Creating scientific figures

[jiff]

Hi folks,

I'm afraid I haven't found anything on this topic, but I would like your help in creating a workflow for making standardised compositions of high-resolution images.

Specifically: How do I create a figure like the example below as quickly and cleanly (!) as possible? Ideally, I would have a white "template" with, for example, 6 "windows" in this case. I could then flexibly "fill" the windows, which are all the same size and equally spaced, with high-resolution images.

My question: What is the fastest way to do this? So far I have always struggled to do this manually with powerpoint by creating a white line and putting it together and putting a white frame around it so that it looks something like this (but often there is an overhang or the individual "windows" were not exactly the same size...Does anyone have any ideas for me? How can I define such a "template" (e.g. by "fixed" distances between the individual "windows") and how can I then position the actual pictures in it? Is it possible to save such "templates", e.g. as a template?

Please excuse my perhaps strange question! Thanks in advance!

 

[NotMyFault]

I think this is kind of “index printing” which even PowerPoint can do automatically.

The questions to be clarified:

• how many images to process? (Per session / day)?
• all images have same aspect-ratio?
• Any manually pre-processing required?
• which export format, resolution? Single page, multiple files of single page, or single file with multiple  pages?

Based on your answers, Photo or Designer is good for smaller number of images, and Publisher might handle very large amounts.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/publisher/desktop/video/494072789/

[v_kyr]

That's nothing specific, pretty much the same as doing a template like a contact or photo sheet. - As an example for similar things see:

• A contact sheet example

[jiff]

23 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

I think this is kind of “index printing” which even PowerPoint can do automatically.

The questions to be clarified:

• how many images to process? (Per session / day)?
• all images have same aspect-ratio?
• Any manually pre-processing required?
• which export format, resolution? Single page, multiple files of single page, or single file with multiple  pages?

Based on your answers, Photo or Designer is good for smaller number of images, and Publisher might handle very large amounts.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/tutorials/publisher/desktop/video/494072789/

Thank you  @NotMyFault for your input:

 

To your questions:

• how many images to process? (Per session / day)? Should be 4-6 images per session!
• all images have same aspect-ratio? The images in the end should all have the same aspect-ratio, the input files will be from different sources and therefore not in the same geometry.
• Any manually pre-processing required? Yes, manually pre-processing is done before, but this is ok for me. Perfect scenario: I bring my processed images in AD and bring them into a nice and clean compostion.
• which export format, resolution? Single page, multiple files of single page, or single file with multiple  pages? Export format should be .tiff or .png, highest resoultion possible (publishing house will downscale it to 300 dpi anyway..). Output should be a single file with one page.

Thank you in advance for your help! Looking really forward to streamline this process (and to stop doing it with PowerPoint..)

 

[jiff]

23 hours ago, v_kyr said:

That's nothing specific, pretty much the same as doing a template like a contact or photo sheet. - As an example for similar things see:

• A contact sheet example

Thank you @v_kyr! I get your points! In some way it is similar to your film design. But the question ist: How can I get this and change it to my need from scratch? Thanks in advance!

[v_kyr]

16 minutes ago, jiff said:

I get your points! In some way it is similar to your film design. But the question ist: How can I get this and change it to my need from scratch? Thanks in advance!

For Designer/Photo, dependent on the document size you need, aka if only for web display/preview or printing instead, setup a landscape oriented document the size/resolution you need with the default white background. Activate the rulers showup and grid etc. for your doc.

Now from the docs overall width value subtract the white gap sizes you want to keep and divide the remaining result by 3, so you know at first the horizontal width for each black rect image area to use. Do the same for the doc height, subtract the white area size to remain between image heights and divide the remaining result of that by 2, in order to get now the vertical height value for each of those image rects. - You can now drag out horizontal and vertical help lines from the rulers and place these help lines accordingly for layout and rect image area placement assistence.

Next create the 6 rect image areas via the help of setting their width/height values as input into the transform panel and layout/position them accordingly. If they are right positioned lock them in the layers panel so they can't be move accidently around. - Now save the whole as your custom template file!

When using that template, open it, place/load 6 images inside and clip them to the 6 image areas! - Afterwards you can place little round circles grouped with "a, b, c, d, e, f" or "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) text inside on the clipped images.

[NotMyFault]

Hi,

in addition: you can use the Guides Manager.

[NotMyFault]

another pro tip:

• create one folder (OS level, file system) withe the afpohoto file.
• Add 6 placeholder images to the folder (i1.png to i6.png).
• Place the images into the rectangles, like v_kyr explained.

You can simply copy any new set of images into that folder (just keep the filenames).

If you open the afdesign file, it will be updated with the new set of images. If not, use the resource manager to manually start the refresh.

Then simply export the result.

If not, use the resource manager to manually start the refresh.

If you make multiple template folders (to cope with different number of images and aspect rations), you get a really fast process.

 

[jiff]

I really thank you for your help @v_kyr and @NotMyFault! I have now managed, thanks to the guide tool and the setting of a boundary, to align my (in this case) 4 rectangles. But now I have the problem that I do not know how to fill these 4 rectangles. Ideally, I would now load in an image and could move it under the shape to its proper spot (without it overhanging the guides and borders, or the other rectangles). I just want to fill the RECTANGLE. And that just for each rectangle individually. Do you have an idea how to do this?

[v_kyr]

See here how to clip or mask a placed image layer to one of the 6 rects then:

• Masking vs clipping layers (video tutorial)

[jiff]

Again, thank you very much @v_kyr. It's working now!