Scientific figure making

Open references/ only as needed; do not preload every file. Start from the table below, then follow links inside the document you opened (and into figure_* code via references/demos.md) instead of loading the full reference set up front.

When to load this skill

• Matplotlib figures for papers, slides, or reports that must match this repo’s publication look (fonts, palette, spines, legends, export).
• Requests involving grouped bars, trend lines, heatmaps, multi-panel grids, or PDF/SVG/high-DPI output in a scientific-figure context.
• References to figures4papers figure_* projects or “same style as the repo figures.”

When not to load

• Plotly, Altair, Bokeh, or other interactive / web-first plotting.
• EDA-only plots where seaborn or pandas is enough until there is a publication target.
• Primary workflow is 3D, GIS, or non-matplotlib tooling.
• Illustrator / Figma–first layout or infographic (not matplotlib data plots).

Related files

File	Open when
references/tutorials.md	End-to-end walkthroughs (bar, trends, heatmap)
references/api.md	Function signatures, PALETTE, validation rules
references/common-patterns.md	Layout patterns, legend panel, print-safe bars
references/design-theory.md	Typography, export policy, palette rationale
references/demos.md	Canonical figure_* demo links in figures4papers