Tutorial: Create a Grid-Based 3D Surface

Estimated time: 4 minutes.

Now that you have created a grid model of the surface elevations, you can create a 3-dimensional image of the surface using only a few mouse-clicks.

! This lesson assumes that you have completed the previous lesson. You're going to make just a few changes in the tree menu to the left.

1. Grid Model:
   • Use Existing Grid: Click in this radio button, and expand this heading.
     • Grid Name: Click here and browse for the file you created in the previous lesson: elevations.RwGrd.  Click on that file name and choose Open. You will be returned to the Grid-Based Map Options window.
     • ! This is important, throughout RockWorks: Once you have a grid model that you think does a good job of representing your data, you can display the contents of that model in a variety of ways graphically. The same grid model can be used to create a 2D map, 3D surface, etc. Just choose Use Existing Grid and specify the existing file's name to create a new diagram of the already-created model.
        
2. Create 2-Dimensional Grid Diagram: Uncheck this. (Note that in your own work, you can request as many output options as you want.)
    
3.  Create 3-Dimensional Grid Diagram: Insert a check here, and expand this heading.
   • Color Scheme: Click on this Options button to choose the color ramp in which the low-to-high surface elevations are to be displayed in 3D. Click OK to close the Color Scheme window.
   • 3-D Surface Options: Click on this Options button. Be sure the 3D surface is set up to be displayed as:
     • Relief:  The surface will show 3D relief.
     • No Faults:  The grid model contains no faults.
     • No Skirt: We'll display the surface only.
   • Click OK to close this window.
   • Reference Cage: Uncheck this.
      
4. Create Grid Statistics Report: Uncheck this.
    
5. Click the Process button at the bottom of the window to proceed.
   
   The program will read the information from the "elevations.RwGrd" file and create a 3-dimensional image of the surface elevations. The image will be displayed in a new RockPlot3D tab. It will appear as a 3D surface, color-coded using the selected color scheme.
    
6. Get acquainted: In RockPlot3D,  the image is displayed in the pane to the right. The standard reference items and the current image’s data items are displayed in the pane to the left of the image, called the "Data pane."
    
7. Expand the Reference heading, if necessary, in the Data pane. Establish these settings:
   •  Orientation: on
      Axes: on
      World Outline: off
     Labels: on
      
8. Rotate the image: The default tool is the rotate tool (you’ll see the Rotate button pressed in, on the toolbar). Click and hold anywhere in the image and drag left, right, up and/or down to see how the image is rotated. Or, use the View | Above, View | Below, or View | Compass Points menu commands to set the image to a pre-set view. You can use the View | Add View option to save one or more specific viewpoints for later retrieval.
    
9. Adjust the background color: Simply click on the color box on the toolbar to adjust the background color of the image pane.
    
10. Adjust the vertical exaggeration: Click on the Stretch button on the toolbar. You’ll see the surface become very jagged. Now, click on the Dimensions button . The Vertical Exaggeration that you see may be extreme - type in a lesser value (1.5) and click Apply and then click the Close button.
     
11. Access the surface’s settings:
    • Expand the Surface group (groups are marked with a ) in the data tree.
    • Double-click on the Elevation Grid item. This window is used to adjust the appearance of the surface grid model.
    • Draw Style: The current style is Solid. Click on the down-arrow and select Wire Frame. Click the Apply button at the bottom of the window. You should see the image change from a solid surface to a wire-frame diagram. (The wire-frame’s grid is drawn at the density of the grid model.)
    • Change the thickness setting (just to the right of the wire frame style) from 1 to 2 and click Apply. You should see a thicker frame.
    • Finally, change the Draw Style back to Solid and click Apply.
    • Color Scheme: Click the down-arrow to select Solid. Click on the color box to the right and choose bright blue. Click the Apply button.
       
12. Adjust the lighting: Click back in the image pane (you don’t have to close the options window) and click the Lighting button . The Lighting Options window will be docked with the Grid Options window.
    • Ambient Lighting: Be sure this is turned off.
    • Light Above Only: Choose this option.
    • Click and drag on the little yellow dot to move the light source around, and notice the real-time changes in the image pane in the background. You can click in the image pane at any time to adjust the rotation, zoom, or pan, while leaving the Options windows open.
       
13. Close both Options windows by clicking on their Close buttons.
     
14. Save this 3D image: Select the RockPlot3D File | Save menu command. In the File Name prompt, type in: surface elevations and click the Save button. The program will store the 3D image under this name (with an ".Rw3D" file name extension).
     
15. Close this window by clicking in the Windows Close button . 
     

 Grid-Based Maps
 

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