1. A computer-aided design (CAD) system, comprising: an electronic device comprising a processor, the processor comprising: a first module configured to represent computer-aided design objects in a virtual environment using two types of objects: a first of the two types of objects comprising: a plurality of sections defining a shape of an object for rendering, each section defining the shape of the object for rendering being configurably defined as one of a complex surface, a complex polygon, a polygon, or an array of triangles or quads; information defining collective characteristics of the plurality of sections; and information interconnecting at least two neighboring sections of the plurality of sections; wherein a single section of the plurality of sections is capable of being any one of the complex surface, the complex polygon, a polygon, or the array of triangles or quads; and a second of the two types of objects storing information referencing a common object in the virtual environment and one or more transformations for at least a section of the common object; and a second module configured to render the computer-aided design objects in three dimensions.