Man-made materials and textures are probably the most used and applied in any 3D environment. The need to simulate created and manufactured objects is therefore an important skill to learn and apply within Blender. Fortunately, the techniques necessary to simulate man-made surfaces are no more difficult than creating natural surfaces.
Blender offers many tools to aid the process of creating man-made materials. Its material system makes it easy to manipulate textures and apply them to a surface, reproducing properties such as:
Color changes, due to oxidization, or other environment-specific interaction
Scratches, due to wear and tear, specifically on those areas of an object that are more frequently handled or interact with other objects
Dirt and grime that collect on man-made surfaces like rust, dust in any gullies, or vegetation that will grow on man-made materials if exposed to air and moisture for any length of time.
All these things will place our object in the context of its...