Maps

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Bump Maps
These are based on greyscale images. The bump shader recognises the shades of black & white and, using white for up and black for down,  gives the material the illusion of height & depth. These are calculated at the point of render.

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Normal Maps
These are similar to Bump maps but are based on RGB (for RGB read XYZ) Unlike bump maps, these are pre-calculated and therefore speed up render times. They nearly always appear turquoise in colour as the Z value is the blue channel Easy to create in UVW Unwrap editor, Render to texture , Photoshop, CrazyBump etc.

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Displacement Maps
These are based on greyscale maps where white is up & black is down. They differ from Bump & Normals in that they actually do change the geometry of a model. If used in a displacement channel of a material, the effect will be calculated at the point of render and will NOT be seen in the viewport. If it is used as a displacement modifier,the effects will be seen in the viewport and there is much better control over it.

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Opacity Maps
These are black & white masks of the diffuse map that when applied to the opacity channel in a material, only the image required will be seen. Black areas become transparent whereas the white is visible.

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Camera Mapping
This allows the user to map a digital image onto a primitive model. It gives approximately 6 – 8 degrees of movement until stretching occurs in the image. Great for creating a photorealistic environment where camera movements are limited.