plot_wireframe and Axes3D

Hi. I am currently using plot_wireframe to create 3D wireframe images. Is there any way to add a color gradient to these types of figures similar to the image in this link: http://www.gams.com/solvers/matlab.gif ? If this cannot be accomplished with the plot_wireframe function, is there an alternative method for creating 3D meshes that can have a color gradient?

Additionally, the tick labels on the 3D plots i am making intersect with the frame of the plotting area. Is there a way to add more space between the plotting area and these ticks to clean up the image?

Thanks for your help,

ryan