From whiteboard sketch to publication figure in one afternoon

1. Photograph the sketch cleanly

Fill the frame, shoot straight on, and avoid glare. You do not need to erase mistakes; the image is a reference, not the artwork. Add a one-line caption describing what the sketch shows so the model resolves ambiguous shapes correctly.

2. Generate with image-to-figure

Upload the photo in PaperPict, choose the figure type (mechanism, workflow, schematic), and select a journal palette. In about 30 seconds you get a clean vector redraw with consistent line weights, proper arrowheads, and legible labels.

3. Fix the science first

Check every entity name and every arrow direction against your data before you touch the styling. Because labels and arrows are live objects, corrections are direct edits, and you can regenerate one panel if the model misunderstood a region.

4. Then fix the layout

Align nodes to the grid, equalise spacing, and make sure the reading order matches the narrative. Strip the background if the figure will sit on a slide or poster template.

5. Export the master and the derivatives

Save the layered SVG as the master. Export a 600 DPI PNG at the journal's column width for submission and an editable PPTX for the talk. All three come from the same source, so they will always match.

6. Keep the source for round two

When reviews arrive, reopen the SVG or the PaperPict project, make the change, and re-export at the same settings. A relabel takes two minutes; a redraw is no longer necessary.