# slama.dev

## Manim – 3D and the Other Graphs

Manim , released on 19. 7. 2022

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, → Part 4 ←

In this part of the series, we’ll take a look at Manim’s tools for 3D animations and also at plotting all sorts of graphs.

### Binary operations

We’ll briefly take a look at binary operations on Manim objects, since they might come in handy for more advanced animations. We’ll use the builtin classes from the boolean_ops file, namely Difference, Intersection and Union.

from manim import *

class BooleanOperations(Scene):
def construct(self):

circle = Circle(fill_opacity=0.75, color=RED).scale(2).shift(LEFT * 1.5)
square = Square(fill_opacity=0.75, color=GREEN).scale(2).shift(RIGHT * 1.5)

group = VGroup(circle, square)

self.play(Write(group))

self.play(group.animate.scale(0.5).shift(UP * 1.6))

union = Union(circle, square, fill_opacity=1, color=BLUE)

for operation, position, name in zip(
[Intersection, Union, Difference],
[LEFT * 4.5, ORIGIN, RIGHT * 4.5],
["Intersection", "Union", "Difference"],
):
result = operation(circle, square, fill_opacity=1, color=DARK_BLUE)
result_position = DOWN * 1.3 + position

label = Tex(name).move_to(result_position).scale(0.8)

self.play(
AnimationGroup(
result.animate.move_to(result_position),
Write(label, run_time=0.5),
lag_ratio=0.8,
)
)


When using the aforementioned classes, it is important to keep in mind that they are restricted to vector objects (the VMobject class) with non-zero area, meaning that intersecting two intersecting lines does not produce a point (although it geometrically should).

### Graphs (the other ones)

Graphs are an essential part of any math/CS-oriented graphical tool. The ones we’ll be covering in this part of the series are the ones you plot (as opposed to the combinatorial ones covered in the previous part). We’ll be mainly using the Axes class and its parent CoordinateSystem.

#### Using expressions

The simplest way to plot a graph of a function using an expression.

from manim import *
from math import sin

class GraphExample(Scene):
def construct(self):
axes = Axes(x_range=[-5, 5], y_range=[-3, 7])
labels = axes.get_axis_labels(x_label="x", y_label="y")

def f1(x):
return x ** 2

def f2(x):
return sin(x)

g1 = axes.plot(f1, color=RED)
g2 = axes.plot(f2, color=BLUE)

self.play(Write(axes), Write(labels))

self.play(AnimationGroup(Write(g1), Write(g2), lag_ratio=0.5))

self.play(Unwrite(axes), Unwrite(labels), Unwrite(g1), Unwrite(g2))


When drawing this way, it is important for the functions to be continuous (and when they are not, draw them by part). This is due to the fact that Manim draws them by sampling their function values which it then interpolates via a curve (a polynomial passing through the sampled points) and thus cannot know about the discontinuity.

from manim import *
from math import sin

class DiscontinuousGraphExample(Scene):
def construct(self):
axes = Axes(x_range=[-5, 5], y_range=[-3, 7])
labels = axes.get_axis_labels(x_label="x", y_label="y")

def f(x):
return 1 / x

g_left = axes.plot(f, x_range=[-5, -0.1], color=GREEN)
g_right = axes.plot(f, x_range=[0.1, 5], color=GREEN)

self.play(Write(axes), Write(labels))

self.play(AnimationGroup(Write(g_left), Write(g_right), lag_ratio=0.5))

self.play(Unwrite(axes), Unwrite(labels), Unwrite(g_left), Unwrite(g_right))


#### Parametric graphs

The other, more general way to define a graph is parametrically – we’re also defining the function using an expression, but it is a single parameter function returning the corresponding pair of coordinates.

from manim import *
from math import sin, cos

class ParametricGraphExample(Scene):
def construct(self):
axes = Axes(x_range=[-10, 10], y_range=[-5, 5])
labels = axes.get_axis_labels(x_label="x", y_label="y")

def f1(t):
"""Parametric function of a circle."""
return (cos(t) * 3 - 4.5, sin(t) * 3)

def f2(t):
"""Parametric function of <3."""
return (
0.2 * (16 * (sin(t)) ** 3) + 4.5,
0.2 * (13 * cos(t) - 5 * cos(2 * t) - 2 * cos(3 * t) - cos(4 * t)),
)

# the t_range parameter determines the range of the parametric function parameter
g1 = axes.plot_parametric_curve(f1, color=RED, t_range=[0, 2 * PI])
g2 = axes.plot_parametric_curve(f2, color=BLUE, t_range=[-PI, PI])

self.play(Write(axes), Write(labels))

self.play(AnimationGroup(Write(g1), Write(g2), lag_ratio=0.5))

self.play(Unwrite(axes), Unwrite(labels), Unwrite(g1), Unwrite(g2))


#### Line graphs

Besides defining the graph in terms of expressions, it is also possible to define it using the raw values themselves.

from manim import *
from random import random, seed

class LineGraphExample(Scene):
def construct(self):

# value to graph (x, y);  np.arange(l, r, step) returns a list
# from l (inclusive) do r (non-inclusive) with steps of size step
x_values = np.arange(-1, 1 + 0.25, 0.25)
y_values = [random() for _ in x_values]

# include axis numbers this time
axes = Axes(
x_range=[-1, 1, 0.25],
y_range=[-0.1, 1, 0.25],
x_axis_config={"numbers_to_include": x_values},
y_axis_config={"numbers_to_include": np.arange(0, 1, 0.25)},
axis_config={"decimal_number_config": {"num_decimal_places": 2}},
)

labels = axes.get_axis_labels(x_label="x", y_label="y")

graph = axes.plot_line_graph(x_values=x_values, y_values=y_values)

self.play(Write(axes), Write(labels))

self.play(Write(graph), run_time=2)

self.play(Unwrite(axes), Unwrite(labels), Unwrite(graph))


### Introduction to 3D

Let’s finally explore the world of 3D in Manim!

#### Basics

The most important thing is that we get a new dimension which we’ll call $z$. We also get two new constants for this dimension which we can use to move objects in it: OUT (positive) and IN (negative). To render the scene in 3D, we’ll have to use ThreeDScene.

from manim import *

class Axes3DExample(ThreeDScene):
def construct(self):
axes = ThreeDAxes()

x_label = axes.get_x_axis_label(Tex("x"))
y_label = axes.get_y_axis_label(Tex("y")).shift(UP * 1.8)

# 3D variant of the Dot() object
dot = Dot3D()

# zoom out so we see the axes
self.set_camera_orientation(zoom=0.5)

self.wait(0.5)

# animate the move of the camera to properly see the axes
self.move_camera(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES, zoom=1, run_time=1.5)

# built-in updater which begins camera rotation
self.begin_ambient_camera_rotation(rate=0.15)

# one dot for each direction
upDot = dot.copy().set_color(RED)
rightDot = dot.copy().set_color(BLUE)
outDot = dot.copy().set_color(GREEN)

self.wait(1)

self.play(
upDot.animate.shift(UP),
rightDot.animate.shift(RIGHT),
outDot.animate.shift(OUT),
)

self.wait(2)


As you can see, the initial camera position assumes that we’re working in 2D. To control it, we used the set_camera_orientation to set its position and begin_ambient_camera_rotation to begin an ambient rotation. The used arguments phi ($\varphi$) a theta ($\vartheta$) determine the position like so.

Besides the ThreeDAxes object used to work with the 3D axes, Manim also contains a number of 3D primitives that you can use to create more complex 3D scenes.

from manim import *

class Rotation3DExample(ThreeDScene):
def construct(self):
cube = Cube(side_length=3, fill_opacity=1)

self.begin_ambient_camera_rotation(rate=0.3)

self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES)

self.play(Write(cube), run_time=2)

self.wait(3)

self.play(Unwrite(cube), run_time=2)


#### Operations

Translating and rotating objects in 3D behaves just like you would expect (again using shift and scale). Rotation is a bit trickier, since it isn’t entirely clear what should happen when rotating an object by a certain amount of degrees. It is quite an interesting topic and has a number of solutions (see Euler angles and Quaternions) if you’re interested, we’ll however use the most simple one: specify an axis that the object will rotate about.

from manim import *

class Basic3DExample(ThreeDScene):
def construct(self):
cube = Cube(side_length=3, fill_opacity=0.5)

self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES)

for axis in [RIGHT, UP, OUT]:
self.play(Rotate(cube, PI / 2, about_point=ORIGIN, axis=axis))



#### Binomic Distribution Simulation

Create an animation of the Galton board.

There are a number of new classes that will be useful for creating the movement of the marble. The main one is the CubicBezier, which can be used to model the path and animated by MoveAlongPath. To create the moving and fading animation, you can use the custom MoveAndFade animation, the functionality of which will be covered in the upcoming series part.

Also, the rate functions from the previous part will come in handy to make the movement look believable.

from manim import *
from random import choice, seed

def __init__(self, mobject: Mobject, path: VMobject, **kwargs):
self.path = path
self.original = mobject.copy()
super().__init__(mobject, **kwargs)

def interpolate_mobject(self, alpha: float) -> None:
point = self.path.point_from_proportion(self.rate_func(alpha))

# this is not entirely clean sice we're creating a new object

class BezierExample(Scene):
def construct(self):
point_coordinates = [
UP + LEFT * 3,  # starting
UP + RIGHT * 2,  # 1. control
DOWN + LEFT * 2,  # 2. control
DOWN + RIGHT * 3,  # starting
]

points = VGroup(*[Dot().move_to(position) for position in point_coordinates]).scale(1.5)

# make control points blue
points[1].set_color(BLUE)
points[2].set_color(BLUE)

bezier = CubicBezier(*point_coordinates).scale(1.5)

self.play(Write(bezier), Write(points))

# regular moving along path
circle = Circle(fill_color=GREEN, fill_opacity=1, stroke_opacity=0).scale(0.25).move_to(points[0])

self.play(MoveAlongPath(circle, bezier))

# moving along path with fading
circle = Circle(fill_color=GREEN, fill_opacity=1, stroke_opacity=0).scale(0.25).move_to(points[0])



For additional information about the behavior of Bézier curves, I highly recommend Jason Davies’ incredible interactive website, which explains everything very elegantly.

Author's Solution
from manim import *
from random import choice, seed

def __init__(self, mobject: Mobject, path: VMobject, **kwargs):
self.path = path
self.original = mobject.copy()
super().__init__(mobject, **kwargs)

def interpolate_mobject(self, alpha: float) -> None:
point = self.path.point_from_proportion(self.rate_func(alpha))

# this is not entirely clean sice we're creating a new object

class BinomialDistributionSimulation(Scene):
def create_graph(x_values, y_values):
"""Build a graph with the given values."""
y_values_all = list(range(0, (max(y_values) or 1) + 1))

axes = (
Axes(
x_range=[-n // 2 + 1, n // 2, 1],
y_range=[0, max(y_values) or 1, 1],
x_axis_config={"numbers_to_include": x_values},
tips=False,
)
.scale(0.45)
.shift(LEFT * 3.0)
)

graph = axes.plot_line_graph(x_values=x_values, y_values=y_values)

return graph, axes

def construct(self):

n = 9
pyramid = VGroup()
pyramid_values = []  # how many marbles fell where

# build the pyramid
for i in range(1, n + 1):
row = VGroup()

for j in range(i):
obj = Dot()

# if it's the last row, make the rows numbers instead
if i == n:
obj = Tex("0")
pyramid_values.append(0)

row.arrange(buff=2 * x_spacing)

if len(pyramid) != 0:
row.move_to(pyramid[-1]).shift(DOWN * y_spacing)

pyramid.move_to(RIGHT * 3.4)

x_values = np.arange(-n // 2 + 1, n // 2 + 1, 1)

graph, axes = create_graph(x_values, pyramid_values)

self.play(Write(axes), Write(pyramid), Write(graph), run_time=1.5)

for iteration in range(120):
circle = (
Circle(fill_opacity=1, stroke_opacity=0)
.next_to(pyramid[0][0], UP, buff=0)
)

# go faster and faster
run_time = (
0.5
if iteration == 0
else 0.1
if iteration == 1
else 0.02
if iteration < 20
else 0.003
)

self.play(FadeIn(circle, shift=DOWN * 0.5), run_time=run_time * 2)

x = 0
for i in range(1, n):
next_position = choice([0, 1])
x += next_position

dir = LEFT if next_position == 0 else RIGHT

circle_center = circle.get_center()

# behave normally when it's not the last row
if i != n - 1:
b = CubicBezier(
circle_center,
circle_center + dir * x_spacing,
circle_center + dir * x_spacing + DOWN * y_spacing / 2,
circle.copy().next_to(pyramid[i][x], UP, buff=0).get_center(),
)

self.play(
run_time=run_time,
)

else:
b = CubicBezier(
circle_center,
circle_center + dir * x_spacing,
circle_center + dir * x_spacing + DOWN * y_spacing / 2,
pyramid[i][x].get_center(),
)

pyramid_values[x] += 1

n_graph, n_axes = create_graph(x_values, pyramid_values)

self.play(
AnimationGroup(
AnimationGroup(
),
run_time=run_time,
),
AnimationGroup(
pyramid[i][x]
.animate(run_time=run_time)
.become(
Tex(str(pyramid_values[x])).move_to(pyramid[i][x])
),
graph.animate.become(n_graph),
axes.animate.become(n_axes),
run_time=run_time,
),
lag_ratio=0.3,
)
)



#### 3D Game of Life

Create an animation of a 3D variant of Conway’s Game of Life.

The rules are simple: we start in an initial state where some cells are dead and some are alive. Each (besides the corner ones) has 26 neighbours (all cells 1 away in space). For each game, we define sets of rules $X$ and $Y$, which determine when cells live and die. In each step of the game, all cells at once change by the following rules:

• if cell is alive and its number of alive neighbours is in $X$, it survives, otherwise it dies
• if cell is dead and its number of alive neighbours is in $Y$, it gets revived, otherwise it stays dead
##### Basic variant

Implement a game with rules $X = \left\{4, 5\right\}, Y = \left\{5\right\}$. Simulate it on a $16^3$ board with a random initial state ($p = 0.2$ for cells to be a live) and colors determining the position in 3D space.

To check the correctness of rules, you can use this awesome interactive editor by Kodub.

I very much recommend rendering smaller areas first (say $8^3$) on lower quality (l or m). While the community version of Manim supports 3D rendering, it is not optimized for it and only uses the processor to render the frames. If you’re interested in faster rendering, I would suggest you take a look at ManimGL, which is actively developed by Grant Sanderson and supports interactive animations, but its documentation is practically non-existent and will differ from the code covered in this series in a lot of ways.

##### Cell age

We’ll define a new parameter $Z$, which determines the “liveness” of a cell. The liveness of a new cell is $Z$ and gets decremented each step of the simulation. The cell can now only die when its liveness is $1$, otherwise it is considered alive. If it survives with liveness $1$, its liveness stays at $1$.

Implement a game with rules $X = \{2, 6, 9\}$, $Y = \{4, 6, 8, 9\}$ and $Z = 10$. The colors are determined by the age of the cells.

Author's Solution
from manim import *
from random import random, seed
from enum import Enum

# inspired by https://softologyblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/28/3d-cellular-automata-3/

class Grid:
class ColorType(Enum):
FROM_COORDINATES = 0
FROM_PALETTE = 1

def __init__(
self,
scene,
grid_size,
survives_when,
revives_when,
state_count=2,
size=1,
palette=["#000b5e", "#001eff"],
color_type=ColorType.FROM_PALETTE,
):
self.grid = {}
self.scene = scene
self.grid_size = grid_size
self.size = size
self.survives_when = survives_when
self.revives_when = revives_when
self.state_count = state_count
self.palette = palette
self.color_type = color_type

self.bounding_box = Cube(side_length=self.size, color=GRAY, fill_opacity=0.05)

self.scene.play(
)

def __index_to_position(self, index):
"""Convert the index of a cell to its position in 3D."""
dirs = [RIGHT, UP, OUT]

# be careful!
# we can't just add stuff to ORIGIN, since it doesn't create new objects,
# meaning we would be moving the origin, which messes with the animations
result = list(ORIGIN)
for dir, value in zip(dirs, index):
result += ((value - (self.grid_size - 1) / 2) / self.grid_size) * dir * self.size

return result

def __get_new_cell(self, index):
"""Create a new cell"""
cell = (
Cube(
side_length=1 / self.grid_size * self.size, color=BLUE, fill_opacity=1
).move_to(self.__index_to_position(index)),
self.state_count - 1,
)

self.__update_cell_color(index, *cell)

return cell

def __return_neighbouring_cell_coordinates(self, index):
"""Return the coordinates of the neighbourhood of a given index."""
neighbourhood = set()
for dx in range(-1, 1 + 1):
for dy in range(-1, 1 + 1):
for dz in range(-1, 1 + 1):
if dx == 0 and dy == 0 and dz == 0:
continue

nx = index[0] + dx
ny = index[1] + dy
nz = index[2] + dz

# don't loop around (although we could)
if (
nx < 0
or nx >= self.grid_size
or ny < 0
or ny >= self.grid_size
or nz < 0
or nz >= self.grid_size
):
continue

return neighbourhood

def __count_neighbours(self, index):
"""Return the number of neighbouring cells for a given index (excluding itself)."""
total = 0
for neighbour_index in self.__return_neighbouring_cell_coordinates(index):
if neighbour_index in self.grid:
total += 1

def __return_possible_cell_change_indexes(self):
"""Return the indexes of all possible cells that could change."""
changes = set()
for index in self.grid:
changes |= self.__return_neighbouring_cell_coordinates(index).union({index})
return changes

def toggle(self, index):
"""Toggle a given cell."""
if index in self.grid:
self.scene.remove(self.grid[index][0])
del self.grid[index]
else:
self.grid[index] = self.__get_new_cell(index)

def __update_cell_color(self, index, cell, age):
"""Update the color of the specified cell."""
if self.color_type == self.ColorType.FROM_PALETTE:
state_colors = color_gradient(self.palette, self.state_count - 1)

cell.set_color(state_colors[age - 1])
else:

def coordToHex(n):
return hex(int(n * (256 / self.grid_size)))[2:].ljust(2, "0")

cell.set_color(
f"#{coordToHex(index[0])}{coordToHex(index[1])}{coordToHex(index[2])}"
)

def do_iteration(self):
"""Perform the automata generation, returning True if a state of any cell changed."""
new_grid = {}
something_changed = False

for index in self.__return_possible_cell_change_indexes():
neighbours = self.__count_neighbours(index)

# alive rules
if index in self.grid:
cell, age = self.grid[index]

# always decrease age
if age != 1:
age -= 1
something_changed = True

# survive if within range or age isn't 1
if neighbours in self.survives_when or age != 1:
self.__update_cell_color(index, cell, age)
new_grid[index] = (cell, age)
else:
self.scene.remove(self.grid[index][0])
something_changed = True

else:
# revive if within range
if neighbours in self.revives_when:
new_grid[index] = self.__get_new_cell(index)
something_changed = True

self.grid = new_grid

return something_changed

class GOLFirst(ThreeDScene):
def construct(self):

self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES)
self.begin_ambient_camera_rotation(rate=-0.20)

grid_size = 16
size = 3.5

grid = Grid(
self,
grid_size,
[4, 5],
[5],
state_count=2,
size=size,
color_type=Grid.ColorType.FROM_COORDINATES,
)

for i in range(grid_size):
for j in range(grid_size):
for k in range(grid_size):
if random() < 0.2:
grid.toggle((i, j, k))

self.wait(1)

for i in range(50):
something_changed = grid.do_iteration()

if not something_changed:
break

self.wait(0.2)

self.wait(2)

class GOLSecond(ThreeDScene):
def construct(self):

self.set_camera_orientation(phi=75 * DEGREES, theta=30 * DEGREES)
self.begin_ambient_camera_rotation(rate=0.15)

grid_size = 16
size = 3.5

grid = Grid(
self,
grid_size,
[2, 6, 9],
[4, 6, 8, 9],
state_count=10,
size=size,
color_type=Grid.ColorType.FROM_PALETTE,
)

for i in range(grid_size):
for j in range(grid_size):
for k in range(grid_size):
if random() < 0.3:
grid.toggle((i, j, k))

self.wait(2)

for i in range(70):
something_changed = grid.do_iteration()

if not something_changed:
break

self.wait(0.1)

self.wait(2)