How to make high quality, 'publishable' plots

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A
A on 27 Feb 2016
Commented: atharva aalok on 30 Jul 2022
Hi guys,
I am doing my best to make plots that are of really pleasant quality. I want plots to look contemporary, with high resolution, anti-aliasing, and other enhancements so they look very 'pretty'. I have the following test plot. Is there a way to improve this plot and make it more 'publishable'?
x = linspace(0,100);
y = @(x) log(x);
plot(x,y(x));
title('Test Title');
xlabel('X-Axis (unit)');
ylabel('Y-Axis (unit)');
Thanks
  1 Comment
Adam Wyatt
Adam Wyatt on 4 Nov 2020
Edited: Adam Wyatt on 4 Nov 2020
  • Increase the linewidth (2 or 3 is good).
  • Add a grid
  • Add minor ticks to the axes.
  • Plot as an area with solid line and semi-transparent fill.
  • Set the axes limits appropriately.
  • Add a legend.
  • Change the font and fontsize to match the output size.
  • Set the figure aspect ratio correctly.
  • Remove excess padding.
For example all the figures in https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.025355 were made in MATLAB (only the text inside figure 1 was added externally).

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Answers (2)

Ron
Ron on 28 Feb 2016

atharva aalok
atharva aalok on 17 Oct 2021
Edited: atharva aalok on 17 Oct 2021
Please refer the following Plotting Template:
The above is an easy to follow Beginner Friendly template.
The idea is to create Professional Standard Plots within seconds without a steep learning curve and with consistency.
It also offers a wide range of preset Color Codes (please refer the attached image for the Color Palatte)
Sample Plot:
Color Palatte:

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