TIL you could make xkcd-like plots with matplotlib

Fun plot style, but the "noise" is too regular to really look right. Seems like like it basically just superimposes a sine wave onto all the straight lines.

Compare the axes of the plots, or the vertical lines on the bar chart which have a pretty distinct periodicity, to the original: https://xkcd.com/373/

Re: TIL you could make xkcd-like plots with matplotlib

#8

Post by robbomacrae » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 6:50 AM UTC

Shameless plug but this is exactly how I put together the graphs in my blog post[0]. It's very easy to use and surprisingly versatile although I did add a bit of photoshopping to get things exactly as I wanted them.

[0] https://summer.ai/blog ChatGPT should be your first cofounder

Re: TIL you could make xkcd-like plots with matplotlib

#9

Post by robbomacrae » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 6:52 AM UTC

angry_moose wrote: post #7

Fun plot style, but the "noise" is too regular to really look right. Seems like like it basically just superimposes a sine wave onto all the straight lines. Compare the axes of the plots, or the vertical lines on the bar chart which have a pretty distinct periodicity, to the original: https://xkcd.com/373/

Yes that's my take. I think its good enough for most use cases but if you really wanted that random effect you might consider replacing the lines using something like an ipad and pencil or stylus.

Re: TIL you could make xkcd-like plots with matplotlib

#10

Post by waveBidder » Mon, Nov 20, 2023, 7:02 AM UTC

zshrdlu wrote: post #6

kristopolous wrote: post #3

is that how he does it? I wouldn't be surprised.

I would be. It's much quicker to draw this than to write code for it.

OTOH, not behavior from randal Monroe that would be surprising.