Polygonal modelling - Points in 3D space, called vertices, are connected by lines to form a polygonal network. Most 3D models today are made as textured polygonal models because they are flexible, and computers can render them so quickly. However, polygons are planar and can only approximate curved surfaces with many polygons.

Polygonálna reprezentácia (zdroj: behance.net)

Curve modelling - Surfaces are defined by curves that are affected by weighted control points. The curve follows the points. Increasing the weight of the point will bring the curve closer to that point.

Krivková reprezentácia (zdroj: blenderartists.org)

Digital sculpture - still a relatively new method of modelling, 3D sculpture has become very popular in the few years that it has existed. There are currently 3 types of digital sculpture:

  • Displacement, which is currently the most widely used among displacement techniques, uses a dense model, and stores new positions for vertex positions using a 32-bit image map that stores adjusted positions.
  • Volumetric, which is loosely based on voxels (volume particle, has 3 dimensions), has similar abilities as displacement, but does not suffer from expanding polygons when there are not enough polygons in the region to achieve deformation. 
  • Dynamic tessellation divides the surface by triangulation to maintain a smooth surface and allow finer details. The new network will usually have the original high-resolution network information transferred to the offset data.Digitálne sochárstvo (zdroj: behance.net)