Take your ortho plan view images and surface models further by “draping” the image on a surface. This provides texture and is a great visualization tool! Here’s how…
We’ll work with only a surface and a plan view image. The surface can be generated from linework, points, point cloud, anything. The plan view image could be an orthomosaic from photogrammetry or a georeferenced image.
In the Plan View on the left, you’ll see the ortho image, on the right, you’ll see the surface model, Topo Surface, in 3D, in a lovely shade of triangulated gray.
(Note in red how each view can have its own View Filter - My Filter and My Filter - Copy - set to view different layers and objects in each layer, maybe a future Tip of the Week?)
Let’s add more detail to the surface by adding the ortho image as a surface member, effectively draping the image on the surface. In the Surfaces tab, select the Surface Members command. With the intended surface selected in the Surface drop-down box (Topo Surface in this case), click in the Selected: 0 text box under the Member to add or remove:
Then click on the image you wish to drape. You may have to select the image in the Project Explorer > Imported Files. The Selection number will change to 1.
Then, click the Add button. After an automatic project recomputation, the surface will be updated with the imagery added:
A closer look…
Before:
After:
Pretty cool, huh? Visual contours better now, extract geometry from the surface more clearly, and impress your clients.