The scanning process may also produce an image map of the objects colors which can later be mapped onto the mesh when rendered. Scanned meshes can be enormous and require hundreds of Megs of memory to render. Meshes also have some disadvantages. Curved surfaces can require muchf memory to create an adequately smooth appearance. Extra processing, known smooth shading, is required to smooth over the edges of the polygons.
Meshes are poor at modeling hair, feathers, clouds, and other soft looking objects.
Blobs Blobs, or more properly, Meta-Balls, are a relatively new addition to the 3D modeler's toolkit. Blob modeling is like sticking atoms together to create molecules. Blobs are excellent for creating lumpy organic shapes. A blob is defined by specifying location and strength values. The strength defines something similar to a force field around a charged particle.