rotateZ()

Rotates in 3D around the z-axis

Example

Syntax

rotateZ(angle)

Input	Description
angle	angle of rotation

Full Example

Example Full Code

def setup():
  createCanvas(300,300, WEBGL)

def draw():
  background(255, 79, 132)
  fill(112, 88, 255)
  stroke(176, 235, 51)
  strokeWeight(2)
  orbitControl()
  # draw3DAxes(100, (100, 50, 20))
  rotateZ(frameCount)
  torus(100, 25)
  rotateZ(-2*frameCount)
  cone(50, 50)

Description

Rotates a shape around z-axis by the amount specified in angle parameter. The angles can be entered in either RADIANS or DEGREES, depending on the specified angleMode().

Positive angles rotates the space from +x to +y regardless of handedness. This is the actually the application of the function rotate() in 3D.

Why is this the direction of rotation?

The reason is hidden in the mathematical convention of setting up axes such that:

• if one extends his fingers of your Right Hand in the +x direction

• then curls his fingers into +y direction

• his thumb points into the +z direction

This is called the Right Hand Convention (as if you did it with your left hand, it would fail! it would give the opposite direction). We can write this convention as +x => +y => +z.

Extending the sequence with the same order +x => +y => +z => +x => +y gives us the convention for rotations about the x-axis and the y-axis as well:

• about x-axis: +y => +z => +x

• about y-axis: +z => +x => +y

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