# Unity smooth local rotation around one Axis, oriented toward a target

I want to acheive the same rotation you see in the inspector. In short: a smooth local Y rotation, toward a target

I have a Vector3 orientation: Vector3 dirOrientation = targetToLook.position - movingCamera.position;

So, every Update, what should I do ? I try many thing, but I don't realy understand Quaternion...

I just want to rotate localy in Y, toward a precise moving target, NOT in X or Z. and smoothly with some Lerp or Slerp.

Thanks !

Using the trick discussed in a similar question here and also here, we can define a helper method to point our local Y axis exactly in a particular direction, while turning our local Z axis to face (as close as possible) toward another direction.

Quaternion TurretLookRotation(Vector3 approximateForward, Vector3 exactUp)
{
Quaternion rotateZToUp = Quaternion.LookRotation(exactUp, -approximateForward);
Quaternion rotateYToZ = Quaternion.Euler(90f, 0f, 0f);

return rotateZToUp * rotateYToZ;
}


Now we can use that in Update to face toward our target:

void Update() {
// Form the direction we want to look towards
Vector3 offsetToTarget = target.position - transform.position;

// Preserve our current up direction
// (or you could calculate this as the direction away from the planet's center)
Vector3 up = transform.up;

// Form a rotation facing the desired direction while keeping our
// local up vector exactly matching the current up direction.
Quaternion desiredOrientation = TurretLookRotation(offsetToTarget, up);

// Move toward that rotation at a controlled, even speed regardless of framerate.
transform.rotation = Quaternion.RotateTowards(
transform.rotation,
desiredOrientation,
maxDegreesPerSecond * Time.deltaTime
);

}

• Hello, your methode create a brutal flip upside/down when we are at an extreme angle, do you have any way of resolve this ? thanks Feb 2 '19 at 16:51
• I'll need more details to diagnose the problem. Please provide a reproducible test case and a detailed description of how the specific symptoms you're observing differ from your desired behaviour. Feb 2 '19 at 17:04
• I'm unable to reproduce the problem shown in the video using just the code above. The object rotates smoothly no matter how I change the target's position or desired up vector, even at high maxDegreesPerSecond speeds. The sudden snap might be coming from the code you're using to turn the object to match its new surface. I recommend posting a new Question containing a minimal, complete, verifiable example of all the code needed to reproduce the problem. Feb 2 '19 at 18:24
• No worries. Want to share an answer in case it helps others spot similar issues? To help track down the cause faster in future, it's often useful to create a minimal, complete, verifiable example in a new project, so you can isolate the code/project setup responsible. Mar 31 '19 at 11:27
• To share a question, use the "Ask Question" button at the top-right of the site. It looks like what you're describing is equivalent to Vector3 desiredForward = desiredOrientation * Vector3.forward though. Mar 31 '19 at 11:50