Plotting 'ggplot2' Graphics in an 'XKCD' Style

Provides custom geoms and themes to create charts and graphics in the distinctive, hand-drawn 'XKCD' webcomic style using the 'ggplot2' framework. The package utilizes custom layers for jittered lines, segments, circles, and figures, and includes a theme that supports the necessary 'XKCD' font.

xkcd

An R package to create hand-drawn (xkcd-style) plots and elements for ggplot2.

This repository contains the source for the xkcd package (development version). Originally from https://r-forge.r-project.org/projects/xkcd/ which is deprecated and now maintained independently.

Install

Install the latest CRAN version:

install.packages("xkcd")

Install the current development version from GitHub:

# using remotes
remotes::install_github("ToledoEM/xkcd")

# or using devtools
devtools::install_github("ToledoEM/xkcd")

Quick Start

library(xkcd)
library(ggplot2)

df <- data.frame(x = 1:10, y = cumsum(runif(10, -0.5, 0.8)))

ggplot(df, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
  geom_xkcdpath(linewidth = 1, colour = "black") +
  theme_xkcd()

Key Notes

• The package uses Hmisc::bezier() internally for smoothing paths.
• Uses linewidth (ggplot2 >= 3.4.0) for line thickness; older code using size is supported where possible.
• Requires xkcd fonts to be installed; see Fonts section below.

New in 0.1.1

• Reproducible plots. geom_xkcdpath(), xkcdrect() and xkcdman() take a seed argument, so the same plot renders identically every time. The global random state is left untouched.

  ggplot(df, aes(x = x, y = y)) +
    geom_xkcdpath(linewidth = 1, seed = 42) +
    theme_xkcd()
  

• wobble argument scales how much the lines wander. 1 is the default look, 0 draws them straight.

• xkcdrect() is now a standard geom (breaking change). It returns a single layer and uses the usual fill, colour and linewidth aesthetics, which can be mapped to variables. Faceting and plot-level aesthetics now work.

  # before
  xkcdrect(mapping, data, fillcolour = "pink", borderlinewidth = 1)
  
  # now
  xkcdrect(mapping, data, fill = "pink", linewidth = 1)
  

  The old fillcolour / bordercolour / borderlinewidth arguments still work for one release but warn.

• xkcdline() is deprecated in favour of geom_xkcdpath() and warns when used.

Fonts

To use xkcd fonts in your plots, you need to install and register them with R's graphics system.

Install xkcd Fonts

If xkcd fonts are not already installed on your system:

library(extrafont)

# Download and install the font
download.file(
  "https://toledoem.github.io/img/xkcd.ttf",
  dest = "xkcd.ttf", mode = "wb"
)
font_import(pattern = "[X/x]kcd", prompt = FALSE)

You can also download the font from the iphyton repository XKCD-font: xkcd.ttf

Quick font-check (fundamental)

Run this small example to verify the xkcd font is available and to produce a quick check plot. This should be run locally after installing the font and registering it with extrafont.

# Font availability check and example plot
library(extrafont)
library(ggplot2)

if ('xkcd' %in% extrafont::fonts()) {
  p <- ggplot() + geom_point(aes(x = mpg, y = wt), data = mtcars) +
    theme(text = element_text(size = 16, family = "xkcd"))
} else {
  warning("xkcd fonts are not installed; using default font for plot.")
  p <- ggplot() + geom_point(aes(x = mpg, y = wt), data = mtcars)
}

print(p)

# Optionally save a small PNG to `vignettes/` for documentation purposes
try({
  ggsave(filename = file.path("vignettes", "font_check.png"), plot = p, width = 6, height = 4)
}, silent = TRUE)

Load Fonts for Plotting

Before plotting, register fonts with your graphics device:

library(xkcd)
library(extrafont)

# Load fonts for your output device
extrafont::loadfonts(device = "win", quiet = TRUE)  # or "pdf" or "postscript"

# Then create your plot
ggplot(...) + theme_xkcd()

Automatic Font Loading (opt-in)

To automatically load fonts when the package is attached (opt-in):

# Set before loading the package
options(xkcd.auto_load_fonts = TRUE)
library(xkcd)

This is opt-in to avoid surprising side-effects during package attach.

Figure Pose Helper

An interactive browser tool to design xkcdman() poses visually — drag limbs, adjust sliders, and copy the generated R code directly into your script.

Open the Figure Pose Helper

Example Images

Below are two examples from the vignette:

Development

Set up a development workflow with:

Note: A TeX distribution (for example, MacTeX or TinyTeX) is required to compile vignettes or to build the PDF manual during development. If LaTeX is not available you can either skip the manual with --no-manual when checking or install TinyTeX from R:

# from R: install tinytex and the TinyTeX distribution
install.packages("tinytex")
tinytex::install_tinytex()

# Regenerate documentation from roxygen comments
devtools::document()

# Run package checks (skip PDF manual if LaTeX not installed)
devtools::check(args = "--no-manual")

# Build vignettes
devtools::build_vignettes()

# Install from local source
devtools::install_local()

To render the vignettes directly:

rmarkdown::render("vignettes/xkcd-intro.Rmd")
rmarkdown::render("vignettes/xkcd-figure.Rmd")
rmarkdown::render("vignettes/xkcd-penguins.Rmd")

Three vignettes are available:

• xkcd-intro — Introduction and basic usage
• xkcd-figure — Drawing xkcd-style stick figures
• xkcd-penguins — Example with the Palmer Penguins dataset

Dependencies

The package requires:

• ggplot2 — Graphics framework
• Hmisc — Bezier curve interpolation
• grid — Low-level graphics primitives (ships with R, no install needed)
• extrafont — Font management

Install dependencies with:

install.packages(c("ggplot2", "Hmisc", "extrafont"))

Contributing

Contributions, bug reports, and pull requests are welcome. Please open an issue with a description and minimal reproducible example if relevant.

License

This package is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.