Subsurface scattering

In optics, subsurface scattering or subsurface light transport is the traveling of light through the surface of translucent object, the subsequent scattering of light caused by interactions with the , and exiting the surface potentially at a different point. Light generally penetrates the surface and gets scattered a number of times at irregular angles inside the material before passing back out of the material at a different angle than it would have had if it had been reflected directly off the surface.

Subsurface scattering is important for realistic 3D computer graphics, being necessary for the rendering of materials such as marble, skin, leaves, wax and milk. If subsurface scattering is not implemented, the material may look unnatural, like plastic or metal.