Bump mapping provides an artist with the ability to create realistic surfaces. Bump mapping is similar to texture mapping in that it is a technique to add more realism to synthetic images without adding a lot of geometry. Below is an example of bump mapping. This document will show you how to use bump mapping from within PiXELS3D. The document is aimed at the beginning PiXELS user.

Start by creating a mesh with 10 u and v columns.
Now lets create a new shader. Using ShaderMaker we can apply bump mapping to a surface, in this case our mesh.
In ShaderMaker choose "turbulence" in the "Bump:" menu. This will add "turbulence" to the surface, thus making it look like a real surface.
Now do a quick or final render. You will now see that the surface has "bumps." Now lets take it one step further by adding a few other ingredients. Lets create a surface that resembles wood.
Change your turbulence node so that x index is a fractal sum.
Lets make the rock look "surreal". For the diffuse node use a user defined color in which the blue component is a fractal sum. The green component is the the current local z coordinate.
Lets render the scene...

As you can see bump mapping is easy to use and fun. While using bump mapping and letting your imagination free you can create some interesting looking objects.