When we use a blend mask, we can fine-tune the mix strength by checking the "use curve" feature in the mixing curve area of the map level.
Try several settings and notice that if the upper and lower values are the same, the edge of the mask is sharp, and the farther apart the values are, the softer the edge transition.
Enter 1.
0 in the upper field and 0.
25 in the lower field.
You might need to click the "show end result" icon in the material editor to see the effect.
With "show end result" on, you see the whole material; with it off, you see only the material up to and including the current active level.
You can corrupt a plain plastic material by combining it in a blend material with another plastic material and a smoke mask.
The original material shows through only in smaller areas to discolor and smudge the predominant blue/green color.
With a smoke bump map and shininess and specular maps, you "dented" the teapot and gave it the illusion of a cracked, oily surface.
There is no technical limit to the depth of complexity you can have in a material, but very complex materials increase render times noticeably.
In the smoke parameters roll out, click on the swap button.
This swaps black for white and reverses the effect of the mask.
Render the perspective view port, and observe that you have a blue/green teapot with subtle reddish discoloration.
In the smoke parameters roll out, enter 10 in the Size field and 2 in number of iterations field.
Click the render last icon to see the result on the teapot.