xkcd(tm) in matplotlib? yes!

[30th April 2024]

Today I learned that matplotlib has a `plt.xkcd` function. Yeah, our very own plotting library has a plotting function that allows you to generate plots using xkcd's sketch-style comics.

Needless to say, I created a clipart to express my bliss at this realization.

The code for the above comic is as follows.

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

with plt.xkcd():
    # Based on "Stove Ownership" from XKCD by Randall Munroe
    # https://xkcd.com/418/
    fig = plt.figure()
    ax = fig.add_axes((0.1, 0.2, 0.8, 0.7))
    ax.spines[['top', 'right']].set_visible(False)
    ax.set_xticks([])
    ax.set_yticks([])
    ax.set_ylim([-20, 40])
    data = np.zeros(100)
    data[70:] += np.arange(30)
    ax.annotate(
        'THE DAY I REALIZED\n matplotlib had a `plt.xkcd` function',
        xy=(70, 1), arrowprops=dict(arrowstyle='->'), xytext=(15, -10))
    ax.plot(data,c='grey')
    ax.set_xlabel('time')
    ax.set_ylabel('my mental health')
    fig.text(
        0.5, 0.05,
        'inspired by from xkcd by Randall Munroe',
        ha='center')

A couple of things to note if you want to try this yourself.

Looking at the documentation for `plt.xkcd()`, you will note that it uses custom fonts which by default are not packaged with Matplotlib. Install `xkcd script` from here

Signature:
plt.xkcd(
    scale: 'float' = 1,
    length: 'float' = 100,
    randomness: 'float' = 2,
) -> 'ExitStack'
Docstring:
Turn on `xkcd <https://xkcd.com/>`_ sketch-style drawing mode.

This will only have an effect on things drawn after this function is called.

For best results, install the `xkcd script <https://github.com/ipython/xkcd-font/>`_
font; xkcd fonts are not packaged with Matplotlib.