Description of arguments in surface plot function in Python

Question

Hi I am writing a code which uses ax.plot_surface() to plot data on a unit sphere for theta = linspace(0,pi,100) and phi = linspace(0,2*pi,100).

For some reason my image is distorted in the sense that the sphere is ahead of the axis. Does anyone have any idea of why this would be the case?

could downvoters explain to help improve the qu? Although it could include example code to produce a specific problem, a quick look at the docs do not immediately explain any of the arguments asked about. So the question has merit, no? — Bonlenfum, Mar 02 '18 at 11:16
The problem with this question is that it asks about parameters which are irrelevant to the problem. Either ask about the parameters (and be happy with the answer to it) or ask about the specific problem you have.. — ImportanceOfBeingErnest, Mar 02 '18 at 13:10
@ImportanceOfBeingErnest I edited the question now in line with your suggestion. — John Doe, Mar 02 '18 at 13:15
See [this question](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44091229/trim-data-outside-3d-plot-in-matplotlib). — ImportanceOfBeingErnest, Mar 02 '18 at 13:19
@ImportanceOfBeingErnest I don't think it's data outlier problem. It's just a visual perspective problem. Do you know how to by default display the set of axis in front of the graph? — John Doe, Mar 02 '18 at 13:27
As I see it, it is exactly the same problem. The data is shown outside the axes. — ImportanceOfBeingErnest, Mar 02 '18 at 13:29

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 02 '18 at 11:17

3D plotting isn't necessarily a good place to start learning how to use plotting libraries; the fundamentals are more often explained in simpler 2d plots. But to get started,

read the 3d tutorial
use the 3d examples for reference
experiment! Produce the same figure with different parameter settings.

The specific parameters you asked about:

linewidth is not relevant for the plot_surface, but does make a big difference in the closely related plot_wireframe. See this example and experiment with the linewidth value. 1 is default.
alpha refers to transparency, of a graphical element. Any value <1 will mean it is possible to see other lines etc, even directly behind. This example uses alpha=0.3 in 3d
antialiased controls whether the rendering is done with anti-aliasing or not. It is more expensive to use, but the result is to reduce visual distortions. See https://stackoverflow.com/a/8750463 which also links this explanation of the method.

Description of arguments in surface plot function in Python

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