Symbolizing points with 3D symbols

Points can be symbolized as 3D character markers, 3D markers, and 3D simple markers. You can create 3D symbols that use fonts on your system; choose 3D markers from existing styles; or import them from Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA), OpenFlight, SketchUp, 3ds max, or Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). The 3D markers are analogous to 3D models. Finally, you can symbolize points as 3D simple markers, which are 3D primitives, such as spheres and cubes.

You can import COLLADA (.dae), OpenFlight 15.8 (.flt), SketchUp 6.0 (.skp), 3ds max (.3ds), or VRML 2.0 models (.wrl), or Billboards (PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, and so forth) as 3D symbols. Use this feature if you have existing 3D models that you'd like to use in ArcGIS 3D Analyst. You can import these models when symbolizing a feature, or you can import them into an existing or newly created style.

OpenFlight models can be created using ModelBuilder 3D, a product based on MultiGen Creator technology. Similarly, use Google SketchUp to make .skp or .dae format models. To create .3ds models, you can work in Discreet's 3ds max. You can use these applications to quickly generate 3D models of real-world buildings, objects, and vegetation for incorporation into an interactive display of a 3D GIS.