Python Data Science Matplotlib Markers 'o' Circle, '*' Star, '.' Point, ',' Pixel, 'x' X,

Markers are keyword argument used to emphasize each point with a specified marker.

Example 1: Mark each point with a circle:

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o')
plt.show()

the output will be

Example 2: In the same example mark each point with a star: Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o')
plt.show()

the output will be

Marker References

You can choose any of the followings.

Marker	Description
'o'	Circle	
'*'	Star	
'.'	Point	
','	Pixel	
'x'	X	
'X'	X (filled)	
'+'	Plus	
'P'	Plus (filled)	
's'	Square	
'D'	Diamond	
'd'	Diamond (thin)	
'p'	Pentagon	
'H'	Hexagon	
'h'	Hexagon	
'v'	Triangle Down	
'^'	Triangle Up	
'<'	Triangle Left	
'>'	Triangle Right	
'1'	Tri Down	
'2'	Tri Up	
'3'	Tri Left	
'4'	Tri Right	
'|'	Vline	
'_'	Hline    

Format Strings fmt

One can also use the shortcut string notation parameter to specify the marker.

This parameter is also called fmt, and is written with this syntax: marker|line|color

Example 3: Mark each point with a circle.

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, 'o:r')
plt.show()

the output will be

Line References

You can choose any of the line values..

Line Syntax Description

'-' ------>Solid line

':' ------>Dotted line

'--' ------>Dashed line

'-.' ------>Dashed/dotted line

Please note that If you leave out the line value in the fmt parameter, no line will be plotted.

Color Reference:

The short color value can be one of the following.

Color Syntax ------Description
'r' -------------->Red

'g' -------------->Green

'b' -------------->Blue

'c' -------------->Cyan

'm' -------------->Magenta

'y' -------------->Yellow

'k' -------------->Black

'w' --------------> White

Marker Size

The keyword argument markersize or the shorter version, ms is used to set the size of the markers.

Example 4: Set the size of the markers to 20

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20)
plt.show()

the output will be

Marker Color

The keyword argument markeredgecolor or the shorter mec is used to set the color of the edge of the markers.

Example 5: Set the EDGE color to red

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20, mec = 'r')
plt.show()

the output will be

Marker Face Color

One can use the keyword argument markerfacecolor or the shorter mfc to set the color inside the edge of the markers.

Example 6: Set the FACE color to red.

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20, mfc = 'r')
plt.show()

the output will be

Using both the mec & mfc arguments to color the entire marker.

Example 7: Set the color of both the edge and the face to red.

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20, mec = 'r', mfc = 'r')
plt.show()

the output will be

Using Hexadecimal Color Values

Example 8: Mark each point with a beautiful green color

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20, mec = '#4CAF50', mfc = '#4CAF50')
plt.show()

the output will be

Using Any of the 140 Supported Color Names

Example 8: Mark each point with a the color name orange

Code

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

ypoints = np.array([3, 8, 1, 10])

plt.plot(ypoints, marker = 'o', ms = 20, mec = 'orange', mfc = 'orange')
plt.show()

the output will be