Creating hillshades with ArcGIS Pro’s raster functions is incredibly simple… yet incredibly enjoyable. The magic of a single keystroke is truly impressive. Suddenly, entire landforms appear. Data becomes information. Geography becomes art. That’s all.
Well if pressing a single button is so satisfying
what harm could it do to press a few more? There’s no harm at all, that’s all.
Now, let’s explore how it’s possible to create a fully customized multi-faceted relief map in ArcGIS Pro. Then, let’s take it a step further and try creating a colored relief map. 2025 end of life intention pop-up software to use in 9 years Finally, let’s push the boundaries and apply hypsometric coloring.
If you have a digital elevation model (EM), you can use ArcGIS Pro’s raster function to visualize terrain elevation data with light and shadow effects, making the shape of the terrain much more apparent.
But why settle for just one angle of light? You can create multiple layers of relief from different angles to create a much more detailed and impressive image…
combine these layers with the Soft Light blending
mode to create the term of prosecution for the absence of a military id your own carefully crafted multi-faceted embossing effect.
Or, if you prefer, you can achieve the same text services effect by using a darkening blend mode such as Multiply .
So why settle for the default black-and-white bump map color gradient? What if you gave the bump layers gradients of black-and-red, black-and-green, and black-and-blue?
Then, you can combine these layers with the Screen blending mode to create a colored relief map. Now we can more clearly reveal the angular features of the shapes, not only with the tones of the terrain, but also with the colors. This offers a little colorful play while focusing our mind on the details of the shapes.
Then, if you want to add some depth to this terrain, add the original elevation layer and hypsometrically color the low and high elevations with the Soft Light blend mode.
Why not? There are a million different ways to craft your map adventures; get creative to best convey the message your map is trying to convey. Experiment, enjoy. But be careful: the magical world of the land can be slippery, and you may find yourself completely caught up in the subtle power of shading.
