I was wondering how to create some custom symbols similar to the ones in the Forestry Style reference.
Alternatively if anyone knows of style references with greater choice of tree and vegetation symbols then that would be great. Are there any freely available online?
I'm really looking for a symbol to represent mixed woodland but a greater choice of forest/vegetation symbols would be great.
Creating your own custom symbols can be a bit tedious and time consuming, but it is definitely possible in ArcMap.
Simply opening the properties of a layer, then going to the Symbology tab, you can then look into the Properties of each symbol. From there you can edit symbols to meet your needs, or even get creative and build your own symbols piece by piece.
Alternatively, in the past I have created custom symbols using Photoshop or even Pixlr (free), then saving each as a Bitmap, and creating a new style in the Style Manager. You can then import each as a picture marker symbol.
As for free styles, there are some floating around.
What Chris said, except I recommend making your new custom symbols from inside the Style Manager. If you make the symbol from inside layer symbology, then that symbol lives inside the mxd and it adds extra steps to use it in other maps. If you make it through the Style Manager and save it into a style file and it'll be easy to add it to any map, just like the ESRI symbols.
