How to make scientific figures from a research description

A useful scientific figure starts with a clear account of what you want to show. MakeFigures creates a raster diagram draft from that account. It supports research workflows, model architectures and simple mechanisms.

Plan the structure first

Choose one message for the figure. List the components, their exact labels and their relationships. State the reading direction and distinguish sequence, association and causation. Supply any quantities yourself; the generator should not invent results.

For a complex figure, start with a smaller schematic. A single well-defined workflow is easier to check than several unrelated panels.

Write a concrete description

Open the scientific figure maker, describe the components, exact labels and connections, then choose an aspect ratio, drawing style and color palette in the bottom toolbar. Leave them on Auto when you have no preference. Styles include scientific illustration, flat, line art, isometric and 3D; colors can come from a preset or your own palette.

The interface supports English and Chinese. Supply the exact English labels when you need English text in the figure.

These are input examples, not claims of validated generated output:

Research method

Draw a left-to-right workflow: sample collection, RNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing, quality control and differential expression analysis. Connect consecutive steps with arrows. Keep the labels exactly as written. Include no numerical results.

Check that every step appears once and in the requested order. Do not treat this generic workflow as a complete experimental protocol.

Model architecture

Draw a simplified Transformer encoder block: token embeddings plus positional encoding, multi-head self-attention, Add & Norm, feed-forward network and another Add & Norm. Show the two residual connections clearly.

Check the residual paths and attention connections against your actual model. A plausible-looking architecture can still be wrong.

Simple mechanism

Draw a conceptual carrier enclosing cargo outside a cell, uptake into an endosome and proposed cargo release into the cytoplasm. Label the release arrow as a proposed mechanism. Include no efficiency claims.

Check that the graphic distinguishes a hypothesis from an observed result.

Sign in and generate

Your draft is saved in the current browser tab so it can survive the sign-in flow. Avoid entering confidential research or identifying information. See the privacy notice for how your content is processed.

The tool displays the current credit cost and trial allowance. When generation is enabled, submit once and wait for the task status. You can leave the page and return to My figures; execution does not depend on keeping your browser open.

If the provider submission cannot be confirmed, MakeFigures checks the existing task before attempting any further action. A confirmed failure returns the generation credits. An explicit retry creates a new generation and uses credits again.

Review the result

Before downloading or using the figure:

• Read every label and abbreviation, including small text.
• Compare all arrows, activation and inhibition marks with your source.
• Verify counts, units, compartments and component relationships.
• Remove or correct anything that the model added without support.
• Check readability and contrast at the size at which you will use it.

AI generation and visual polish do not establish scientific correctness. Human review remains part of the workflow.

Download and keep your work

Download the PNG from the result or your private history. Downloads use no additional AI credits. The PNG is a raster image; text and shapes are not separate editable objects. SVG conversion and online object editing are not available in this version.

The actual pixel dimensions appear with the result. Check them against the publisher's required dimensions and final print size. Changing DPI metadata alone does not create more detail.

Your history shows each figure's expiry date. Download anything you want to keep before that date. Completed figures can also be deleted earlier. See the privacy notice for storage and supplier processing details.

Assemble finished panels into one figure

Use the multi panel figure maker to combine finished charts and images. Choose a layout, set the physical width and panel labels, and check each raster panel’s effective DPI before exporting PNG, TIFF, PDF or SVG. Layout and export run locally and are free.

Prepare axes, scale bars and annotations in the source images first. Keep your original files and download a JSON project backup for later changes. The layout tool’s PDF output is a flattened raster page; supported vectors are preserved in its SVG output.

Create your figure