How to plot sectors in 3D with Matplotlib?

Question

I wish to have two sectors (one in blue color, the other in black pencil) in 3D , and they share the same vertex on the plane. The black pencil one lies on the plane, whereas the blue one is theta above the plane.

The effect I am expecting is shown as the picture here.

It would be nice if I can also mark the three angles out.

What I have tried:

from matplotlib.patches import Wedge
from matplotlib.collections import PatchCollection
from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import Axes3D
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
fig = plt.figure()
ax = Axes3D(fig)
patches = []
patches.append(Wedge((.8,.3), .2, 0, 45))
p = PatchCollection(patches)
ax.add_collection3d(p)
plt.show()

Answer 1

The issue you will ultimately run into is that matplotlib 3d is only a projection of shapes, and does not try to render an object in 3d.

It is possible and well demonstrated in this post but I advise you run the code from @Lileth's answer to see where the projection limits you.

Alternatives exist such as:

• Mayavi where you could use mesh() , defining two arrays for the shapes.

• If you are familiar with Latex, Tikz is capable of producing fantastic 3d plots, but the learning curve is quite steep -- in general it is best to choose the example closest to what you want and hack rather than go from scratch.