A three-dimensional bar chart where bars rise from a 2D categorical grid, with height encoding the measured value. Two categorical axes define the grid position on the base plane while the vertical axis shows magnitude. This visualization extends the bar chart family into 3D space, making it effective for comparing values across two categorical dimensions simultaneously.
""" anyplot.ai
bar-3d-categorical: 3D Bar Chart for Categorical Comparison
Library: matplotlib 3.10.9 | Python 3.13.13
Quality: 80/100 | Created: 2026-05-15
"""
import os
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
from mpl_toolkits.mplot3d import Axes3D
THEME = os.getenv("ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
PAGE_BG = "#FAF8F1" if THEME == "light" else "#1A1A17"
ELEVATED_BG = "#FFFDF6" if THEME == "light" else "#242420"
INK = "#1A1A17" if THEME == "light" else "#F0EFE8"
INK_SOFT = "#4A4A44" if THEME == "light" else "#B8B7B0"
INK_MUTED = "#6B6A63" if THEME == "light" else "#A8A79F"
# Data: retail sales (thousands USD) by product category and region
products = ["Electronics", "Clothing", "Home & Garden", "Sports"]
regions = ["North", "South", "East", "West"]
sales = np.array([[142, 98, 115, 87], [76, 103, 91, 118], [55, 71, 63, 49], [88, 95, 72, 110]])
# Plot
fig = plt.figure(figsize=(16, 9), facecolor=PAGE_BG)
ax = fig.add_subplot(111, projection="3d", computed_zorder=False)
fig.subplots_adjust(left=0.0, right=0.85, bottom=0.05, top=0.92)
# Theme-adaptive pane styling
for pane in (ax.xaxis.pane, ax.yaxis.pane, ax.zaxis.pane):
pane.fill = False
pane.set_edgecolor(INK_SOFT)
pane.set_alpha(0.4)
ax.grid(True, alpha=0.10, linewidth=0.6, color=INK)
norm = plt.Normalize(vmin=sales.min(), vmax=sales.max())
cmap = plt.get_cmap("viridis")
bar_width = 0.55
bar_depth = 0.55
num_products = len(products)
num_regions = len(regions)
for i in range(num_products):
for j in range(num_regions):
value = sales[i, j]
color = cmap(norm(value))
ax.bar3d(
i - bar_width / 2, j - bar_depth / 2, 0, bar_width, bar_depth, value, color=color, alpha=0.88, shade=True
)
ax.text(i, j, value + 5, f"{value}", ha="center", va="bottom", fontsize=10, color=INK, fontweight="semibold")
# View angle and z-axis headroom for value labels
ax.view_init(elev=28, azim=-48)
ax.set_zlim(0, 165)
# Axis ticks and labels
ax.set_xticks(range(num_products))
ax.set_xticklabels(products, fontsize=13, color=INK_SOFT)
ax.set_yticks(range(num_regions))
ax.set_yticklabels(regions, fontsize=13, color=INK_SOFT)
ax.tick_params(axis="z", labelsize=13, colors=INK_SOFT)
ax.set_xlabel("Product Category", fontsize=15, color=INK, labelpad=16)
ax.set_ylabel("Region", fontsize=15, color=INK, labelpad=16)
ax.set_zlabel("$ thousands", fontsize=14, color=INK_SOFT, labelpad=12)
ax.set_title(
"Retail Sales by Product & Region · bar-3d-categorical · matplotlib · anyplot.ai",
fontsize=20,
fontweight="medium",
color=INK,
pad=16,
)
# Colorbar — placed in its own axes to avoid tight_layout conflicts
cbar_ax = fig.add_axes([0.87, 0.15, 0.025, 0.65])
sm = plt.cm.ScalarMappable(cmap=cmap, norm=norm)
sm.set_array([])
cbar = fig.colorbar(sm, cax=cbar_ax)
cbar.set_label("Sales ($ thousands)", fontsize=14, color=INK)
cbar.ax.tick_params(labelsize=12, colors=INK_SOFT)
plt.setp(cbar.ax.yaxis.get_ticklabels(), color=INK_SOFT)
cbar.outline.set_edgecolor(INK_SOFT)
cbar_ax.set_facecolor(PAGE_BG)
plt.savefig(f"plot-{THEME}.png", dpi=300, bbox_inches="tight", facecolor=PAGE_BG)
Part of 3D Bar Chart for Categorical Comparison on anyplot.ai.