As was the case with polygon and line data, stylised vector point features can be draped on an integrated mesh. An example of this is shown in the image below:
The result of this may or may not be what you intended. As such, it’s often better to use the ‘3D Layers’ section when working with 3D symbols.
If you wish to render 3D point data in 3D space, you’re typically going to want to avoid just depicting it as a small dot. Instead, you’ll likely wish to represent it either as a ‘3D symbol’, or as a 2D ‘billboard’ symbol that will automatically rotate to face the scene camera.
A ‘3D symbol’ is a small, usually simple, 3D model that can be rendered at the position of a 3D point. Within its Symbology toolset, ArcGIS Pro has a separate section dedicated to supporting such symbols. However, this is only available when using layers present in the ‘3D Layers’ section of the Contents pane.
By default, ESRI provide a selection of basic 3D symbol primitives that includes cubes, spheres and diamonds, along with some more map-centric objects like push-pins and flags. However, if you can use a 3D modelling tool, such as Blender, it’s possible to design and use your own custom models for this purpose (for further details, see our tutorial on creating 3D symbols for GIS applications on More than Maps. Alternatively, you may be able to source pre-made 3D models (with a suitable level of detail…) from an online library.
As mentioned previously, it’s not currently possible to use the integrated mesh as a source of heights. In the example above, the points were heighted from the ArcGIS Pro default surface, which was far from ideal, as this placed the points below the integrated mesh. To get around this, points were moved upward by 20meters, using the Cartographic Offset property.
Regular 2D images can still be used as symbols within a 3D scene. The typical way to achieve this is via the ‘billboard’ function, which, when enabled, will ensure that the symbols rotate to always face the scene camera. ArcGIS Pro offers two modes for this – ‘full’ and ‘signpost’ rotation, with the latter locking the rotation to just the Z (upward) axis. Alternatively, ‘billboard’ mode can be turned off entirely, leaving the symbols facing in just one constant direction.
You may wish to include text labels within a scene that also contains an integrated mesh. This behaves as just another form of billboard. The challenge, when setting this up, is to choose a label symbology that sufficiently stands out against the background. In this example, the ‘halo’ option, which adds a white rim to the text, greatly helps in keeping the text legible.
