matplotlib · QuLogic · Mar 7, 2026 · Jan 17, 2026 · Jan 17, 2026 · Jan 17, 2026
diff --git a/doc/release/next_whats_new/3d_scales.rst b/doc/release/next_whats_new/3d_scales.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+Non-linear scales on 3D axes
+----------------------------
+
+Resolving a long-standing issue, 3D axes now support non-linear axis scales
+such as 'log', 'symlog', 'logit', 'asinh', and custom 'function' scales, just
+like 2D axes. Use `~.Axes3D.set_xscale`, `~.Axes3D.set_yscale`, and
+`~.Axes3D.set_zscale` to set the scale for each axis independently.
+
+.. plot::
+    :include-source: true
+    :alt: A 3D plot with a linear x-axis, logarithmic y-axis, and symlog z-axis.
+
+    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+    import numpy as np
+
+    # A sine chirp with increasing frequency and amplitude
+    x = np.linspace(0, 1, 400)  # time
+    y = 10 ** (2 * x)  # frequency, growing exponentially from 1 to 100 Hz
+    phase = 2 * np.pi * (10 ** (2 * x) - 1) / (2 * np.log(10))
+    z = np.sin(phase) * x ** 2 * 10  # amplitude, growing quadratically
+
+    fig = plt.figure()
+    ax = fig.add_subplot(projection='3d')
+    ax.plot(x, y, z)
+
+    ax.set_xlabel('Time (linear)')
+    ax.set_ylabel('Frequency, Hz (log)')
+    ax.set_zlabel('Amplitude (symlog)')
+
+    ax.set_yscale('log')
+    ax.set_zscale('symlog')
+
+    plt.show()
+
+See `matplotlib.scale` for details on all available scales and their parameters.
diff --git a/galleries/examples/mplot3d/scales3d.py b/galleries/examples/mplot3d/scales3d.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+"""
+================================
+Scales on 3D (Log, Symlog, etc.)
+================================
+
+Demonstrate how to use non-linear scales such as logarithmic scales on 3D axes.
+
+3D axes support the same axis scales as 2D plots: 'linear', 'log', 'symlog',
+'logit', 'asinh', and custom 'function' scales. This example shows a mix of
+scales: linear on X, log on Y, and symlog on Z.
+
+For a complete list of built-in scales, see `matplotlib.scale`. For an overview
+of scale transformations, see :doc:`/gallery/scales/scales`.
+"""
+
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+import numpy as np
+
+# A sine chirp with increasing frequency and amplitude
+x = np.linspace(0, 1, 400)  # time
+y = 10 ** (2 * x)  # frequency, growing exponentially from 1 to 100 Hz
+phase = 2 * np.pi * (10 ** (2 * x) - 1) / (2 * np.log(10))
+z = np.sin(phase) * x **2 * 10  # amplitude, growing quadratically
+
+fig = plt.figure()
+ax = fig.add_subplot(projection='3d')
+ax.plot(x, y, z)
+
+ax.set_xlabel('Time (linear)')
+ax.set_ylabel('Frequency, Hz (log)')
+ax.set_zlabel('Amplitude (symlog)')
+
+ax.set_yscale('log')
+ax.set_zscale('symlog')
+
+plt.show()
+
+# %%
+#
+# .. admonition:: References
+#
+#    The use of the following functions, methods, classes and modules is shown
+#    in this example:
+#
+#    - `mpl_toolkits.mplot3d.axes3d.Axes3D.set_xscale`
+#    - `mpl_toolkits.mplot3d.axes3d.Axes3D.set_yscale`
+#    - `mpl_toolkits.mplot3d.axes3d.Axes3D.set_zscale`
+#    - `matplotlib.scale`
+#
+# .. tags::
+#    plot-type: 3D,
+#    level: beginner
diff --git a/galleries/examples/scales/scales.py b/galleries/examples/scales/scales.py
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@
 
 Illustrate the scale transformations applied to axes, e.g. log, symlog, logit.
 
-See `matplotlib.scale` for a full list of built-in scales, and
-:doc:`/gallery/scales/custom_scale` for how to create your own scale.
+See `matplotlib.scale` for a full list of built-in scales,
+:doc:`/gallery/scales/custom_scale` for how to create your own scale, and
+:doc:`/gallery/mplot3d/scales3d` for using scales on 3D axes.
 """
 
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

diff --git a/lib/mpl_toolkits/mplot3d/art3d.py b/lib/mpl_toolkits/mplot3d/art3d.py
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def _viewlim_mask(xs, ys, zs, axes):
     Parameters
     ----------
     xs, ys, zs : array-like
-        The points to mask.
+        The points to mask. These should be in data coordinates.
     axes : Axes3D
         The axes to use for the view limits.
 
@@ -198,7 +198,10 @@ def draw(self, renderer):
         else:
             pos3d = np.array([self._x, self._y, self._z], dtype=float)
 
-        proj = proj3d._proj_trans_points([pos3d, pos3d + self._dir_vec], self.axes.M)
+        dir_end = pos3d + self._dir_vec
+        points = np.asarray([pos3d, dir_end])
+        proj = proj3d._scale_proj_transform(
+            points[:, 0], points[:, 1], points[:, 2], self.axes)
         dx = proj[0][1] - proj[0][0]
         dy = proj[1][1] - proj[1][0]
         angle = math.degrees(math.atan2(dy, dx))
@@ -334,9 +337,7 @@ def draw(self, renderer):
                                            dtype=float, mask=mask).filled(np.nan)
         else:
             xs3d, ys3d, zs3d = self._verts3d
-        xs, ys, zs, tis = proj3d._proj_transform_clip(xs3d, ys3d, zs3d,
-                                                      self.axes.M,
-                                                      self.axes._focal_length)
+        xs, ys, zs, tis = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_clip(xs3d, ys3d, zs3d, self.axes)
         self.set_data(xs, ys)
         super().draw(renderer)
         self.stale = False
@@ -427,7 +428,8 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
             vs_list = [np.ma.array(vs, mask=np.broadcast_to(
                        _viewlim_mask(*vs.T, self.axes), vs.shape))
                        for vs in vs_list]
-        xyzs_list = [proj3d.proj_transform(*vs.T, self.axes.M) for vs in vs_list]
+        xyzs_list = [proj3d._scale_proj_transform(
+            vs[:, 0], vs[:, 1], vs[:, 2], self.axes) for vs in vs_list]
         self._paths = [mpath.Path(np.ma.column_stack([xs, ys]), cs)
                        for (xs, ys, _), (_, cs) in zip(xyzs_list, self._3dverts_codes)]
         zs = np.concatenate([zs for _, _, zs in xyzs_list])
@@ -497,6 +499,11 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
         """
         segments = np.asanyarray(self._segments3d)
 
+        # Handle empty segments
+        if segments.size == 0:
+            LineCollection.set_segments(self, [])
+            return np.nan
+
         mask = False
         if np.ma.isMA(segments):
             mask = segments.mask
@@ -511,8 +518,9 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
                 viewlim_mask = np.broadcast_to(viewlim_mask[..., np.newaxis],
                                                (*viewlim_mask.shape, 3))
                 mask = mask | viewlim_mask
-        xyzs = np.ma.array(proj3d._proj_transform_vectors(segments, self.axes.M),
-                           mask=mask)
+
+        xyzs = np.ma.array(
+            proj3d._scale_proj_transform_vectors(segments, self.axes), mask=mask)
         segments_2d = xyzs[..., 0:2]
         LineCollection.set_segments(self, segments_2d)
 
@@ -595,9 +603,7 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
                                      dtype=float, mask=mask).filled(np.nan)
         else:
             xs, ys, zs = zip(*s)
-        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs,
-                                                         self.axes.M,
-                                                         self.axes._focal_length)
+        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs, self.axes)
         self._path2d = mpath.Path(np.ma.column_stack([vxs, vys]))
         return min(vzs)
 
@@ -657,9 +663,7 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
                                      dtype=float, mask=mask).filled(np.nan)
         else:
             xs, ys, zs = zip(*s)
-        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs,
-                                                         self.axes.M,
-                                                         self.axes._focal_length)
+        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs, self.axes)
         self._path2d = mpath.Path(np.ma.column_stack([vxs, vys]), self._code3d)
         return min(vzs)
 
@@ -802,9 +806,7 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
             xs, ys, zs = np.ma.array(self._offsets3d, mask=mask)
         else:
             xs, ys, zs = self._offsets3d
-        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs,
-                                                         self.axes.M,
-                                                         self.axes._focal_length)
+        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_clip(xs, ys, zs, self.axes)
         self._vzs = vzs
         if np.ma.isMA(vxs):
             super().set_offsets(np.ma.column_stack([vxs, vys]))
@@ -1020,9 +1022,7 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
             xyzs = np.ma.array(self._offsets3d, mask=mask)
         else:
             xyzs = self._offsets3d
-        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._proj_transform_clip(*xyzs,
-                                                         self.axes.M,
-                                                         self.axes._focal_length)
+        vxs, vys, vzs, vis = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_clip(*xyzs, self.axes)
         self._data_scale = _get_data_scale(vxs, vys, vzs)
         # Sort the points based on z coordinates
         # Performance optimization: Create a sorted index array and reorder
@@ -1356,7 +1356,7 @@ def do_3d_projection(self):
         # Some faces might contain masked vertices, so we want to ignore any
         # errors that those might cause
         with np.errstate(invalid='ignore', divide='ignore'):
-            pfaces = proj3d._proj_transform_vectors(self._faces, self.axes.M)
+            pfaces = proj3d._scale_proj_transform_vectors(self._faces, self.axes)
 
         if self._axlim_clip:
             viewlim_mask = _viewlim_mask(self._faces[..., 0], self._faces[..., 1],