is an option for graphics functions that specifies a function to apply to determine colors of elements.
ColorFunction
is an option for graphics functions that specifies a function to apply to determine colors of elements.
Details
- With ColorFunction->func, the arguments supplied to func are as follows:
-
Raster a Plot,ListLinePlot,ListLogPlot x, y ParametricPlot x, y, u or x, y, u, v RegionPlot x, y ArrayPlot,ReliefPlot a ContourPlot,ListContourPlot f contour levels DensityPlot,ListDensityPlot f ContourPlot3D,ListContourPlot3D x, y, z, f Plot3D,ListPlot3D,ListSurfacePlot3D,ListPointPlot3D x, y, z ParametricPlot3D x, y, z, u or x, y, z, u, v RegionPlot3D x, y, z Image3D,Raster3D a - With the usual default setting ColorFunctionScaling->True, all arguments supplied to func are scaled to lie in the range 0 to 1.
- With ColorFunctionScaling->False, original unscaled values are used.
- ColorFunction->"name" is equivalent to ColorFunction->(ColorData["name"][#i]&) where the slot used is as follows: Plot, ListPlot, etc.: #2 (
); ArrayPlot, ReliefPlot: #1 (
); ContourPlot, DensityPlot, etc.: #1 (
); ContourPlot3D, etc.: #4 (
); Plot3D, etc.: #3 (
). - The list of possible color function names is given by ColorData["Gradients"].
- The function specified by ColorFunction must return color directives such as RGBColor and Hue or named colors such as Red and Blue.
- It can also return Opacity, as well as Glow and Specularity.
- Combinations of directives can be specified using Directive[g1,g2,…].
- In 3D graphics, ColorFunction by default specifies diffuse colors for surfaces.
- If an explicit setting is given for ColorRules, MeshShading, or ContourShading, it is used in preference to the setting for ColorFunction.
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (5)
Plot3D[Sin[x y], {x, 0, 3}, {y, 0, 3}, ColorFunction -> Function[{x, y, z}, Hue[z]]]Plot3D[Sin[x y], {x, 0, 3}, {y, 0, 3}, ColorFunction -> "BlueGreenYellow"]DensityPlot[Sin[x y], {x, 0, 3}, {y, 0, 3}, ColorFunction -> "BlueGreenYellow"]Plot[Sinc[x], {x, 0, 10}, PlotStyle -> Thick, ColorFunction -> Function[{x, y}, ColorData["NeonColors"][y]]]ArrayPlot[RandomReal[1, {10, 20}], ColorFunction -> "Rainbow"]Image3D[ExampleData[{"TestImage3D", "CTengine"}], ColorFunction -> "RainbowOpacity"]Applications (1)
Properties & Relations (1)
Use predefined color gradients from ColorData:
GraphicsGrid[Partition[Tooltip[ColorData[#, "Image"], #]& /@ ColorData["Gradients"], 3], ImageSize -> 300]Possible Issues (1)
By default, the arguments to ColorFunction are rescaled to be between 0 and 1:
Plot3D[x * y, {x, -6, 6}, {y, -6, 6}, ColorFunction -> Function[{x, y, z}, If[TrueQ[x * y > 0], Blue, Green]]]Turn off ColorFunctionScaling to keep the original values:
Plot3D[x * y, {x, -6, 6}, {y, -6, 6}, ColorFunction -> Function[{x, y, z}, If[TrueQ[x * y > 0], Blue, Green]], ColorFunctionScaling -> False]See Also
ColorFunctionScaling MeshShading PlotStyle NormalsFunction Blend ColorData LightDarkAutoColorRules
Function Repository: DivergentColorFunction CompileColorFunction CubehelixColorFunction
Tech Notes
Related Guides
History
Introduced in 1991 (2.0) | Updated in 1999 (4.0) ▪ 2000 (4.1) ▪ 2002 (4.2) ▪ 2007 (6.0) ▪ 2012 (9.0)
Text
Wolfram Research (1991), ColorFunction, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorFunction.html (updated 2012).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1991. "ColorFunction." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2012. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorFunction.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1991). ColorFunction. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorFunction.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_colorfunction, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ColorFunction}", year="2012", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorFunction.html}", note=[Accessed: 15-June-2026]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2026_colorfunction, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ColorFunction}, year={2012}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ColorFunction.html}, note=[Accessed: 15-June-2026]}