Although a texture shader can be connected directly into the Surface input of the Material node, applying it through a surface shader gives you much more control over its appearance.
How Surface and Texture Shaders Work Together
Surfaces and textures are usually combined to create an object’s look. The surface shader defines the object’s surface characteristics such as base color, transparency, refraction, reflectivity, and so on.
A texture, on the other hand, applies either an image or a procedural texture onto the surface. The texture doesn’t “cover” the surface shader; rather, it is combined with the surface shader to enhance it.
In the following example, the texture is connected to the surface shader’s ambient and diffuse parameters only. The specular value (and decay) set in the surface shader’s property editor are still maintained after the texture is applied.
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Although a texture shader can be connected directly into the Surface input of the Material node, applying it through a surface shader gives you much more control over its appearance. |
Both surface and texture shaders have a color output that can easily affect an object’s surface. In most cases, a texture is connected to the Ambient and Diffuse parameters of a surface shader. The following example illustrates how, using the render tree, connecting an image texture shader into a surface shader’s various inputs can affect the final result.
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A surface shader is automatically connected to the photon parameter so that the material recognizes and renders any caustic or global illumination effects when applied to an object. |
This previous example is, of course, a simple use of a texture with a surface shader. You can use the render tree, explorer, or a parameter’s connection icon (in a property editor) to create an almost endless amount of effects on any one of a material node’s connection points.
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