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2D plot styling

Download notebookView on GitHubRun when the site was built.

Customize plot appearance with colors, markers, line styles, and custom ticks.

from tikzfigure import TikzFigure, marks, styles

Colors and markers

Section titled “Colors and markers”

pgfplots supports named colors and various marker types:

fig = TikzFigure()


ax = fig.axis2d(
    xlabel="Month",
    ylabel="Temperature",
    xlim=(0, 13),
    grid=True,
)


months = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]
temp_seattle = [-5, -4, 0, 5, 10, 15, 18, 17, 12, 6, 0, -4]
temp_phoenix = [12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 36, 38, 37, 33, 26, 18, 12]


ax.add_plot(
    months,
    temp_seattle,
    label="Seattle",
    color="blue",
    mark=marks.circle,
)
ax.add_plot(
    months,
    temp_phoenix,
    label="Phoenix",
    color="red",
    mark=marks.square,
)


ax.set_legend(position="north west")
fig.show()
/home/runner/work/tikzfigure/tikzfigure/.venv/lib/python3.12/site-packages/fitz/__init__.py:17: FutureWarning: The `fitz` API is deprecated and will be removed in future. Use `import pymupdf` instead.
  warnings.warn(
Notebook output
Show the TikZ code
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=Month, ylabel=Temperature, xmin=0, xmax=13, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
        \addplot[color=blue, mark=o] coordinates {(1,-5) (2,-4) (3,0) (4,5) (5,10) (6,15) (7,18) (8,17) (9,12) (10,6) (11,0) (12,-4)};
        \addplot[color=red, mark=square] coordinates {(1,12) (2,15) (3,18) (4,24) (5,30) (6,36) (7,38) (8,37) (9,33) (10,26) (11,18) (12,12)};
        \legend{Seattle, Phoenix}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
Show the standalone LaTeX document
\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\PassOptionsToPackage{dvipsnames,svgnames,x11names}{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}
\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=Month, ylabel=Temperature, xmin=0, xmax=13, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
        \addplot[color=blue, mark=o] coordinates {(1,-5) (2,-4) (3,0) (4,5) (5,10) (6,15) (7,18) (8,17) (9,12) (10,6) (11,0) (12,-4)};
        \addplot[color=red, mark=square] coordinates {(1,12) (2,15) (3,18) (4,24) (5,30) (6,36) (7,38) (8,37) (9,33) (10,26) (11,18) (12,12)};
        \legend{Seattle, Phoenix}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}


\end{document}

Available markers: raw strings still work, and so do objects like marks.circle, marks.asterisk, marks.square, marks.triangle, marks.diamond, marks.x, and marks.plus

Available colors: red, blue, green, black, plus mixing like blue!50!red

Line styles and thickness

Section titled “Line styles and thickness”

Customize line appearance with options and line_width:

fig = TikzFigure()


ax = fig.axis2d(
    xlabel="$X$",
    ylabel="$Y$",
    xlim=(0, 10),
    grid=True,
)


x = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
y1 = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100]
y2 = [0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20]


ax.add_plot(
    x,
    y1,
    label="Thick solid",
    color="red",
    line_width="2pt",
)
ax.add_plot(
    x,
    y2,
    label="Thin dashed",
    color="blue",
    options=[styles.dashed],
)


ax.set_legend()
fig.show()
Notebook output
Show the TikZ code
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=$X$, ylabel=$Y$, xmin=0, xmax=10, grid=major, legend pos=north east]
        \addplot[color=red, line width=2pt] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,4) (3,9) (4,16) (5,25) (6,36) (7,49) (8,64) (9,81) (10,100)};
        \addplot[dashed, color=blue] coordinates {(0,0) (1,2) (2,4) (3,6) (4,8) (5,10) (6,12) (7,14) (8,16) (9,18) (10,20)};
        \legend{Thick solid, Thin dashed}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
Show the standalone LaTeX document
\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\PassOptionsToPackage{dvipsnames,svgnames,x11names}{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}
\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=$X$, ylabel=$Y$, xmin=0, xmax=10, grid=major, legend pos=north east]
        \addplot[color=red, line width=2pt] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,4) (3,9) (4,16) (5,25) (6,36) (7,49) (8,64) (9,81) (10,100)};
        \addplot[dashed, color=blue] coordinates {(0,0) (1,2) (2,4) (3,6) (4,8) (5,10) (6,12) (7,14) (8,16) (9,18) (10,20)};
        \legend{Thick solid, Thin dashed}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}


\end{document}

options accepts pgfplots flags: "dashed", "dotted", "densely dashed", "only marks".

Custom ticks and labels

Section titled “Custom ticks and labels”

Control tick positions and labels:

fig = TikzFigure()


ax = fig.axis2d(
    xlabel="Grade",
    ylabel="Count",
    xlim=(0.5, 4.5),
    ylim=(0, 30),
)


ax.add_plot(
    [1, 2, 3, 4],
    [5, 12, 18, 10],
    label="Students",
    color="green",
    mark="*",
)


# Custom x-axis labels
ax.set_ticks(
    "x",
    [1, 2, 3, 4],
    labels=["A", "B", "C", "D"],
)


# Y-axis ticks at multiples of 5
ax.set_ticks("y", [0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30])


ax.set_legend()
fig.show()
Notebook output
Show the TikZ code
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=Grade, ylabel=Count, xmin=0.5, xmax=4.5, ymin=0, ymax=30, xtick={1,2,3,4}, xticklabels={{A},{B},{C},{D}}, ytick={0,5,10,15,20,25,30}, grid=major, legend pos=north east]
        \addplot[color=green, mark=*] coordinates {(1,5) (2,12) (3,18) (4,10)};
        \legend{Students}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
Show the standalone LaTeX document
\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\PassOptionsToPackage{dvipsnames,svgnames,x11names}{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}
\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=Grade, ylabel=Count, xmin=0.5, xmax=4.5, ymin=0, ymax=30, xtick={1,2,3,4}, xticklabels={{A},{B},{C},{D}}, ytick={0,5,10,15,20,25,30}, grid=major, legend pos=north east]
        \addplot[color=green, mark=*] coordinates {(1,5) (2,12) (3,18) (4,10)};
        \legend{Students}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}


\end{document}

Scatter plots (only marks)

Section titled “Scatter plots (only marks)”

Use options=["only marks"] to show only markers without connecting lines:

fig = TikzFigure()


ax = fig.axis2d(
    xlabel="X",
    ylabel="Y",
    xlim=(-1, 5),
    ylim=(-2, 10),
    grid=True,
)


# Noisy data points
x_data = [0, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4]
y_data = [0, 0.9, 2.2, 3.8, 4.5, 6.2, 8.1]


# Fitted line
x_fit = [i * 0.1 for i in range(50)]
y_fit = [2 * x + 0.5 for x in x_fit]


ax.add_plot(
    x_data,
    y_data,
    label="Data",
    color="red",
    mark="o",
    mark_size="2pt",
    options=["only marks"],
)
ax.add_plot(
    x_fit,
    y_fit,
    label="Fit: y = 2x + 0.5",
    color="blue",
)


ax.set_legend(position="north west")
fig.show()
Notebook output
Show the TikZ code
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=X, ylabel=Y, xmin=-1, xmax=5, ymin=-2, ymax=10, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
        \addplot[only marks, color=red, mark=o, mark size=2pt] coordinates {(0,0) (1,0.9) (1.5,2.2) (2,3.8) (2.5,4.5) (3,6.2) (4,8.1)};
        \addplot[color=blue] coordinates {(0.0,0.5) (0.1,0.7) (0.2,0.9) (0.30000000000000004,1.1) (0.4,1.3) (0.5,1.5) (0.6000000000000001,1.7000000000000002) (0.7000000000000001,1.9000000000000001) (0.8,2.1) (0.9,2.3) (1.0,2.5) (1.1,2.7) (1.2000000000000002,2.9000000000000004) (1.3,3.1) (1.4000000000000001,3.3000000000000003) (1.5,3.5) (1.6,3.7) (1.7000000000000002,3.9000000000000004) (1.8,4.1) (1.9000000000000001,4.300000000000001) (2.0,4.5) (2.1,4.7) (2.2,4.9) (2.3000000000000003,5.1000000000000005) (2.4000000000000004,5.300000000000001) (2.5,5.5) (2.6,5.7) (2.7,5.9) (2.8000000000000003,6.1000000000000005) (2.9000000000000004,6.300000000000001) (3.0,6.5) (3.1,6.7) (3.2,6.9) (3.3000000000000003,7.1000000000000005) (3.4000000000000004,7.300000000000001) (3.5,7.5) (3.6,7.7) (3.7,7.9) (3.8000000000000003,8.100000000000001) (3.9000000000000004,8.3) (4.0,8.5) (4.1000000000000005,8.700000000000001) (4.2,8.9) (4.3,9.1) (4.4,9.3) (4.5,9.5) (4.6000000000000005,9.700000000000001) (4.7,9.9) (4.800000000000001,10.100000000000001) (4.9,10.3)};
        \legend{Data, {Fit: y = 2x + 0.5}}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
Show the standalone LaTeX document
\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\PassOptionsToPackage{dvipsnames,svgnames,x11names}{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}
\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    \begin{axis}[xlabel=X, ylabel=Y, xmin=-1, xmax=5, ymin=-2, ymax=10, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
        \addplot[only marks, color=red, mark=o, mark size=2pt] coordinates {(0,0) (1,0.9) (1.5,2.2) (2,3.8) (2.5,4.5) (3,6.2) (4,8.1)};
        \addplot[color=blue] coordinates {(0.0,0.5) (0.1,0.7) (0.2,0.9) (0.30000000000000004,1.1) (0.4,1.3) (0.5,1.5) (0.6000000000000001,1.7000000000000002) (0.7000000000000001,1.9000000000000001) (0.8,2.1) (0.9,2.3) (1.0,2.5) (1.1,2.7) (1.2000000000000002,2.9000000000000004) (1.3,3.1) (1.4000000000000001,3.3000000000000003) (1.5,3.5) (1.6,3.7) (1.7000000000000002,3.9000000000000004) (1.8,4.1) (1.9000000000000001,4.300000000000001) (2.0,4.5) (2.1,4.7) (2.2,4.9) (2.3000000000000003,5.1000000000000005) (2.4000000000000004,5.300000000000001) (2.5,5.5) (2.6,5.7) (2.7,5.9) (2.8000000000000003,6.1000000000000005) (2.9000000000000004,6.300000000000001) (3.0,6.5) (3.1,6.7) (3.2,6.9) (3.3000000000000003,7.1000000000000005) (3.4000000000000004,7.300000000000001) (3.5,7.5) (3.6,7.7) (3.7,7.9) (3.8000000000000003,8.100000000000001) (3.9000000000000004,8.3) (4.0,8.5) (4.1000000000000005,8.700000000000001) (4.2,8.9) (4.3,9.1) (4.4,9.3) (4.5,9.5) (4.6000000000000005,9.700000000000001) (4.7,9.9) (4.800000000000001,10.100000000000001) (4.9,10.3)};
        \legend{Data, {Fit: y = 2x + 0.5}}
    \end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}


\end{document}

Axes on different layers

Section titled “Axes on different layers”

Axes can be assigned to layers to control stacking with other TikZ elements:

fig = TikzFigure()


ax = fig.axis2d(
    xlabel="X",
    ylabel="Y",
    xlim=(0, 5),
    ylim=(0, 5),
    layer=1,
)
ax.add_plot(
    [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
    [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5],
    label="data",
    color="red",
)
ax.set_legend(position="north west")


# Background shape on layer 0
fig.node(
    (2.5, 2.5),
    label="bg",
    content="Background",
    shape="circle",
    minimum_size="4cm",
    fill="gray!20",
    draw="none",
    layer=0,
)


# Foreground annotation on layer 2
fig.node(
    (4, 4),
    label="fg",
    content="Foreground!",
    shape="rectangle",
    fill="yellow!30",
    layer=2,
)


fig.show()
Notebook output
Show the TikZ code
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    % Define the layers library
    \pgfdeclarelayer{0}
    \pgfdeclarelayer{1}
    \pgfdeclarelayer{2}
    \pgfsetlayers{0,1,2}


    % Layer 0
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{0}
        \node[shape=circle, fill=gray!20, draw=none, minimum size=4cm] (bg) at ({2.5}, {2.5}) {Background};
    \end{pgfonlayer}{0}


    % Layer 2
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{2}
        \node[shape=rectangle, fill=yellow!30] (fg) at ({4}, {4}) {Foreground!};
    \end{pgfonlayer}{2}


    % Layer 1
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{1}
        \begin{axis}[xlabel=X, ylabel=Y, xmin=0, xmax=5, ymin=0, ymax=5, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
            \addplot[color=red] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,2) (3,3) (4,4) (5,5)};
            \legend{data}
        \end{axis}
    \end{pgfonlayer}{1}
\end{tikzpicture}
Show the standalone LaTeX document
\documentclass[border=10pt]{standalone}
\PassOptionsToPackage{dvipsnames,svgnames,x11names}{xcolor}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=newest}
\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\begin{document}
% --------------------------------------------- %
% Tikzfigure generated by tikzfigure v0.5.0     %
% https://github.com/max-models/tikzfigure      %
% --------------------------------------------- %
\begin{tikzpicture}
    % Define the layers library
    \pgfdeclarelayer{0}
    \pgfdeclarelayer{1}
    \pgfdeclarelayer{2}
    \pgfsetlayers{0,1,2}


    % Layer 0
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{0}
        \node[shape=circle, fill=gray!20, draw=none, minimum size=4cm] (bg) at ({2.5}, {2.5}) {Background};
    \end{pgfonlayer}{0}


    % Layer 2
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{2}
        \node[shape=rectangle, fill=yellow!30] (fg) at ({4}, {4}) {Foreground!};
    \end{pgfonlayer}{2}


    % Layer 1
    \begin{pgfonlayer}{1}
        \begin{axis}[xlabel=X, ylabel=Y, xmin=0, xmax=5, ymin=0, ymax=5, grid=major, legend pos=north west]
            \addplot[color=red] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,2) (3,3) (4,4) (5,5)};
            \legend{data}
        \end{axis}
    \end{pgfonlayer}{1}
\end{tikzpicture}


\end{document}

Part of the max-models projectsSource on GitHub