How to add a custom font in plotnine

Published

August 29, 2024

Plotnine is a package that brings the grammar of graphics, similar to {ggplot2} in R, to Python.

Like {ggplot2}, plotnine supports the use of custom fonts. To add a custom font:

1import matplotlib.font_manager as fm
import os

2project_dir = os.getcwd()
font_path = os.path.join(project_dir, "Raleway-VariableFont_wght.ttf")
prop = fm.FontProperties(fname=font_path)

p = (
    ggplot(rates_long, aes(x="date", y="rate", color="type"))
    + geom_line()
    + theme(
3        title=element_text(hjust=0, fontproperties=prop),
        text=element_text(fontproperties=prop),
        plot_background=element_rect(fill="white")
    )
)

1: Install matplotlib’s font_manager.
2: Install the custom font on your system, and use the os package to point to the directory with your custom font.
3: Set the font in your plotnine plot using the theme() function.

I posted a plotnine plot on Reddit using the Raleway font (code here):