Is it possible to patch an image in matplotlib?

Question

I'm developing and automata in Python with matplotlib, and I would like to design it with a robot-look I picked on the web. I chose a file and I would like to place it in place of the black squares in the image below...

enter image description here

I have been looking for a way to do it on the web but I haven't found any answer. FYI, I use the fig = plt.Figure() method and then the fig.add_subplot to create my subplot and I finally generate the black square by creating black patches.

Answer 1

I don't believe patches are meant for this purpose. However, since you undoubtedly know the location and bounding area of the black boxes, OffsetImage and AnnotationBbox is a viable alternative.

import math
import numpy as np
from matplotlib.offsetbox import OffsetImage, AnnotationBbox
x = np.linspace(0,10, 10)
y = [math.sin(i) for i in x]
fig, ax = plt.subplots()
im = plt.imread('pacman.png')
oi = OffsetImage(im, zoom = 0.15)
a = []
for px, py in zip(x,y):
 box = AnnotationBbox(oi, (px, py), frameon=False)
 a.append(ax.add_artist(box))
ax.plot(x,y,'r--')

enter image description here

Hope this helps.