3D scatter plot with depth-based size scaling and reference projections

geom_point_3d() creates scatter plots in 3D space with automatic depth-based size scaling. Points closer to the viewer appear larger, while points farther away appear smaller, creating realistic perspective effects. Optionally adds reference lines and points projecting to cube faces.

Usage

geom_point_3d(
  mapping = NULL,
  data = NULL,
  stat = StatPoint3D,
  position = "identity",
  ...,
  na.rm = FALSE,
  show.legend = NA,
  inherit.aes = TRUE,
  scale_depth = TRUE,
  raw_points = TRUE,
  ref_lines = FALSE,
  ref_points = FALSE,
  ref_faces = "zmin",
  ref_circle_radius = 1.5,
  ref_circle_vertices = 16,
  ref_line_color = NULL,
  ref_line_colour = NULL,
  ref_line_linewidth = 0.25,
  ref_line_linetype = NULL,
  ref_line_alpha = NULL,
  ref_point_color = NULL,
  ref_point_colour = NULL,
  ref_point_fill = NULL,
  ref_point_size = NULL,
  ref_point_alpha = NULL,
  ref_point_stroke = NULL,
  ref_point_shape = NULL
)

Arguments

mapping

Set of aesthetic mappings created by aes(). In addition to the standard point aesthetics, geom_point_3d() requires x, y, and z coordinates.

data

The data to be displayed in this layer.

stat

The statistical transformation to use on the data. Defaults to StatPoint3D for proper discrete scale handling and reference line support.

position

Position adjustment, defaults to "identity".

...

Other arguments passed on to layer().

na.rm

If FALSE, missing values are removed with a warning.

show.legend

Logical indicating whether this layer should be included in legends.

inherit.aes

If FALSE, overrides the default aesthetics.

scale_depth

Logical indicating whether to apply depth-based scaling to point sizes, point stroke widths, and reference line widths. When TRUE (default), points/lines closer to the viewer appear larger/wider, and points farther away appear smaller. When FALSE, all points/lines have uniform size/width.

raw_points

Logical indicating whether to show the original 3D points. Default is TRUE.

ref_lines

Logical indicating whether to show reference lines projecting from points to cube faces. Default is FALSE.

ref_points

Type of reference points to create. Options:

FALSE: No reference points (default)
TRUE or "circles": Circular reference points that project properly
"points": Single-point references (renders faster and supports non-circular shapes, but point shape is not 3D-transformed)

ref_faces

Character vector specifying which cube faces to project to. Valid face names are: "xmin", "xmax", "ymin", "ymax", "zmin", "zmax". Default is "zmin" (bottom face). Multiple faces can be specified.

ref_circle_radius

Radius for circular reference points as percentage of standardized coordinate space.

ref_circle_vertices

Number of vertices for circular reference points (higher = smoother).

ref_line_color, ref_line_colour, ref_line_linewidth, ref_line_linetype, ref_line_alpha

Styling overrides for reference lines. When NULL, inherits from point aesthetics or uses defaults. Both American (ref_line_color) and British (ref_line_colour) spellings are accepted.

ref_point_color, ref_point_colour, ref_point_fill, ref_point_size, ref_point_alpha, ref_point_stroke, ref_point_shape

Styling overrides for reference points and circles. When NULL, inherits from raw point aesthetics with shape-aware logic (complex shapes 21-25 vs simple shapes 0-20/characters). Both American (ref_point_color) and British (ref_point_colour) spellings are accepted.

Aesthetics

geom_point_3d() supports all the same aesthetics as geom_point(), plus z:

x: X coordinate (required)
y: Y coordinate (required)
z: Z coordinate (required)
alpha: Transparency
colour: Point border color
fill: Point fill color (for certain shapes)
shape: Point shape
size: Point size (gets depth-scaled when scale_depth = TRUE)
stroke: Border width for shapes with borders

Depth Scaling

The depth scaling uses an inverse relationship with distance, following the mathematical relationship: apparent_size = base_size * reference_distance / actual_distance

This creates realistic perspective where:

Objects twice as far appear half as big
Objects twice as close appear twice as big
The center of the plot volume renders at exactly the user-specified size

Point Rendering

ggcube uses shape-aware rendering for improved stroke behavior:

Simple shapes (0-20, characters): Use size for fontsize, stroke for border width, no fill
Complex shapes (21-25): Use ggplot2's approach: size + 0.5*stroke for fontsize to prevent gaps
Both size and stroke are depth-scaled when scale_depth = TRUE
All shapes preserve stroke depth scaling and parameter control

Reference Features

Reference lines and points help visualize the 3D relationships by projecting data points onto cube faces:

Reference lines: Connect each 3D point to its projection on specified faces
Reference points: Show the projected location on the faces
Reference circles: Circular projections that appear as realistic 3D shadows
Depth sorting: All elements (original points, reference lines, reference points) are automatically depth-sorted for proper 3D rendering

Aesthetic Inheritance

Reference elements intelligently inherit styling from raw points:

Shape-aware: Complex shapes (21-25) with fill/colour are handled differently from simple shapes (0-20/characters)
Alpha detection: If all points have alpha=1, uses 0.5 default for ref elements; otherwise inherits mapped alpha
Priority: Explicit ref_* parameters > mapped aesthetics > smart defaults

Examples

library(ggplot2)

# Basic 3D scatter plot with depth scaling
ggplot(expand.grid(x = 1:5, y = 1:5, z = 1:5),
       aes(x, y, z, fill = z)) +
  geom_point_3d(size = 10, shape = 21, color = "white", stroke = .1) +
  coord_3d(pitch = 40, roll = 5, yaw = 0, dist = 1.5) +
  scale_fill_viridis_c()


# Add circular reference points on 2D face panel
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt, qsec)) +
  geom_point_3d(size = 3,
    ref_points = TRUE, ref_lines = TRUE, ref_faces = "zmin") +
  coord_3d()


# Aesthetic inheritance - ref elements inherit color and fill
ggplot(mpg, aes(displ, hwy, cty, color = cty, fill = cty)) +
  geom_point_3d(shape = 21, size = 3,
                ref_points = TRUE, ref_lines = TRUE,
                ref_faces = "zmin") +
  coord_3d()


# Use point-style references with custom shape
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt, qsec)) +
  geom_point_3d(ref_points = "points", ref_lines = TRUE,
                ref_point_shape = 4, ref_point_size = 2,
                ref_line_alpha = 0.5) +
  coord_3d()


# Show only circular reference projections (no original points)
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt, qsec)) +
  geom_point_3d(raw_points = FALSE, ref_points = "circles", ref_lines = TRUE,
                ref_faces = c("zmin", "ymin")) +
  coord_3d()


# Project to multiple faces with custom circle styling
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt, qsec, color = factor(cyl))) +
  geom_point_3d(ref_points = "circles", ref_lines = TRUE,
                ref_faces = c("zmin", "ymin", "xmax"),
                ref_line_color = "grey50", ref_line_alpha = 0.3,
                ref_point_fill = "white", ref_point_stroke = 0.8,
                ref_circle_radius = 1) +
  coord_3d()


# Disable depth scaling for uniform sizes
ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt, qsec)) +
  geom_point_3d(scale_depth = FALSE, size = 3) +
  coord_3d()