Hack a silky hillshade in ArcGIS Online with effects and blends and gumption

The glories of the World Hillshade tile layer are rich and varied. It provides beautiful terrain context for so many basemaps. Sometimes when I add World Hillshade to a web map, I find I get lost in the rapturous texture of our shared planet, just panning and zooming to areas of geological wonder.

But not being able to leave well enough alone, the burning ember of visual effects and blend modes calls to me…whispering little ideas like, “hey, maybe you can use blur to create a more diffuse multidirectional hillshade and blend it into a crisp version of the hillshade” or “say, maybe you can hack a mask effect by boosting the contrast of the hillshade and using the screen blend mode.”

These are the things that I wonder, then try, and then retroactively rationalize and document. For example…

So I hope you engage in some experimental extra-curriculars when you fire up the World Hillshade tile layer in ArcGIS Online. You might find that the extra-curriculars become the curriculars when you like what you make and start sneaking them into your work. And others get to benefit from the bit of adventure where you discovered something new and useful.

This sort of process reminds me of one of my favorite lyrics, written by Regina Spektor…

…this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else’s heart
Pumping someone else’s blood

Happy mapping! John

P.S. If you want to play around with this hillshade already set up, here’s a link to the map made in this video.