# Gliding through volumetric clouds in the browser

> An aviation concept in Three.js that shows volumetric clouds with light scattering and cinematic lens flares, running in real time.

Canonical page: https://andersonmancini.dev/blog/glide-clouds-volumetric

Published: 2026-09-11 · 1 min read · Tags: three.js, webgl, clouds, atmosphere, launch

A flat sky is the first thing that gives a 3D scene away. Glide Clouds is a small aviation concept built to show the opposite: **volumetric clouds in the browser**, soft and layered, that you can fly through.

![The sky of Glide Clouds](https://andersonmancini.dev/images/glide_clouds.webp)

## What to look at

The scene has two ideas that work together:

- **Volumetric clouds.** They are volumes, and not billboards, and light scatters through them, so the sky feels deep and not painted on a dome.
- **Cinematic lens flares.** The same light that cuts through the cloud bank blooms across the frame, so atmosphere and camera optics read as one coherent look.

It is a focused technical demo: realistic sky density and optical response, working together for a flight-inspired moment that still runs in real time.

## Where it went next

The clouds went on to become a component for React Three Fiber. There are videos about the [volumetric cloud component](https://andersonmancini.dev/videos/volumetric-cloud-component-for-react-three-fiber-three-js.md) and about [the clouds running in a project](https://andersonmancini.dev/videos/threejs-volumetric-clouds-react-three-fiber-demo.md).

## Try it

The scene is live at [threejs-aviation.vercel.app](https://threejs-aviation.vercel.app/), and there are more details on the [project page](https://andersonmancini.dev/projects/glide-clouds.md).

## Related projects

- [Glide clouds](https://andersonmancini.dev/projects/glide-clouds.md) — Volumetric clouds with cinematic lens flares