TikZ Package: Drawing Graphics in LaTeX

TikZ: Graphics in LaTeX

TikZ lets you create publication-quality diagrams directly in LaTeX.

Getting Started

\usepackage{tikz}

Basic drawing environment:

\begin{tikzpicture} ...drawing commands... \end{tikzpicture}

Basic Shapes

Lines

\draw (0,0) -- (2,0); — horizontal line

\draw (0,0) -- (2,2); — diagonal line

Rectangles

\draw (0,0) rectangle (2,1);

Circles

\draw (0,0) circle (1cm);

Ellipses

\draw (0,0) ellipse (2cm and 1cm);

Coordinates

Cartesian

(x, y) — x units right, y units up

Relative

++(1,1) — relative to current position

Named

\coordinate (A) at (0,0); \draw (A) -- (B);

Nodes

Nodes are points with optional labels:

Basic Node

\node at (0,0) {Text};

Positioned Node

\node[above] at (0,0) {Label above};

\node[below right] at (0,0) {Below right};

Styled Node

\node[circle, draw, fill=blue!20] {A};

Paths

Draw (stroked path)

\draw (0,0) -- (1,1) -- (2,0);

Fill (filled path)

\fill[blue] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

Filldraw (both)

\filldraw[fill=yellow, draw=black] (0,0) circle (1);

Styling

Line Styles

\draw[dashed] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[dotted] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[thick] (0,0) -- (2,0);

\draw[line width=2pt] (0,0) -- (2,0);

Colors

\draw[red] (0,0) -- (1,1);

\draw[blue!50] (0,0) -- (1,1); — 50% blue

Arrows

\draw[->] (0,0) -- (2,0); — arrow at end

\draw[<->] (0,0) -- (2,0); — arrows both ends

\draw[->, thick] (0,0) -- (2,0);

Curved Paths

Bezier Curves

\draw (0,0) .. controls (1,1) .. (2,0);

Smooth Curves Through Points

\draw plot[smooth] coordinates {(0,0) (1,1) (2,0)};

Arcs

\draw (0,0) arc (0:90:1cm); — start:end:radius

Grids

\draw[step=1cm, gray, thin] (0,0) grid (4,4);

Transformations

Shift

\draw[shift={(1,1)}] (0,0) circle (0.5);

Scale

\draw[scale=2] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

Rotate

\draw[rotate=45] (0,0) rectangle (1,1);

TikZ Libraries

Load additional features:

\usetikzlibrary{shapes, arrows, positioning}

Common libraries: - shapes — more shapes - arrows — arrow styles - positioning — relative positioning - calc — coordinate calculations - patterns — fill patterns

Flowcharts

With shapes and arrows:

\node[rectangle, draw] (start) {Start}; \node[rectangle, draw, below=of start] (process) {Process}; \draw[->] (start) -- (process);

Mathematical Plots

\draw[domain=0:2*pi, samples=100] plot (\x, {sin(\x r)});

Common Patterns

Labeled Diagram

\node[circle, draw] (A) at (0,0) {A}; \node[circle, draw] (B) at (2,0) {B}; \draw[->] (A) -- node[above] {edge} (B);

Coordinate System

\draw[->] (-0.5,0) -- (3,0) node[right] {$x$}; \draw[->] (0,-0.5) -- (0,3) node[above] {$y$};

Create TikZ Diagrams with Octree

Octree helps with TikZ:

- Preview diagrams in real-time - AI suggests correct syntax - Visual coordinate feedback - Export vector graphics

Try it at https://useoctree.com