How does the above node setup work, and what will happen when I change the Fac value (0-1)? What calculation is the mix node doing here when set to Difference?
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In Cycles a color is just a set of 3 numbers representing the red, blue, and green content of the color. To perform a mathematical operation on a color Cycles splits the color up into its RGB channels, performs the operation on each channel individually, and then combines them back into a Color datatype again.
The Mix RGB node, when set to difference, returns the absolute value of the first color minus the second color. Mathematically: Color = |Color1 - Color2|.
The Fac value controls how much this influences the output. So if Fac is 0 the output is always Color1, if Fac is 1 the output is always the exact result of the mix operation chosen (in your case, Difference). It basically just mixes Color1 back into the result of the operation. Mathematically: Color = |Color1 - Color2| * Fac + Color1 * (1-Fac).
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$\begingroup$ Shouldn't it be Color = Color1 - (Fac * Color2)? $\endgroup$ – Ezra Aug 13 '16 at 4:47
