[OS X TeX] Figure (tikz?) question

[Luis Sequeira]

> Apologies in advance for the non-TeXShop-specific question.
> 
> I need to create computer-produced versions of these two figures:
> 
> <http://web.lemoyne.edu/~craigda/Images/Research/paths.pdf>
> <http://web.lemoyne.edu/~craigda/Images/Research/spinfoamlqc-1M.pdf>
> 
> My graphics-program skills are adequate, not awesome, and these will be painful.  Before I go down that route, though, these figures seem to me to be likely candidates for one of the TeX drawing programs.   I?m not familiar with these at all beyond being vaguely familiar with their existence (e.g. tikz) and having seen some figures produced with them.
> 
> I?m on a pretty short timeline.   I?m asking for advice, really.   Is going to be possible to create these figures in a reasonable amount of time starting from very little knowledge?   If so, which should I use?   tikz?   What?s the best way (resource, that is) to get up to speed?
> 
> Thanks,
> David Craig
> 

As a pstricks guy, naturally that is what I would use, for myself. But I am fully aware that other tools, like tikz or asymptote, might be used just as easily.

The point of my reply, though, is to suggest a different approach that may be useful to you and others who are not so familiar with one of the above tools. You can use any drawing program to do the pictures, and use \includegraphics to put them in your LaTeX file. The problem with this approach is to get the labelling consistent with the math fonts in TeX. 

And here comes help, in the form of a free program that can: 

1) draw just about anything you want, pictorially and/or programmatically
2) use LaTeX code to insert symbols, formulas, etc
3) export the resulting graphic to either a standalone file, OR as pstricks or tikz code that you can input or copy/paste to use in your LaTeX code.

Any guesses to what this program is? 

Well, it starts with GEO(metry) and ends with (al)GEBRA.

Luis Sequeira