Creating high-quality graphics in LaTeX
TikZ
Almost every LaTeX user loves and hates the good old xfig vector graphics editor. I sticked quite long to it, but converted to the incredibly powerful TikZ package of Till Tantau from Lübeck. It enables you to create high-quality vector graphics, node-based diagrams and much more directly from your LaTeX document. You should check the immense amount of examples in the Manual. Great German tutorials for TikZ can be found on www.statistiker-wg.de.
Sketch 3D
If you want to create high-quality sketches in 3D, and not use google's SketchUp for whatever reason, you should have a look Sketch 3D and the very good tutorials on fauskes.net. The idea of Sketch 3D is simple:
- You describe a simple 3D scene sketch in a separate textfile
- Sketch creates a plain LaTeX file by applying an orthographic projection of the 3D sketch, which is defined by camera viewpoint and orientation.
- The LaTeX file is then included directly in your document.
Highlights of the package are the "sweep"-commands, which repeat a 3D drawing under a spatial motion and connect the resulting objects into a closed solid, and the "fspecial" function allowing to insert pstricks or TikZ commands at projections of 3D positions, taking proper care of the z-Buffer. This allows for example to insert LaTeX formulas right into your figures in proper size and rendering without using good old pstricks.
For a first impression have a look at this slide from my talk at ICVS'09 in Liege, Belgium, where I modelled a camera at different 3D positions, projecting a 3D object. Such an image would be immense work in xfig, not to mention what happens if you want to change the viewpoint later on.