Anatomy of a Matplotlib Plot
Before moving on to more advanced plots, it’s important to understand the structure of a typical Matplotlib plot.
Each plot is made up of several key components that work together to present your data clearly.
Figure and Axes
- Figure: The overall canvas or container for all visual elements.
- Axes: The actual plotting area inside the figure — this includes the x-axis, y-axis, grid, and the plotted data.
In most simple plots, there is one figure and one set of axes.
Common Plot Elements
Each plot may include:
- A title at the top (
plt.title()) - Labels on the x-axis and y-axis (
plt.xlabel(),plt.ylabel()) - Ticks: the numerical markers along the axes
- The data representation (line, bar, pie, etc.)
- A legend if there are multiple series
- Gridlines (optional) to improve readability
Multiple Subplots
You can place more than one plot inside a single figure using subplots.
Each subplot has its own axes but shares the overall figure space.
We’ll explore subplots later, but it helps to know that one figure can contain many axes.
What’s Next?
Next, you’ll review this structure visually in a slide deck and then test your knowledge in a mid-chapter quiz.
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