ArcGIS Custom Rendering
Use this skill for creating custom layers, WebGL rendering, and advanced visualization techniques.
Custom TileLayer
Basic Custom TileLayer
import BaseTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BaseTileLayer.js"; import esriRequest from "@arcgis/core/request.js"; import Color from "@arcgis/core/Color.js";
const TintLayer = BaseTileLayer.createSubclass({ properties: { urlTemplate: null, tint: { value: null, type: Color } },
// Generate tile URL getTileUrl(level, row, col) { return this.urlTemplate .replace("{z}", level) .replace("{x}", col) .replace("{y}", row); },
// Fetch and process tiles fetchTile(level, row, col, options) { const url = this.getTileUrl(level, row, col);
return esriRequest(url, {
responseType: "image",
signal: options?.signal
}).then((response) => {
const image = response.data;
const width = this.tileInfo.size[0];
const height = this.tileInfo.size[0];
// Create canvas for processing
const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
const context = canvas.getContext("2d");
canvas.width = width;
canvas.height = height;
// Apply tint
if (this.tint) {
context.fillStyle = this.tint.toCss();
context.fillRect(0, 0, width, height);
context.globalCompositeOperation = "difference";
}
context.drawImage(image, 0, 0, width, height);
return canvas;
});
} });
// Use the custom layer const customLayer = new TintLayer({ urlTemplate: "https://tile.opentopomap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png", tint: new Color("#132178"), title: "Custom Tinted Layer" });
map.add(customLayer);
Watch Property Changes
const CustomLayer = BaseTileLayer.createSubclass({ properties: { customProperty: null },
initialize() { reactiveUtils.watch( () => this.customProperty, () => { this.refresh(); // Refresh tiles when property changes } ); } });
Custom DynamicLayer
Dynamic Layer from Canvas
import BaseDynamicLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BaseDynamicLayer.js";
const CustomDynamicLayer = BaseDynamicLayer.createSubclass({ properties: { data: null },
// Called when layer needs to render getImageUrl(extent, width, height) { // Create canvas with specified dimensions const canvas = document.createElement("canvas"); canvas.width = width; canvas.height = height; const context = canvas.getContext("2d");
// Draw your custom visualization
this.drawVisualization(context, extent, width, height);
return canvas.toDataURL("image/png");
},
drawVisualization(ctx, extent, width, height) { // Convert geographic coordinates to pixel coordinates const xScale = width / (extent.xmax - extent.xmin); const yScale = height / (extent.ymax - extent.ymin);
// Draw data points
this.data.forEach(point => {
const x = (point.x - extent.xmin) * xScale;
const y = height - (point.y - extent.ymin) * yScale;
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(x, y, 5, 0, Math.PI * 2);
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.fill();
});
} });
Custom Elevation Layer
Exaggerated Elevation
import BaseElevationLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BaseElevationLayer.js";
const ExaggeratedElevationLayer = BaseElevationLayer.createSubclass({ properties: { exaggeration: 2 },
load() { this._elevation = new ElevationLayer({ url: "https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer" }); this.addResolvingPromise(this._elevation.load()); },
fetchTile(level, row, col, options) { return this._elevation.fetchTile(level, row, col, options) .then((data) => { const exaggeration = this.exaggeration; for (let i = 0; i < data.values.length; i++) { data.values[i] *= exaggeration; } return data; }); } });
Custom Blend Layer
Blending Multiple Layers
import BaseLayerViewGL2D from "@arcgis/core/views/2d/layers/BaseLayerViewGL2D.js";
const BlendLayer = Layer.createSubclass({ properties: { layers: null, blendMode: "multiply" },
createLayerView(view) { if (view.type === "2d") { return new BlendLayerView2D({ view: view, layer: this }); } } });
const BlendLayerView2D = BaseLayerViewGL2D.createSubclass({ render(renderParameters) { // Custom WebGL rendering const gl = renderParameters.context; // ... WebGL operations } });
WebGL Custom Rendering
Custom LayerView with WebGL
import BaseLayerViewGL2D from "@arcgis/core/views/2d/layers/BaseLayerViewGL2D.js";
const CustomLayerView2D = BaseLayerViewGL2D.createSubclass({ constructor() { this.bindAttach = this.attach.bind(this); this.bindDetach = this.detach.bind(this); this.bindRender = this.render.bind(this); },
attach() { const gl = this.context;
// Create shaders
const vertexSource = `
attribute vec2 a_position;
uniform mat3 u_transform;
void main() {
gl_Position = vec4((u_transform * vec3(a_position, 1)).xy, 0, 1);
}
`;
const fragmentSource = `
precision mediump float;
uniform vec4 u_color;
void main() {
gl_FragColor = u_color;
}
`;
// Compile shaders and create program
this.program = this.createProgram(gl, vertexSource, fragmentSource);
},
render(renderParameters) { const gl = renderParameters.context; const state = renderParameters.state;
// Set up transformation matrix
const transform = mat3.create();
mat3.translate(transform, transform, [state.size[0] / 2, state.size[1] / 2]);
gl.useProgram(this.program);
// ... draw operations
},
detach() { const gl = this.context; gl.deleteProgram(this.program); } });
LERC Decoding
Custom LERC Layer
import BaseTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BaseTileLayer.js"; import esriRequest from "@arcgis/core/request.js";
// Import LERC decoder import * as Lerc from "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/lerc@4.0.4/+esm";
const LercLayer = BaseTileLayer.createSubclass({ properties: { urlTemplate: null, minValue: 0, maxValue: 1000 },
fetchTile(level, row, col, options) { const url = this.urlTemplate .replace("{z}", level) .replace("{x}", col) .replace("{y}", row);
return esriRequest(url, {
responseType: "array-buffer",
signal: options?.signal
}).then((response) => {
// Decode LERC data
const decodedPixels = Lerc.decode(response.data);
const { width, height, pixels } = decodedPixels;
// Convert to canvas
const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
canvas.width = width;
canvas.height = height;
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
const imageData = ctx.createImageData(width, height);
// Map values to colors
for (let i = 0; i < pixels[0].length; i++) {
const value = pixels[0][i];
const normalized = (value - this.minValue) / (this.maxValue - this.minValue);
const color = this.valueToColor(normalized);
imageData.data[i * 4] = color.r;
imageData.data[i * 4 + 1] = color.g;
imageData.data[i * 4 + 2] = color.b;
imageData.data[i * 4 + 3] = 255;
}
ctx.putImageData(imageData, 0, 0);
return canvas;
});
},
valueToColor(value) { // Simple blue-to-red color ramp return { r: Math.round(value * 255), g: 0, b: Math.round((1 - value) * 255) }; } });
Custom Graphics Rendering
Animated Lines with WebGL
// Animated lines require custom render nodes in 3D // or custom LayerView in 2D
const view = new SceneView({ container: "viewDiv", map: map });
// Use external render node for animations view.when(() => { // Add custom render node const renderNode = new CustomRenderNode({ view }); view.environment.lighting = { type: "virtual" }; });
Complete Example
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://js.arcgis.com/4.34/esri/themes/light/main.css" /> <script src="https://js.arcgis.com/4.34/"></script> <style> html, body, #viewDiv { height: 100%; margin: 0; } </style> <script type="module"> import Map from "@arcgis/core/Map.js"; import SceneView from "@arcgis/core/views/SceneView.js"; import BaseTileLayer from "@arcgis/core/layers/BaseTileLayer.js"; import esriRequest from "@arcgis/core/request.js"; import Color from "@arcgis/core/Color.js";
// Create custom tinted tile layer
const TintLayer = BaseTileLayer.createSubclass({
properties: {
urlTemplate: null,
tint: { value: null, type: Color }
},
getTileUrl(level, row, col) {
return this.urlTemplate
.replace("{z}", level)
.replace("{x}", col)
.replace("{y}", row);
},
fetchTile(level, row, col, options) {
return esriRequest(this.getTileUrl(level, row, col), {
responseType: "image",
signal: options?.signal
}).then((response) => {
const canvas = document.createElement("canvas");
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
canvas.width = canvas.height = this.tileInfo.size[0];
if (this.tint) {
ctx.fillStyle = this.tint.toCss();
ctx.fillRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
ctx.globalCompositeOperation = "difference";
}
ctx.drawImage(response.data, 0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
return canvas;
});
}
});
const customLayer = new TintLayer({
urlTemplate: "https://tile.opentopomap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png",
tint: new Color("#4488ff"),
title: "Custom Layer"
});
const map = new Map({ layers: [customLayer] });
const view = new SceneView({
container: "viewDiv",
map: map,
center: [8.5, 46],
zoom: 8
});
</script> </head> <body> <div id="viewDiv"></div> </body> </html>
LayerView Architecture
Custom layers work through the LayerView pattern: a Layer defines data and properties, while its LayerView handles rendering in a specific view type.
BaseLayerView2D
For 2D custom rendering without WebGL:
import BaseLayerView2D from "@arcgis/core/views/2d/layers/BaseLayerView2D.js"; import Layer from "@arcgis/core/layers/Layer.js";
const CustomLayer = Layer.createSubclass({ createLayerView(view) { if (view.type === "2d") { return new CustomLayerView2D({ view, layer: this }); } } });
const CustomLayerView2D = BaseLayerView2D.createSubclass({ // Called when the LayerView is attached to the view attach() { // Initialize resources (canvas, data structures) },
// Called every frame when the layer needs to render render(renderParameters) { const { context, state, stationary } = renderParameters; const ctx = context; // CanvasRenderingContext2D
// state.size — viewport size [width, height]
// state.resolution — map units per pixel
// state.extent — current visible extent
// state.rotation — current map rotation
// Convert map coordinates to screen coordinates
const screenPoint = state.toScreen(state.center);
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.fillRect(screenPoint[0] - 5, screenPoint[1] - 5, 10, 10);
},
// Called when the LayerView is detached detach() { // Clean up resources } });
BaseLayerViewGL2D
For 2D custom rendering with WebGL:
import BaseLayerViewGL2D from "@arcgis/core/views/2d/layers/BaseLayerViewGL2D.js";
const CustomGLLayerView = BaseLayerViewGL2D.createSubclass({ attach() { const gl = this.context; // WebGLRenderingContext
// Create shaders, buffers, programs
this.program = this.createShaderProgram(gl);
this.buffer = gl.createBuffer();
},
render(renderParameters) { const gl = renderParameters.context; const { displayViewMatrix3, viewMatrix3, size } = renderParameters.state;
gl.useProgram(this.program);
// Use displayViewMatrix3 for pixel-aligned rendering
// Use viewMatrix3 for map-coordinate rendering
gl.uniformMatrix3fv(
gl.getUniformLocation(this.program, "u_matrix"),
false,
renderParameters.state.displayViewMatrix3
);
gl.drawArrays(gl.TRIANGLES, 0, this.vertexCount);
},
detach() { const gl = this.context; gl.deleteProgram(this.program); gl.deleteBuffer(this.buffer); },
// Request re-render when data changes requestRender() { this.requestRender(); } });
3D Custom Rendering with RenderNode
For 3D custom rendering in SceneView:
import RenderNode from "@arcgis/core/views/3d/webgl/RenderNode.js";
const CustomRenderNode = RenderNode.createSubclass({ consumes: { required: ["composite-color"] }, produces: "composite-color",
initialize() { this.addHandles( reactiveUtils.watch(() => this.view.ready, (ready) => { if (ready) this.setup(); }) ); },
setup() { const gl = this.gl; // WebGL2RenderingContext // Create shaders, buffers, textures },
render(inputs) { const output = this.bindRenderTarget(); const gl = this.gl; const camera = this.camera;
// camera.viewMatrix — view transformation
// camera.projectionMatrix — projection transformation
// camera.eye — camera position in world space
// Draw custom 3D content
this.drawCustomContent(gl, camera);
// Pass through the composite color
this.requestRender();
},
destroy() { // Clean up WebGL resources } });
// Add render node to SceneView const view = new SceneView({ container: "viewDiv", map }); view.when(() => { new CustomRenderNode({ view }); });
LayerView Properties and Methods
Property/Method Description
layer
Reference to the associated Layer
view
Reference to the MapView or SceneView
suspended
Whether the LayerView is suspended (not visible)
updating
Whether the LayerView is updating
visible
Whether the LayerView is visible
requestRender()
Request a re-render on next frame
attach()
Called when LayerView is added to view
detach()
Called when LayerView is removed from view
render()
Called every frame to draw content
Reference Samples
-
layers-custom-tilelayer
-
Creating custom tile layers
-
layers-custom-blendlayer
-
Custom blend layer implementation
-
custom-gl-tiles
-
Custom WebGL tile rendering
-
custom-gl-visuals
-
Custom WebGL visual effects
-
custom-layerview-2d
-
Custom BaseLayerView2D implementation
Common Pitfalls
CORS: External tile servers must support CORS
Canvas size: Match tile size exactly with tileInfo
Memory management: Clean up WebGL resources in detach()
Async operations: Handle abort signals properly
Coordinate systems: Transform coordinates correctly for rendering