name: postfx-effects description: Post-processing visual effects including chromatic aberration, vignette, depth of field, film grain, color grading, and LUT support. Use when adding cinematic polish, retro aesthetics, camera simulation, or atmospheric effects to 3D scenes. Essential for mood, style, and visual storytelling.

Post-Processing Effects

Cinematic and stylistic effects using @react-three/postprocessing.

Quick Start

npm install @react-three/postprocessing postprocessing

import { Canvas } from '@react-three/fiber';
import { EffectComposer, ChromaticAberration, Vignette, Noise } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

function CinematicScene() {
  return (
    <Canvas>
      <Scene />
      <EffectComposer>
        <ChromaticAberration offset={[0.002, 0.002]} />
        <Vignette darkness={0.5} offset={0.3} />
        <Noise opacity={0.05} />
      </EffectComposer>
    </Canvas>
  );
}

Core Effects

Chromatic Aberration

RGB channel separation for lens distortion or glitch effects.

import { ChromaticAberration } from '@react-three/postprocessing';
import { BlendFunction } from 'postprocessing';
import { Vector2 } from 'three';

// Subtle cinematic fringing
function SubtleChromaticAberration() {
  return (
    <ChromaticAberration
      offset={new Vector2(0.001, 0.001)}
      radialModulation
      modulationOffset={0.2}
    />
  );
}

// Intense glitch effect
function GlitchChromaticAberration() {
  const offsetRef = useRef();

  useFrame(({ clock }) => {
    if (offsetRef.current) {
      const glitch = Math.random() > 0.95 ? 0.01 : 0.002;
      offsetRef.current.offset.set(glitch, glitch * 0.5);
    }
  });

  return (
    <ChromaticAberration
      ref={offsetRef}
      offset={new Vector2(0.002, 0.002)}
      blendFunction={BlendFunction.NORMAL}
    />
  );
}

Vignette

Darkened edges for focus and cinematic framing.

import { Vignette } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

// Soft cinematic vignette
function CinematicVignette() {
  return (
    <Vignette
      offset={0.3}      // Distance from center before darkening
      darkness={0.5}    // How dark edges become
      eskil={false}     // Use natural vignette formula
    />
  );
}

// Harsh spotlight effect
function SpotlightVignette() {
  return <Vignette offset={0.1} darkness={0.9} eskil={true} />;
}

Depth of Field

Simulated camera focus with bokeh blur.

import { DepthOfField } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

// Focus on specific distance
function StaticDOF() {
  return (
    <DepthOfField
      focusDistance={0.02}
      focalLength={0.05}
      bokehScale={3}
      height={480}
    />
  );
}

// Focus follows target object
function TrackingDOF({ targetRef }) {
  const dofRef = useRef();
  const { camera } = useThree();

  useFrame(() => {
    if (targetRef.current && dofRef.current) {
      const distance = camera.position.distanceTo(targetRef.current.position);
      dofRef.current.target = distance;
    }
  });

  return <DepthOfField ref={dofRef} focusDistance={0} focalLength={0.02} bokehScale={2} />;
}

Noise / Film Grain

import { Noise } from '@react-three/postprocessing';
import { BlendFunction } from 'postprocessing';

// Subtle film grain
function FilmGrain() {
  return <Noise opacity={0.04} blendFunction={BlendFunction.OVERLAY} />;
}

// Heavy VHS noise
function VHSNoise() {
  return <Noise opacity={0.15} blendFunction={BlendFunction.SCREEN} />;
}

Color Grading

import { HueSaturation, BrightnessContrast } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

// Desaturated cinematic look
function CinematicGrade() {
  return (
    <>
      <HueSaturation hue={0} saturation={-0.2} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={-0.05} contrast={0.1} />
    </>
  );
}

// Warm sunset mood
function SunsetGrade() {
  return (
    <>
      <HueSaturation hue={0.05} saturation={0.15} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={0.02} contrast={0.05} />
    </>
  );
}

// Cold sci-fi atmosphere
function SciFiGrade() {
  return (
    <>
      <HueSaturation hue={-0.1} saturation={-0.1} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={-0.1} contrast={0.15} />
    </>
  );
}

LUT (Lookup Table)

import { LUT } from '@react-three/postprocessing';
import { LookupTexture } from 'postprocessing';

function LUTGrading() {
  const [lut, setLut] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    LookupTexture.createLookupTexture('/luts/cinematic.cube').then(setLut);
  }, []);

  if (!lut) return null;
  return <LUT lut={lut} tetrahedralInterpolation />;
}

Tone Mapping

import { ToneMapping } from '@react-three/postprocessing';
import { ToneMappingMode } from 'postprocessing';

function CinematicToneMapping() {
  return <ToneMapping mode={ToneMappingMode.ACES_FILMIC} />;
}

Scanlines / CRT Effect

import { Scanline } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

function CRTScanlines() {
  return <Scanline density={1.25} opacity={0.15} blendFunction={BlendFunction.OVERLAY} />;
}

God Rays

import { GodRays } from '@react-three/postprocessing';

function VolumetricLight() {
  const sunRef = useRef();

  return (
    <>
      <mesh ref={sunRef} position={[0, 5, -10]}>
        <sphereGeometry args={[1, 32, 32]} />
        <meshBasicMaterial color="#FFF8E0" />
      </mesh>

      <EffectComposer>
        {sunRef.current && <GodRays sun={sunRef.current} exposure={0.5} decay={0.9} blur />}
      </EffectComposer>
    </>
  );
}

Combining Effects

Cinematic Stack

function CinematicStack() {
  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <ToneMapping mode={ToneMappingMode.ACES_FILMIC} />
      <HueSaturation saturation={-0.15} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={-0.05} contrast={0.1} />
      <ChromaticAberration offset={[0.001, 0.001]} />
      <Vignette darkness={0.4} offset={0.3} />
      <Noise opacity={0.03} blendFunction={BlendFunction.OVERLAY} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Retro VHS Stack

function VHSStack() {
  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <HueSaturation saturation={-0.3} />
      <BrightnessContrast contrast={0.2} />
      <ChromaticAberration offset={[0.005, 0.002]} />
      <Scanline density={1.5} opacity={0.1} />
      <Noise opacity={0.1} blendFunction={BlendFunction.SCREEN} />
      <Vignette darkness={0.6} offset={0.2} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Dream Sequence Stack

function DreamStack() {
  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <DepthOfField focusDistance={0.01} focalLength={0.1} bokehScale={4} />
      <Bloom luminanceThreshold={0.3} intensity={0.8} />
      <HueSaturation saturation={0.2} hue={0.05} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={0.1} />
      <Vignette darkness={0.3} offset={0.4} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Animated Effects

Time-Driven Color Shift

function TimeDrivenEffects() {
  const hueRef = useRef();
  const vignetteRef = useRef();

  useFrame(({ clock }) => {
    const t = clock.elapsedTime;
    if (hueRef.current) hueRef.current.hue = Math.sin(t * 0.1) * 0.1;
    if (vignetteRef.current) vignetteRef.current.darkness = 0.4 + Math.sin(t * 2) * 0.1;
  });

  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <HueSaturation ref={hueRef} saturation={0} hue={0} />
      <Vignette ref={vignetteRef} darkness={0.4} offset={0.3} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Audio-Reactive Effects

function AudioReactiveEffects({ audioData }) {
  const chromaRef = useRef();
  const vignetteRef = useRef();

  useFrame(() => {
    if (!audioData) return;
    const bass = audioData[0] / 255;
    const mid = audioData[4] / 255;

    if (chromaRef.current) {
      const offset = 0.001 + bass * 0.005;
      chromaRef.current.offset.set(offset, offset * 0.5);
    }
    if (vignetteRef.current) {
      vignetteRef.current.darkness = 0.3 + mid * 0.3;
    }
  });

  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <ChromaticAberration ref={chromaRef} offset={[0.001, 0.001]} />
      <Vignette ref={vignetteRef} darkness={0.4} offset={0.3} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Temporal Collapse Theme

Effects stack for cosmic countdown aesthetic:

function TemporalCollapseEffects() {
  const chromaRef = useRef();

  useFrame(({ clock }) => {
    if (chromaRef.current) {
      const pulse = Math.sin(clock.elapsedTime * 1.5) * 0.001;
      chromaRef.current.offset.set(0.002 + pulse, 0.001 + pulse * 0.5);
    }
  });

  return (
    <EffectComposer>
      <ToneMapping mode={ToneMappingMode.ACES_FILMIC} />
      <HueSaturation hue={-0.05} saturation={-0.1} />
      <BrightnessContrast brightness={-0.05} contrast={0.1} />
      <ChromaticAberration ref={chromaRef} offset={[0.002, 0.001]} />
      <Vignette darkness={0.5} offset={0.25} />
      <Noise opacity={0.02} blendFunction={BlendFunction.OVERLAY} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Performance Tips

Technique	Impact	Solution
Multiple blur effects	High	Combine DOF with bloom carefully
High DOF resolution	High	Use `height={480}` or lower
LUT loading	Medium	Preload, cache texture
Many effects	Medium	Order effects efficiently

function OptimizedEffects() {
  return (
    <EffectComposer multisampling={0}>
      <ToneMapping mode={ToneMappingMode.ACES_FILMIC} />
      <Vignette darkness={0.4} />
      <Noise opacity={0.02} />
      <Bloom intensity={1} mipmapBlur levels={4} />
    </EffectComposer>
  );
}

Reference

See postfx-composer for EffectComposer setup and render targets
See postfx-bloom for dedicated bloom techniques
See postfx-router for effect selection guidance

postfx-effects

SKILL.md