Surface Modeling is used in 3D and other computer graphics software to describe the skin of a 3D geometric element. Freeform surfaces do not have rigid radial dimensions, unlike regular surfaces such as planes, cylinders and conic surfaces. They are used to describe forms such as turbine blades, car bodies and boat hulls.

Initially developed for the automotive and aerospace industries, freeform surfacing is now widely used in all engineering design disciplines from consumer goods products to ships. When defining a form, an important factor is the continuity between surfaces - how smoothly they connect to one another. One example of where surfacing excels is automotive body panels. Just blending two curved areas of the panel with different radii of curvature together, maintaining tangential continuity (meaning that the blended surface doesn't change direction suddenly, but smoothly) won't be enough. They need to have a continuous rate of curvature change between the two sections, or else their reflections will appear disconnected.

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