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Graphics and Visualisation: 3D Plot: Line Plots in 3D

The document discusses line plots and surface plots in 3D using Matlab. It describes the plot3 function for displaying line plots of data with 3 variables, with one variable representing time. Surface plots use the mesh, surf and contour functions to display data where two variables are functions of a third. Meshgrid generates 2D arrays of x and y coordinates, and shading interp provides interpolated shading to surfaces. Parametric representations and functions like sphere and cylinder can generate surface points. Lambertian shading models how light interacts with a surface to determine its brightness.

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Shinto Tokayashi
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30 views6 pages

Graphics and Visualisation: 3D Plot: Line Plots in 3D

The document discusses line plots and surface plots in 3D using Matlab. It describes the plot3 function for displaying line plots of data with 3 variables, with one variable representing time. Surface plots use the mesh, surf and contour functions to display data where two variables are functions of a third. Meshgrid generates 2D arrays of x and y coordinates, and shading interp provides interpolated shading to surfaces. Parametric representations and functions like sphere and cylinder can generate surface points. Lambertian shading models how light interacts with a surface to determine its brightness.

Uploaded by

Shinto Tokayashi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Line plots in 3D

Lecture 14:
Graphics and Visualisation: 3D Plot

The plot3 function is just like the plot function except


that it accepts 3D data.
The plot3 function allows you to display line plots in 3D.
>> plot3(x, y, z);

% plot3 also accepts a string


% specifying colour and line
% types.

This form of plot is appropriate when you have two variables


that are functions of a third variable:
x = f1(z)
y = f2(z)
Often the z variable represents time. This allows you to
display how the x and y coordinates of a point vary over time.

3D line plot example


For example, the following commands:
>> t = 0 : 0.1 : 10;
>> x = exp(-0.2*t) .* cos(2*t);
>> y = exp(-0.2*t) .* sin(2*t);
>> plot3(x, y, t), xlabel('x'),
ylabel('y'), zlabel('time');

produces the plot:

Control 3D plots
If desired, axis ranges of 3D plots can be set with the axis
command:
>> axis([xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, zmin, zmax]);
An important part of understanding a 3D plot is determining the
orientation that you are viewing the data from.
Use the following commands to help control a 3D plot:
>> box on;

% Draws a 3D enclosing box.

>> grid on;

% Draws a grid on the axis surfaces.

>> rotate3d on;

% Allows interactive viewing by


% dragging the mouse in the image.

Surface plotting in 3D
The plot3 function is suitable for displaying two
variables that are a function of one independent
variable:

mesh, surf, and contour functions


Matlab's mesh, surf, and contour functions are
used for displaying this kind of data:
>> mesh(X, Y, Z)

% Creates a mesh or wire-frame plot.


% X is a 2D array of the x coordinate

x = f1(t)
y = f2(t)

% of every point to plot.


% Y is a 2D array of the y coordinate
% of every point to plot.

When you have a single variable that is a function of


two independent variables, say:
z = f(x, y)
then a surface display is more appropriate.

% Z is a 2D array of the z coordinate


% of every point to plot.
>> surf(X, Y, Z)

% Creates a surface plot.

>> contour(X, Y, Z)

% Creates a contour plot.

The meshgrid function


The meshgrid function is extremely useful for
generating the X and Y 2D arrays for a 3D plot.
>> Xvals = -2 : 1 : 2;

% Generate axis vectors.

>> Yvals = -2 : 1 : 2;
>> [X, Y] = meshgrid(Xvals, Yvals)

% Make a mesh grid.

% X is a matrix with every element


% value set to its x coordinate.
X =
-2
-2

-1
-1

0
0

1
1

2
2

-2
-2

-1
-1

0
0

1
1

2
2

-2

-1

Meshgrid Example Continues


Y =
-2
-1
0
1
2

-2
-1
0
1
2

-2
-1
0
1
2

% Y is a matrix with every element


% value set to its y coordinate.
-2
-2
-1
-1
0
0
1
1
2
2

% Now calculate the function values on this mesh.


>> Z = X .* exp(-(X.^2 + Y.^2));
% A 2D Gaussian .* X.
>> mesh(X, Y, Z);

% Display the plot as a mesh.

>> surf(X, Y, Z);

% Display the plot as a surface.

>> contour(X, Y, Z);

% Display the plot as a contour.

Mesh, Surface and Contour Plot


By decreasing the
increment in the
axis vector
generation
commands, we
can produce plots
like:

Surface plotting with a single argument


You can also invoke these surface displaying
functions with a single argument.
This single argument is treated as the 2D array of Z
values for each point.
The X and Y arrays default to a range of [1 .. the
number of rows/columns of Z].
For example:
>> surf(Z)

Parametric surface representation


This specification of surfaces by three separate arrays - one
for each of the x, y and z coordinates of each data point is
actually a parametric surface representation.
A parametric surface is parameterized by two independent
variables, i and j, which vary continuously over a rectangle.
You can then specify functions x(i,j), y(i,j), and z(i,j) which
determine the way in which x, y and z coordinates vary with i
and j over the surface.
For example, the surface of the earth is parameterized in
terms of longitude and latitude.

2D arrays == flat ?
In discrete terms, Matlab represents parametric
surfaces in terms of 2D arrays of X, Y, and Z values
that correspond to each (i, j) grid point on the
surface.
Hence the arguments to the mesh, surf, and contour
functions are 2D arrays of points.
In the plots shown so far, the X and Y 2D arrays are
"flat", but there is no need for them to be like that...

You can draw a map of the earth as a flat rectangle, but at


each longitude and latitude we can determine the x, y and z
values that correspond to the actual location of that point in
space.

A triangular prism
A very wide variety of shapes can be
represented, e.g. a triangular prism can
be represented by:
X =

Functions for generating points


Matlab provides some other handy functions for generating
the points of parametric surfaces, eg. cylinder and
sphere...
>> [X, Y, Z] = cylinder(R, N);

1.0

-0.5

-0.5

1.0

% Generates an N sided cylinder. R is an array of

1.0

-0.5

-0.5

1.0

Y =
0.0
0.0

% radius values to be used along the length of


% the cylinder.

0.866
0.866

-0.866
-0.866

0.0
0.0

Z =
0.0
1.0

0.0
1.0

>> [X, Y, Z] = cylinder([1 1], 3);


% Produces a 3 sided prism.
>> [X, Y, Z] = cylinder([1 0], 4);

0.0
1.0

0.0
1.0

% Produces a 4 sided pyramid.


>> [X, Y, Z] = sphere(N);
% Produces a parametrically defined sphere.

Parametric Surface Plots

Surfaces with shading


Matlab's default way of displaying a surface is to shade each facet with a
colour that is a function of the facet's nominal z value (its height).
Matlab also superimposes the black mesh lines.
Often a nicer way to display a surface is with interpolated shading.
This is done with the shading interp command.
For example:
>> surf(X, Y, Z)
>> shading interp

With this shading option, the colour of each facet is varied linearly across
the facet so that the shading at the edges of adjacent facets match (called
Gouraud shading). No mesh is drawn.

Nice looking surfaces


For a really nice looking surface use:
>> surfl(X, Y, Z)
>> shading interp

Example
>> [X Y Z] = cylinder([3 1 3 4 2 2 ],500);
>> surfl(X, Y, Z)
>> shading interp

The surfl function behaves just like surf but renders a surface
according to the current lighting model (the default lighting
model is fine for almost every purpose you might have).
The shading across the surface is no longer a function of its
"height".
Instead the shading is a function of the relative angle
between the incident light and the surface normal at each
point.

Lambertian shading

Surface normal vector and light vector

Lambertian shading is a common shading model.


With Lambertian shading, the brightness of each
point in the image is proportional to the cosine of
the angle between the surface normal and the
incident light at each point.
When the light is shining directly on a surface one
obtains full brightness (cos(0) = 1) which reduces to
zero where the incident light is tangential to a
surface (cos(pi/2) = 0).

The process and the power of shading


A communication between the renderer and the shader.

Why shading is useful?


The human visual system is very good at interpreting a
surface that has Lambertian shading.
We can readily deduce the shape of an object from its shading
pattern (this is an active of research called shape from
shading).
We can also readily determine the viewing angle without, say,
the aid of an enclosing box around the plot. This too helps in
interpretation.
Matt paint and sand dunes are approximations of Lambertian
surfaces.

http://www.upvector.com/index.php?section=tutorials&subsection=tutorials/shading_1

The Moon is an interesting example of a non Lambertian


surface - no-one knows why!

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