The following sample code will produce a basic line plot with no axes and save it as an SVG file:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.axis('off')
plt.plot([1,3,1,2,3])
plt.plot([3,1,1,2,1])
plt.savefig("out.svg", transparent = True)
How do I set the resolution / dimensions of the image? There is padding on all sides of the image beyond the line graph. How do I remove the padding so that the lines appear on the edge of the image?
I am continually amazed at how many ways there are to do the same thing in matplotlib.
As such, I am sure that someone can make this code much more terse.
At any rate, this should clearly demonstrate how to go about solving your problem.
>>> import pylab
>>> fig = pylab.figure()
>>> pylab.axis('off')
(0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1.0)
>>> pylab.plot([1,3,1,2,3])
[<matplotlib.lines.Line2D object at 0x37d8cd0>]
>>> pylab.plot([3,1,1,2,1])
[<matplotlib.lines.Line2D object at 0x37d8d10>]
>>> fig.get_size_inches() # check default size (width, height)
array([ 8., 6.])
>>> fig.set_size_inches(4,3)
>>> fig.get_dpi() # check default dpi (in inches)
80
>>> fig.set_dpi(40)
# using bbox_inches='tight' and pad_inches=0
# I managed to remove most of the padding;
# but a small amount still persists
>>> fig.savefig('out.svg', transparent=True, bbox_inches='tight', pad_inches=0)
Documentation for savefig().