# 3D (surface) plots

Surface plots are generated using the splot command rather than the plot command. The style with lines draws a surface made from a grid of lines. Solid surfaces can be drawn using the style with pm3d. Usually the surface is displayed at some arbitrary viewing angle, such that it clearly represents a 3D surface. In this case the X, Y, and Z axes are all visible in the plot. The illusion of 3D is enhanced by choosing hidden line removal or depth-sorted surface elements. See hidden3d (p. ) and the depthorder (p. ) option of set pm3d (p. ). The splot command can also calculate and draw contour lines corresponding to constant Z values. These contour lines may be drawn onto the surface itself, or projected onto the XY plane. See set contour (p. ).

Subsections

- 2D projection (set view map)