How to plot 3D data on a plane by color

I want to project a 3D surface onto XY plane. How to achieve it?

If I plot my data by 'pcolor' the figure looks like a checkerboard, How to improve this?

Are their any manners better than 'pcolor' for plotting 3D data on a plane?

Answer 1

[Honglei Chen]

You can also try image or imagesc.

doc image
doc imagesc