richardsplot

Matplotlib plotting standards for Gordon Richards' group

Setup

% pip install richardsplot

Usage

In your Python script, add

import numpy as np
import matplotlib as mpl
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import palettable
import richardsplot as rplot

Your rcParams variable will change to meet the standards.

Some matplotlib color cycles are also defined. To use them, do something like one of the following:

plt.plot(x,y,color=rplot.csdark[2])

or

ax.set_color_cycle(rplot.csdark)

Where ax is the matplotlib axis instance of interest.

For documentation on Palettable see: https://jiffyclub.github.io/palettable/#finding-palettes

Good Plotting Guidelines

Please also see the plotting guidelines that Nadia Zakamska has put together for her group at JHU: http://zakamska.johnshopkins.edu/COMPUTING/graph_guide.html

I'll emphasize the need for text in plots to be as big or bigger than the text in the paper (which this package should help solve), the need to make good color choices, and separation of analysis and plot making (so that remaking a plot doesn't mean re-running your analysis code).

Test Plots

If you want to suggest changes to the default parameters, first edit your own version and remake the test plots (currently just testplot1.py):

> python testplot1.py

then compare your new figure to testplot1.pdf and let me know why you think that your new version is better.

Please contribute additional test plots.