mplot3d tutorial

Getting started

Create a new matplotlib.figure.Figure and an Axes3D object in it:

import pylab
fig = pylab.figure()
from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import Axes3D
ax = Axes3D(fig)

Line plots

Axes3D.plot(xs, ys, *args, **kwargs)

Plot 2D or 3D data.

Argument	Description
xs, ys	X, y coordinates of vertices
zs	z value(s), either one for all points or one for each point.
zdir	Which direction to use as z (‘x’, ‘y’ or ‘z’) when plotting a 2d set.

Other arguments are passed on to plot()

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Scatter plots

Axes3D.scatter(xs, ys, zs=0, zdir='z', *args, **kwargs)

Create a scatter plot.

Argument	Description
xs, ys	Positions of data points.
zs	Either an array of the same length as xs and ys or a single value to place all points in the same plane. Default is 0.
zdir	Which direction to use as z (‘x’, ‘y’ or ‘z’) when plotting a 2d set.

Keyword arguments are passed on to scatter().

Returns a Patch3DCollection

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Wireframe plots

Axes3D.plot_wireframe(X, Y, Z, *args, **kwargs)

Plot a 3D wireframe.

Argument	Description
X, Y,	Data values as numpy.arrays
Z
rstride	Array row stride (step size)
cstride	Array column stride (step size)

Keyword arguments are passed on to matplotlib.collections.LineCollection.__init__().

Returns a Line3DCollection

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Surface plots

Axes3D.plot_surface(X, Y, Z, *args, **kwargs)

Create a surface plot.

By default it will be colored in shades of a solid color, but it also supports color mapping by supplying the cmap argument.

Argument	Description
X, Y,	Data values as numpy.arrays
Z
rstride	Array row stride (step size)
cstride	Array column stride (step size)
color	Color of the surface patches
cmap	A colormap for the surface patches.

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Contour plots

Axes3D.contour(X, Y, Z, levels=10, **kwargs)

Create a 3D contour plot.

Argument	Description
X, Y,	Data values as numpy.arrays
Z
levels	Number of levels to use, defaults to 10. Can also be a tuple of specific levels.
extend3d	Whether to extend contour in 3D (default: False)
stride	Stride (step size) for extending contour

Other keyword arguments are passed on to contour()

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Filled contour plots

Axes3D.contourf(X, Y, Z, *args, **kwargs)

Plot filled 3D contours.

X, Y, Z: data points.

Keyword arguments are passed on to contour()

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Polygon plots

Axes3D.add_collection3d(col, zs=0, zdir='z')

Add a 3d collection object to the plot.

2D collection types are converted to a 3D version by modifying the object and adding z coordinate information.

Supported are:

• PolyCollection
• LineColleciton
• PatchCollection

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Bar plots

Axes3D.bar(left, height, zs=0, zdir='z', *args, **kwargs)

Add 2D bar(s).

Argument	Description
left	The x coordinates of the left sides of the bars.
height	The height of the bars.
zs	Z coordinate of bars, if one value is specified they will all be placed at the same z.
zdir	Which direction to use as z (‘x’, ‘y’ or ‘z’) when plotting a 2d set.

Keyword arguments are passed onto bar().

Returns a Patch3DCollection

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

2D plots in 3D

[source code, hires.png, pdf]

Text

Axes3D.text(x, y, z, s, zdir=None)

Add text to the plot.

[source code, hires.png, pdf]