How about this: \documentclass[parskip]{scrartcl} \usepackage[margin=15mm]{geometry} \usepackage{tikz} \usetikzlibrary{3d} \begin{document} \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\tubelength}{5} % in "double hexagon lengths" \pgfmathtruncatemacro{\tubecirumferenceatoms}{12} \pgfmathsetmacro{\tuberadius}{3} \newcommand{\carboncolor}{red} \newcommand{\bondcolor}{black} \tikzset{yzplane/.style={canvas is yz plane at