Isosurface plots appear 2d when used with subplot

Hi all,

I'm trying to put together some isosurface plots using subplot. I want them to be 3d and rotatable. However, when I try using subplot together with isosurface, the plots appear 2d and are not rotatable. What am I missing? Consider the following, for instance:

[x,y,z] = meshgrid([-3:0.25:3]); 
V = x.*exp(-x.^2 -y.^2 -z.^2);

for i=1:4
    subplot(2,2,i);
    
    isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);
end

[Saksham Gupta]

As per my understanding of your query, are unable to rotate subplots.

View function , when used with subplots ,can help in rotating each subplot individually.

Following code might be helpful to you:

[x,y,z] = meshgrid([-3:0.25:3]); 
V = x.*exp(-x.^2 -y.^2 -z.^2);
for i=1:4
    subplot(2,2,i);
    
    isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);
    
    %Below line can be added 
    view(subplot(2,2,i),[10,10]);
end

Here ,[10,10] is a random elevation angle I have applied.

You may also refer to the documentation for better understanding

[Irem Altan]

Thanks! This partially solves the problem. Things are now rotatable in a 3d view but the shading is still flat compared to a single plot.

Answer 1

[William Rose]

@Irem Altan,

I find that if I click twice on the 3D rotate icon above each plot, I am able to rotate thenm. Here is a screenshot showing your four plots, with three of them rotated.

[William Rose]

@Irem Altan,

I agree with you that the 3D rotate seems to operate oddly in your example. When I first generated the figure, using your code, I moved my cursor over the plot, and the 3D rotate cursor appeared. But when I click and drag, it only pans, rather than rotating in 3D. So I clicked on the 3D rotate icon above the plot. That un-selected 3D rotate. Then I clicked it again to select 3D rotate, and then it worked.

[Irem Altan]

Thanks for that -- I hadn't realized it. However, the plots still lack the proper 3d rendering (when compared to a single plot without subplot).

[William Rose]

@Irem Altan,

I'm not sure why the rendering is not correct.

I tried using nexttile instead of subplot, to create multiple plots in one figure.

[x,y,z] = meshgrid([-3:0.25:3]); 
V = x.*exp(-x.^2 -y.^2 -z.^2);
nexttile; isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);
nexttile; isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);
nexttile; isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);
nexttile; isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4);

I got the same result as with subplot: the shading was not rendered correctly.

[Irem Altan]

Thank you for trying that as well. At this point I'm not sure if this is a bug or something else. I have reached out to tech support and will see what they say.

Answer 2

[Saksham Gupta]

As per my understanding, you are telling that whole image is coming in 1 color only and not in shades as it comes for single plot.

On inputing x again as a parameter to isosurface, subplots should have the relevant shading.

For customizing colors and shading more, you should check out this documentation.

Below is the code I am using at my end :

[x,y,z] = meshgrid([-3:0.25:3]); 
V = x.*exp(-x.^2 -y.^2 -z.^2);
for i=1:4
    subplot(2,2,i);
    
    isosurface(x,y,z,V,1e-4,x);

    view(subplot(2,2,i),[10,10]);

end