Which software to draw math/physics figure?

[bobfei]

Hi,

I would like to ask a question on figure drawing.

When communicating math/physics idea with other people, it is inevitable that formulas and figures are needed. For formulas we have TEX or Mathtype, but for drawing figures, is there very convenient tools that could quickly give expressive and faithful result?

Things I could think of are:

AutoCAD

great for mechanical drawing, but is a giant application and too complicated in many situations​

VISIO

handy, but the drawing is not precise in dimensions​

Matlab & Mathematica

only suitable for drawing functions, meshes, etc.​

MS Paint

... most simple, but not competent​

Photoshop

suitable only for artistic rendering, not good for expressing abstract ideas or intuitive visualizations in math/physics​

So this kind of eliminates all these mainstream software, and none is ideally suitable. My question is how does people in
1. This forum
2. Academia
3. Academic press industry
Draw images? For large companies I believe they can use draftsman, but for individuals, they might not be able to afford, and it is not convenient at all especially for informal discussions.

So how do you draw figures in
1. homework
2. academic paper
3. online/email discussion
?

I occasionally uses MIT OCW, and some of the drawings on their PDF Slides are pretty good. Does anyone know how they were drawn?


Appreciate any response,
Bob

 

[Simon_Tyler]

You missed vector graphics programs like http://www.inkscape.org/" . I've used them for diagrams and drawings in both papers and lecture notes.

 

[nbo10]

I use Adobe Illustrator. google sketchup might be another option, but I haven't had a chance to use it.

 

[bobfei]

You missed vector graphics programs like http://www.inkscape.org/" . I've used them for diagrams and drawings in both papers and lecture notes.

Dear Simon,

Compare with Adobe Illustrator / Macromedia freehand, which are is more convenient?


Bob

 

[pongo38]

I use corel draw and google sketchup, but what I think is that any package is ok if you get to know it and its limitations well.

 

[bobfei]

I use corel draw and google sketchup, but what I think is that any package is ok if you get to know it and its limitations well.

Is corel draw a complicated software?

In particular, is it huge in size? And is it fast (fast like Google chrome, etc.) ? I tried to use AutoCAD to do some drawing, but its slow startup time and memory space consumption made it unfavorable for frequently use.


Bob

 

[Jonsoncao]

Hi, bobfei

I assume you work on windows and I would recommend this tiny pkg called TpX, the link is as follows
http://tpx.sourceforge.net

 

[bobfei]

Dear Jonsoncao,

I looked at the http://tpx.sourceforge.net/sample_img.htm" and it looked amazing. Is this software easy to use?

And is it capable of drawing MATLAB class figures?

Bob

 

[Jonsoncao]

It is relatively easy to use comparing with AutoCAD IMHO, since the GUI is similar to MS paint, but it can't draw a function curve like MATLAB does, you have to import data from other files. I use TpX mostly for casual purposes. For academic paper writing, I draw figures using a LaTeX pkg called TikZ/PGF, it is powerful and free, but the learning curve is kinda steep...

here are some example drawings: http://www.texample.net/tikz/examples

 

[bobfei]

Dear Jonsoncao,

I will try them, thanks for the answer.

Bob