An adjacency matrix represents a network as a square grid. Place nodes along both axes; fill each cell when the corresponding nodes share a connection. Encode connection weight with color saturation or opacity. section 12.2
Build the matrix by preparing the network data and mapping it to visible grid cells:
- Separate the network into nodes and edges, then sort nodes to establish a useful display order. section 12.2 section 12.5
- For each edge, record both source-to-target and target-to-source entries when the network is undirected. section 12.2
- Draw the cells and labels with rectangle and text elements, and use a legend to explain opacity values. section 12.2
Romeo and Juliet
List characters on the x- and y-axes, fill cells for shared scenes, and darken cells as the number of shared scenes increases. An undirected network produces a symmetric matrix; the diagonal remains blank when nodes cannot connect to themselves.
