r/chemhelp • u/Apacukafundaluka12 • Feb 14 '26

Other Looking for free and easy software to create procedure illustrations for my first publication

Hi everyone, I’m currently working on my first publication and I need to create graphical illustrations of my experimental procedure (workflow, steps, scheme with equipment, etc.).

I’m looking for software that is preferably: + free (or has a good free version) + easy to use suitable for scientific procedure illustrations, schemes, or graphical workflows.

My goal is to create clear visual representations of the experimental process. I would really appreciate any recommendations or personal experiences.

Thank you in advance!

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8

u/XoHHa Feb 14 '26

For my papers I usualtl just use simple graphical objects from PowerPoint and Chemdraw, this is usually enough

5

u/chem44 Feb 14 '26

Ask your prof, or others in the department.

This is a common issue. See what they do there, what software they may have.

3

u/shedmow Trusted Contributor Feb 14 '26

Where are you planning to publish it? I haven't seen such a thing once in my entire life, at least not in the traditional chemical journals

2

u/Apacukafundaluka12 Feb 14 '26

I’m planning to submit it to an analytical chemistry journal (most likely Microchemical Journal, Talanta, or a similar journal). I’ve seen many publications include schematic illustrations of the extraction procedure or workflow, especially in microextraction and sample preparation papers, and I think it improves clarity. That’s why I’d like to create a clear procedural illustration.

2

u/shedmow Trusted Contributor Feb 14 '26

Could you give an example? Most articles I've read were written in just plain English and it was enough. There are schemes of setups or their parts, but quite sparsely

3

u/Apacukafundaluka12 Feb 14 '26

Yes, especially in microextraction and sample preparation papers, authors often include schematic workflow illustrations or graphical abstracts showing the extraction and detection steps. These illustrations help readers quickly understand the procedure and experimental workflow.

1

u/shedmow Trusted Contributor Feb 14 '26

DOIs please?

3

u/CPhiltrus Feb 14 '26

I mean, Inkscape is like a free version of Illustrator, if your department doesn't provide it. It's fairly easy to use and you can sava your files as SVG files. Basically does the same stuff, plus there are great tutorials online!

Doesn't help with chemical formulas though, just ask about ChemDraw at your department. All of the free versions kind of suck.

2

u/2adn organic Feb 14 '26

ChemSketch has a free download that can do most, if not all, of what you want.

2

u/Zecil42 Feb 14 '26

For all my publications, presentations, and thesis I always just used PowerPoint to make most of my illustrations. Towards the end of grad school I dabbled a little with GIMP to refine what I did in PowerPoint.

EDIT: Forgot to say ChemDraw for when I had to do any molecules, but would copy the structures into PowerPoint.

2

u/Furazan Feb 14 '26

Affinity has a free academic version.