triangle + fragment raymarch.
- Bound the march: cap iterations (~90), early-out on hit (
d < 0.001) and on far distance; clamp DPR to ~1.5 — raymarching is per-pixel heavy. - Light it: diffuse, a soft/penumbra shadow, a fresnel rim (
pow(1 - dot(n,-rd), 3)), and one specular lobe. Gentle gamma at the end. - Compile shaders with error logging so a typo fails loudly, not silently black.
Step 3 — Overlay + brand
- Map the accent colors to the active DESIGN.md when one is present; otherwise a restrained dark palette with one vivid accent (the reference tints the surface toward lime
#63fe13and rims it in teal). - Headline ≤ 13ch plus one supporting line. Keep the 3D form as the hero.
Step 4 — Self-review (P0)
- Renders continuously at ~60fps; the FPS badge updates.
- Surface has real depth cues: shadow, rim, and a moving specular.
- No banding artifacts at the silhouette; normals are stable.
- Resizes crisply on window resize (no stretching / blur).
- Degrades to a message (not a blank page) if
webgl2is unavailable.
FAQ
What are 'metaballs'?
These are 3D shapes that look like 'blobs' or 'droplets' that blend and merge organically when they are close to each other.
What is 'raymarching'?
It's a computer graphics technique that simulates the path of light to draw 3D scenes. It's like 'shooting' rays and seeing where they hit to determine what to draw.
Why doesn't it use 3D models or textures?
This technique focuses on creating shapes directly through mathematical calculations in the code, allowing for unique visual effects and fluid animations without needing external model and texture files.
Details
Original description by the author
A real-time raymarched 3D hero — soft-shadowed morphing metaballs with a fresnel rim light, sphere-traced per pixel in a fragment shader with a slow camera orbit. No meshes, no textures. Rendered as a single self-contained `index.html`. Use when the brief asks for a "raymarch", "signed distance field", "SDF", "3D hero", "metaballs", "blobs", or a shader-based 3D scene. OpenDesign serves this in po
repo: nexu-io/open-design
Popularity
- GitHub stars
- 101k
- Ranking position
- #603
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Updated
- 10/16/2026
Comments
- …
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