# How to create an animation based on t, x, y and z data?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** plotting, plots, animations\
**Created:** [June 26, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672 "2019-06-26T02:06:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fusion809](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/fusion809/32/6080_2.png) [@fusion809](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/fusion809)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/1 "2019-06-26T02:06:57Z")

</div>

I would like to simulate a Lorenz system, showing how the solution vector (x, y, z) changes with time. I know how to plot x, y and z data using `PyPlot.plot3D`, but how does one do a time plot, that is an animation based on t, x, y and z data one has? To be clear, I know how to solve the Lorenz equations in Julia, that part is easy, I just want to know how to create an animation with it in Julia.

Here is a video of an animation that is roughly along the lines of what I am asking how to do.

[![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/original/3X/7/3/7312b485a5b73af67c73c3e3e915f8510007f561.jpeg "Lorenz Attractor simulation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP3qAq9RNLg)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nilshg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/nilshg/32/2283_2.png) [@nilshg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/nilshg)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 7:08am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/2 "2019-06-26T07:08:23Z")

</div>

[https://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/animations/](https://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/animations/)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fusion809](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/fusion809/32/6080_2.png) [@fusion809](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/fusion809)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/3 "2019-06-26T13:18:09Z")

</div>

Thanks mate, the problem now is that this won’t seem to work. Here is my Julia script:

```julia
# This is largely copied from the ODE.jl repository
# Import package manager
using Pkg;

# Install and import ODE
Pkg.add("ODE")
using ODE;

function f(t, r)
	# Extract the coordinates from the r vector
	(x, y, z) = r

	# The Lorenz equations
	dx_dt = sigma*(y - x)
	dy_dt = x*(rho - z) - y
	dz_dt = x*y - bet*z

	# Return the derivatives as a vector
	[dx_dt; dy_dt; dz_dt]
end;

# Define time vector and interval grid
const dt = 0.001
const tf = 2e2
t = 0:dt:tf

# Initial position in space
const r0 = [-2.0; 3.0; 0.5]

# Constants sigma, rho and beta
const sigma = 10.0
const rho = 28.0
const bet = 8.0/3.0;

(t, pos) = ode78(f, r0, t)
x = map(v -> v[1], pos)
y = map(v -> v[2], pos)
z = map(v -> v[3], pos);

# Get PyPlot and load it
Pkg.add("PyPlot")
using PyPlot;
Pkg.add("Plots")
using Plots

PyPlot.figure(1)
PyPlot.plot3D(x, y, z);
PyPlot.xlabel("x")
PyPlot.ylabel("y")
PyPlot.zlabel("z")

PyPlot.figure(2)
PyPlot.plot3D(t, x, y);
PyPlot.xlabel("t")
PyPlot.ylabel("x")
PyPlot.zlabel("y")

PyPlot.figure(3)
PyPlot.plot3D(t, y, z);
PyPlot.xlabel("t")
PyPlot.ylabel("y")
PyPlot.zlabel("z")

PyPlot.figure(4)
PyPlot.plot3D(t, x, z);
PyPlot.xlabel("t")
PyPlot.ylabel("x")
PyPlot.zlabel("z")

fig, ax = subplots(1, 3, sharex=true, sharey=true, figsize=(16,8))

ax[1][:plot](x, y)
ax[1][:set_title]("X-Y cut")

ax[2][:plot](x, z)
ax[2][:set_title]("X-Z cut")

ax[3][:plot](y, z)
ax[3][:set_title]("Y-Z cut");

anim = @animate for i=1:length(t)
    plot3D(x[i],y[i],z[i])
end
gif(anim, "/tmp/anim_fps15.gif", fps = 15)

```

Yet, I keep getting this error:

```julia
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
┌ Warning: `getindex(o::PyObject, s::Symbol)` is deprecated in favor of dot overloading (`getproperty`) so elements should now be accessed as e.g. `o.s` instead of `o[:s]`.
│ caller = top-level scope at none:0
└ @ Core none:0
PyError ($(Expr(:escape, :(ccall(#= /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:44 =# @pysym(:PyObject_Call), PyPtr, (PyPtr, PyPtr, PyPtr), o, pyargsptr, kw))))) <class 'TypeError'>
TypeError("object of type 'float' has no len()")
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/mpl_toolkits/mplot3d/axes3d.py", line 1530, in plot
    zs = np.broadcast_to(zs, len(xs))

Stacktrace:
 [1] pyerr_check at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:60 [inlined]
 [2] pyerr_check at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:64 [inlined]
 [3] macro expansion at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:84 [inlined]
 [4] __pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::Ptr{PyCall.PyObject_struct}, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Ptr{Nothing}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:44
 [5] _pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Tuple{Float64,Float64,Float64}, ::Int64, ::Ptr{Nothing}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:29
 [6] _pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Tuple{Float64,Float64,Float64}, ::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:11
 [7] #pycall#110(::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}, ::Function, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Type{PyCall.PyAny}, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:86
 [8] pycall(::PyCall.PyObject, ::Type{PyCall.PyAny}, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:86
 [9] #plot3D#172(::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}, ::Function, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyPlot/cdCMF/src/plot3d.jl:50
 [10] plot3D(::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyPlot/cdCMF/src/plot3d.jl:48
 [11] macro expansion at /data/GitHub/mine/math/julia-scripts/Lorenz.jl:82 [inlined]
 [12] top-level scope at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/Plots/oiirH/src/animation.jl:163
 [13] include at ./boot.jl:326 [inlined]
 [14] include_relative(::Module, ::String) at ./loading.jl:1038
 [15] include(::Module, ::String) at ./sysimg.jl:29
 [16] include(::String) at ./client.jl:403
 [17] top-level scope at In[3]:1

```

To try and correct the error I was getting I added:

```julia
Pkg.add("Iterators")
using Iterators;

```

before the animation lines, but that just gave:

```julia
Unsatisfiable requirements detected for package Iterators [a4bce56a]:
 Iterators [a4bce56a] log:
 ├─possible versions are: [0.1.0-0.1.10, 0.2.0, 0.3.0-0.3.1] or uninstalled
 ├─restricted to versions * by an explicit requirement, leaving only versions [0.1.0-0.1.10, 0.2.0, 0.3.0-0.3.1]
 └─restricted by julia compatibility requirements to versions: uninstalled — no versions left

Stacktrace:
 [1] #propagate_constraints!#61(::Bool, ::Function, ::Pkg.GraphType.Graph, ::Set{Int64}) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/GraphType.jl:1007
 [2] propagate_constraints! at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/GraphType.jl:948 [inlined] (repeats 2 times)
 [3] #simplify_graph!#121(::Bool, ::Function, ::Pkg.GraphType.Graph, ::Set{Int64}) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/GraphType.jl:1462
 [4] simplify_graph! at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/GraphType.jl:1462 [inlined] (repeats 2 times)
 [5] resolve_versions!(::Pkg.Types.Context, ::Array{Pkg.Types.PackageSpec,1}, ::Nothing) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/Operations.jl:371
 [6] resolve_versions! at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/Operations.jl:315 [inlined]
 [7] #add_or_develop#63(::Array{Base.UUID,1}, ::Symbol, ::Function, ::Pkg.Types.Context, ::Array{Pkg.Types.PackageSpec,1}) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/Operations.jl:1172
 [8] #add_or_develop at ./none:0 [inlined]
 [9] #add_or_develop#17(::Symbol, ::Bool, ::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}, ::Function, ::Pkg.Types.Context, ::Array{Pkg.Types.PackageSpec,1}) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/API.jl:59
 [10] #add_or_develop at ./none:0 [inlined]
 [11] #add_or_develop#16 at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/API.jl:36 [inlined]
 [12] #add_or_develop at ./none:0 [inlined]
 [13] #add_or_develop#13 at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/API.jl:34 [inlined]
 [14] #add_or_develop at ./none:0 [inlined]
 [15] #add_or_develop#12(::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Symbol,Symbol,Tuple{Symbol},NamedTuple{(:mode,),Tuple{Symbol}}}, ::Function, ::String) at /build/julia/src/julia-1.1.1/usr/share/julia/stdlib/v1.1/Pkg/src/API.jl:33
 [16] add(::String) at ./none:0
 [17] top-level scope at none:0
 [18] include at ./boot.jl:326 [inlined]
 [19] include_relative(::Module, ::String) at ./loading.jl:1038
 [20] include(::Module, ::String) at ./sysimg.jl:29
 [21] include(::String) at ./client.jl:403
 [22] top-level scope at In[4]:1

```

and now I am kind of stuck. Could you help perhaps?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fusion809](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/fusion809/32/6080_2.png) [@fusion809](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/fusion809)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/4 "2019-06-26T13:29:55Z")

</div>

I’ve also tried this script (keeping it simple, in essence):

```julia
# This is largely copied from the ODE.jl repository
# Import package manager
using Pkg;

# Install and import ODE
Pkg.add("ODE")
using ODE;

function f(t, r)
	# Extract the coordinates from the r vector
	(x, y, z) = r

	# The Lorenz equations
	dx_dt = sigma*(y - x)
	dy_dt = x*(rho - z) - y
	dz_dt = x*y - bet*z

	# Return the derivatives as a vector
	[dx_dt; dy_dt; dz_dt]
end;

# Define time vector and interval grid
const dt = 0.001
const tf = 2e2
t = 0:dt:tf

# Initial position in space
const r0 = [-2.0; 3.0; 0.5]

# Constants sigma, rho and beta
const sigma = 10.0
const rho = 28.0
const bet = 8.0/3.0;

(t, pos) = ode78(f, r0, t)
x = map(v -> v[1], pos)
y = map(v -> v[2], pos)
z = map(v -> v[3], pos);

# Get PyPlot and load it
Pkg.add("PyPlot")
using PyPlot;
#Pkg.add("Plots")
#Pkg.add("Iterators")
#using Plots

#PyPlot.figure(1)
#PyPlot.plot3D(x, y, z);
#PyPlot.xlabel("x")
#PyPlot.ylabel("y")
#PyPlot.zlabel("z")

#PyPlot.figure(2)
#PyPlot.plot3D(t, x, y);
#PyPlot.xlabel("t")
#PyPlot.ylabel("x")
#PyPlot.zlabel("y")

#PyPlot.figure(3)
#PyPlot.plot3D(t, y, z);
#PyPlot.xlabel("t")
#PyPlot.ylabel("y")
#PyPlot.zlabel("z")

#PyPlot.figure(4)
#PyPlot.plot3D(t, x, z);
#PyPlot.xlabel("t")
#PyPlot.ylabel("x")
#PyPlot.zlabel("z")

#fig, ax = subplots(1, 3, sharex=true, sharey=true, figsize=(16,8))

#ax[1][:plot](x, y)
#ax[1][:set_title]("X-Y cut")

#ax[2][:plot](x, z)
#ax[2][:set_title]("X-Z cut")

#ax[3][:plot](y, z)
#ax[3][:set_title]("Y-Z cut");

anim = @animate for i=1:length(t)
    plot3D(x[i],y[i],z[i])
end
gif(anim, "/tmp/anim_fps15.gif", fps = 15)

```

it too failed with the error:

```julia
PyError ($(Expr(:escape, :(ccall(#= /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:44 =# @pysym(:PyObject_Call), PyPtr, (PyPtr, PyPtr, PyPtr), o, pyargsptr, kw))))) <class 'TypeError'>
TypeError("object of type 'float' has no len()")
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/mpl_toolkits/mplot3d/axes3d.py", line 1530, in plot
    zs = np.broadcast_to(zs, len(xs))

Stacktrace:
 [1] pyerr_check at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:60 [inlined]
 [2] pyerr_check at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:64 [inlined]
 [3] macro expansion at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/exception.jl:84 [inlined]
 [4] __pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::Ptr{PyCall.PyObject_struct}, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Ptr{Nothing}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:44
 [5] _pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Tuple{Float64,Float64,Float64}, ::Int64, ::Ptr{Nothing}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:29
 [6] _pycall!(::PyCall.PyObject, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Tuple{Float64,Float64,Float64}, ::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:11
 [7] #pycall#110(::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}, ::Function, ::PyCall.PyObject, ::Type{PyCall.PyAny}, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:86
 [8] pycall(::PyCall.PyObject, ::Type{PyCall.PyAny}, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyCall/ttONZ/src/pyfncall.jl:86
 [9] #plot3D#172(::Base.Iterators.Pairs{Union{},Union{},Tuple{},NamedTuple{(),Tuple{}}}, ::Function, ::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyPlot/cdCMF/src/plot3d.jl:50
 [10] plot3D(::Float64, ::Vararg{Float64,N} where N) at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/PyPlot/cdCMF/src/plot3d.jl:48
 [11] macro expansion at /data/GitHub/mine/math/julia-scripts/Lorenz.jl:83 [inlined]
 [12] top-level scope at /home/fusion809/.julia/packages/Plots/oiirH/src/animation.jl:163
 [13] include at ./boot.jl:326 [inlined]
 [14] include_relative(::Module, ::String) at ./loading.jl:1038
 [15] include(::Module, ::String) at ./sysimg.jl:29
 [16] include(::String) at ./client.jl:403
 [17] top-level scope at In[8]:1

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nilshg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/nilshg/32/2283_2.png) [@nilshg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/nilshg)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/5 "2019-06-26T14:13:34Z")

</div>

I don’t see the connection between your code and the `Plots` documentation - note that `Plots` and `PyPlot` are separate plotting packages, and while `PyPlot` is one of the backends of `Plots`, you shouldn’t be calling both at the same time.

The `Plots` docs actually have the Lorenz attractor as an example on their [homepage[([Home · Plots](http://docs.juliaplots.org/latest/)):

```julia
# define the Lorenz attractor
mutable struct Lorenz
    dt; σ; ρ; β; x; y; z
end

function step!(l::Lorenz)
    dx = l.σ*(l.y - l.x) ; l.x += l.dt * dx
    dy = l.x*(l.ρ - l.z) - l.y ; l.y += l.dt * dy
    dz = l.x*l.y - l.β*l.z ; l.z += l.dt * dz
end

attractor = Lorenz((dt = 0.02, σ = 10., ρ = 28., β = 8//3, x = 1., y = 1., z = 1.)...)

# initialize a 3D plot with 1 empty series
plt = plot3d(1, xlim=(-25,25), ylim=(-25,25), zlim=(0,50),
                title = "Lorenz Attractor", marker = 2)

# build an animated gif by pushing new points to the plot, saving every 10th frame
@gif for i=1:1500
    step!(attractor)
    push!(plt, attractor.x, attractor.y, attractor.z)
end every 10
``
```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![fusion809](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/fusion809/32/6080_2.png) [@fusion809](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/fusion809)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/6 "2019-06-26T14:21:03Z")

</div>

Using plots was an attempt to fix the error shown when I didn’t use it. I thought it might be necessary given that it was used later in the docs you showed me.

Thanks for the code!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CM1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@CM1](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/CM1)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:43am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/7 "2023-10-31T11:43:37Z")

</div>

A bit late to the party, but I am just starting to learn Julia and came across the Lorenz attractor example in the docs. While the approach is quite intuitive and elegant, I am struggling to extend this to subplots, i.e. two trajectories of the attractor next to each other.

I have tried to push to the subplots instead of the overall plot, but as far as I understand the error message, subplots do not support the pushing of new data?

```julia
N = 200

u1 = 20*rand(3, N)
u2 = 15*ones(3, N)

plt = plot3d(
    1,
    xlim = (-30, 30),
    ylim = (-30, 30),
    zlim = (0, 60),
    title = ["Some trajectory" "Other trajectory"],
    legend = false,
    marker = 2,
    layout = (1, 2)
)

@gif for i in range(1, size(u1, 2))
    push!(plt[1], u1[:, i]...)
    push!(plt[2], u2[:, i]...)
end every 10

```

Giving me the following error:

```julia
MethodError: no method matching push!(::Plots.Subplot{Plots.GRBackend}, ::Float64)

Closest candidates are:
  push!(::Any, ::Any, !Matched::Any)
   @ Base abstractarray.jl:3389
  push!(::Any, ::Any, !Matched::Any, !Matched::Any...)
   @ Base abstractarray.jl:3390
  push!(!Matched::StatsBase.AbstractHistogram{T, 1}, ::Real) where T
   @ StatsBase some_path\.julia\packages\StatsBase\WLz8A\src\hist.jl:294
  ...

Stacktrace:
 [1] push!(A::Plots.Subplot{Plots.GRBackend}, a::Float64, b::Float64)
   @ Base .\abstractarray.jl:3389
 [2] push!(A::Plots.Subplot{Plots.GRBackend}, a::Float64, b::Float64, c::Float64)
   @ Base .\abstractarray.jl:3390
 [3] macro expansion
   @ some_path\MMDS_Julia\ex2.ipynb:19 [inlined]
 [4] top-level scope
   @ some_path\.julia\packages\Plots\sxUvK\src\animation.jl:251

```

Any suggestion how to achieve the wanted effect?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sevi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Sevi](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Sevi)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/8 "2023-11-05T14:45:24Z")

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Welcome to the forum @CM1 !

It’s probably slower since the combined plot has to be recreated every step of the animation, but this worked for me:

```julia
using Plots

N = 200

u1 = 20*rand(3, N)
u2 = 15*ones(3, N)

plt1 = plot3d(
    1,
    xlim = (-30, 30),
    ylim = (-30, 30),
    zlim = (0, 60),
    title = ["Some trajectory"],
    legend = false,
    marker = 2,
)

plt2 = plot3d(
    1,
    xlim = (-30, 30),
    ylim = (-30, 30),
    zlim = (0, 60),
    title = ["Other trajectory"],
    legend = false,
    marker = 2,
)

@gif for i in range(1, size(u1, 2))
    push!(plt1, u1[:, i]...)
    push!(plt2, u2[:, i]...)
    plot(plt1, plt2)
end every 10

```

The docstring of `plot` mentions this about extracting subplots, but I couldn’t get it to work in the intended way (creating a new plot seems to remove the previously drawn points):

```julia
help?> plot

...

  Extract a subplot from an existing plot.

  Examples
  ≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡

  julia> p1, p2 = plot(1:2), plot(10:20)
  julia> pl = plot(p1, p2) # plot containing 2 subplots
  
  julia> plot(pl.subplots[1]) # extract 1st subplot as a standalone plot
  julia> plot(pl.subplots[2]) # extract 2nd subplot as a standalone plot

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CM1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@CM1](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/CM1)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/9 "2023-11-10T16:41:17Z")

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Thank you! It seems like an overkill to me to create two distinct plot objects, but it’s working like a charm 👍

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sevi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Sevi](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Sevi)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/10 "2023-11-10T21:46:19Z")

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That’s great!

Yeah, would be nice to know if there is a way to modify subplots in place. I don’t know how (but I’m also not an expert with Plots.jl). Perhaps you can open a separate thread about it here 🙂

EDIT: And I’m not sure how big the overhead actually is, since only the “wrapper” plot gets recreated at every step. The subplots are just modified.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CM1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@CM1](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/CM1)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2023, 9:57am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-to-create-an-animation-based-on-t-x-y-and-z-data/25672/11 "2023-11-11T09:57:55Z")

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You’re right, at this scale it doesn’t seem like a huge overhead, but I am not sure what happens under the hood, maybe someone can clarify whether this is just a cosmetic issue or actually slower.

I created a new discussion [in this thread](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/modifying-plots-jl-subplots-in-place/106069).