You can use PyPlot directly from Julia, without going via Plots.
I think I tried it a while ago, and had trouble getting it to work, I also tried GGPlots, I could try doing this in R, and work on getting GGPlots or PyPlot to work in Julia. I think either one would be good for working with people anyways. I know their tougher as lower level languages, but are there any C/C++ or Fortran libraries that do plotting?
I have never used PyPlot directly from Julia, just as a backend for Plots. I looked into Python and Matplotlib (including PyPlot) quite a lot in 2011-2012, and liked it more than plotting in MATLAB. There are some things I was able to do with Matplotlib that I don’t know how to do from Plots. I started looking into Python because my employer couldn’t afford to give me free access to MATLAB. I was never fully happy with the syntax of Python; I like the syntax of Julia better. To me, a logical syntax is important. Also, for my kind of work, Julia has the right set of packages. Choice of language can come down to strange things. I started looking into Julia ca. 2016 or so, and at that time, I did some work on pipe friction. I found some work utilizing the Lambert W function for this, and was thrilled when I found a LambertW package for Julia. So – small things can make the difference.
If I were in a situation where I had to make the types of plots I think you are looking at, I’d consider direct use of PyPlot from Julia, but also look into some of the other plotting packages. But people are different – you have a different experience, and may make other choices.
ggplots is the go to in R, but I get the impression that Python is more popular than R, so basded on that I’m thinking that I would be better to learn Python, although I have high hopes for Julia.