Rotating an object around an axis in unity

Question

I'm trying to do a simple thing in unity: rotate an object around an axis. But I'm missing something, my object just goes in the downward direction, instead of rotating around the axis.

This is my update function:

this.transform.RotateAround(new Vector3(1,0,5), new Vector3(0,1,0), 10 * Time.deltaTime);

where (1,0,5) is the center of rotation. My object is at position (0,0,0). The object just moves down, instead of rotating. Any idea why this is happening?

This line of code looks correct. Are you sure you don't have another line or another script that moves your object. Does it stop moving when commenting this line? — Basile Perrenoud
Other possible problem is if the transform has a child object that has a different position and OP actually wants to rotate that object, not its parent. — Hristo
I think RotateAround works with world coordinates so if your GameObject is far from that (1,0,5) it will move on a big circle — Jonas Grumann

Masoud Darvishian Masoud Darvishian · Accepted Answer · 2018-02-06T18:12:30

I think it can solve your problem. This is the script you need:

using UnityEngine;

public class RotateObj : MonoBehaviour
{
    private void Update()
    {
        // rotate to its own axis
        transform.Rotate(new Vector3(Random.value, Random.value, Random.value)); 

        // rotate about axis passing through the point in world coordinates
        transform.RotateAround(Vector3.zero, Vector3.up, 1.0f); 
    }
}

and this is your unity configuration:

And it rotates around itself (randomly) and Vector3.zero coordinates

Rotating an object around an axis in unity

1 Answers