Newbie having trouble with UV unwrapping and UV Editor not working

Hello again. Sorry for yet another thread but I tell you I feel like either this is some joke Blender is playing on me or I am awfully stupid.

I have seen simple UV Unwrapping videos and none of them say anything concerning any settings or anything you need to do in the UV Unwrapping editor. All they do is mark a seam and then click Unwrap.

I have tried this, as you may know, with a dragon mesh I was building. Nothing. Got a suggestion. Tried it. Nothing.

So I tried doing the most simple thing and unwrapping a box.

This is what I got. Why and how and what are all those icons appearing. I don’t remember them in the tutorial on this.


At first I got nothing. Then I clicked around and got some weird pointer thing that I had not seen in any tutorial appearing in the Editor. I started over. I clicked Unwrap and did not mark seams. Finally got a large orange square over the whole UV Editor grid thing. Then I marked seams. Then I clicked Unwrap on the tool bar there at the side of the screen and this strange mess of lines is what I got.

It isn’t like in the video tutorials where you just click the bleeping Unwrap button and the mesh pattern appears all nice and orange on the grid in the UV Editor window.

I downloaded the latest version of Blender a few days ago. Is there a setting I am not using? Is there a way I have to set up the UV Editor? All I remember from every video tutorial I saw on this subject is they just clicked Unwrap after marking seams. And in Darel Liel’s, sorry for the misspelling, character modeling series he unwraps and creates seams and checks things with no problems.

I ordered Blender for Dummies and another Blender book from the library and will read through them once they are available.

I can do a screen record video of me trying to do this UV thing so you guys can see what it is, or isn’t, that I am doing.

I am more determined than ever to learn this software just to show it who is boss.

Thanks for your time and patients.

You appear to have not marked the right edges as seams. Here are shots showing the basic cube seamed for unwrapping. Make sure yours is done the same way.

As another beginner, I’ve already noticed the UV editor can give some seriously weird results if you don’t get your seams and face selection right before unwrapping.


In the future please try to refrain from artificially exaggerating or misrepresenting the problems you encounter. We’re here to help with real existing issues, not made up ones. There is absolutely no way that “this strange mess of lines” would have happened after unwrapping that mesh, unless you’ve actively participated in it, to which the redo panel on that screenshot stands witness. I’d really like to believe you’re above blaming the program for something you did wrong.

With that out of the way, there are several things about UV unwrapping that often go unmentioned. Brace yourself, I accidentally made a wall of text:

  1. Know Why You’re Unwrapping.

Are you doing a quick test? Or are you planning to seriously texture your model? Will you be painting the textures? Will you be doing it in Blender’s 3D Texture Paint or in a 2D editing program? Will you be baking some initial colors onto your texture? Will you be using normal maps with your model? What’s the model for (game, animation, still picture)?

Answering each of those questions will help you determine how exactly you should proceed with unwrapping:

  • for a quick test (some basic baking, or quick painting of some colors), Smart UV Project may be sufficient (but read below)
  • for painting, you’ll need to try to align your UVs horizontally and vertically as best you can, to minimize aliasing (jagged edges)
  • for painting in a 2D program, your unwrap should at least help you determine which shapes you’re looking at, and should also contain as little distortion as possible (so that straight lines that you paint remain so on the model)
  • if your model is complex, the unwrap most certainly will consist of several parts - “islands”; you will need to make sure there is sufficient space between UV islands so that colors from one don’t bleed onto another. Both Blender and game engines use the technique called “mipmapping” to generate levels of detail for textures, so that when you’re looking at an object from far away, the texture of much lesser size is used. This is done by resizing your original image, and so if there is not sufficient space between islands, the resizing filter will start to mix colors from the neighbouring islands.
  • if you’re going to be baking normal maps, you’ll need to make sure that each shading seam (sharp angle) in your model gets a UV seam. Otherwise, the normal map will contain artifacts on those edges.
  • if it’s for a game, you’ll most likely need to unwrap the whole model into a single UV map, meaning you’ll have to take extra care in deciding which parts of the model get more texture space, and which are not that important. For animation or still, you might use several UV maps for different areas: e.g. give head and body full textures of their own while keeping hands, feet, etc. packed in one UV map.
  1. Object Scale.

Before unwrapping, and really while modelling, make sure that your object’s scale is uniform and unit (i.e. 1 in all three axes). Blender doesn’t go out of its way to enforce that, but at least when unwrapping, it does give you a tiny warning at the top.

  1. People Don’t Just Click “Unwrap” And Everything Works.

Tools in Blender are not magic. If something happens naturally quick and good for people, it’s because they’ve been using the tools a lot and can foresee or circumvent issues. Often this goes unannounced, simply because it’s automatic for them.

  1. Keep The UV Editor Open While Unwrapping.

Always keep the second viewport with the UV editor at hand, this way you’ll see exactly what happens when you unwrap (a part of) your mesh.

  1. You Don’t Have To Start With Seams.

If you’re having trouble figuring out where the seams should go, don’t mark them. Instead, unwrap your model in parts and then see where you can stitch it together. With that cube, clear all the seams, switch to face select mode, select just one face and unwrap it. You should see a square UV island appear in the UV editor (if it’s not square, see pt. 2). Select all those UV vertices, and move the whole island to the side. Where exactly doesn’t really matter, just pull it out of the UV grid.
Back in the 3D view, with that face still selected, hide it (Mesh -> Show/Hide -> Hide Selected). Select another face and repeat the process, but try to move each new UV island to a different location.
Once the last face is unwrapped and hidden, unhide everything (Mesh -> Show/Hide -> Show Hidden). All the faces should now be selected, and you will see all the UV squares in the UV editor. This is the same unwrap that Blender would’ve done if you marked each edge as a seam. In fact, if you now go UVs -> Seams From Islands, you will see all those seams appearing in 3D view.
Now you have options on what to do with all these UV islands. You can simply pack them (UVs -> Pack Islands) and keep all the seams, or you can stitch some of them together to get rid of some seams. To stitch, switch the UV editor’s selection mode to Edge, select an edge on one island and go UVs -> Stitch. You will see a preview of how the stitching will go, and you can even control it with some additional settings (see the UV editor’s header for hints).
Keep in mind that you won’t be able to get rid of all the seams, since naturally the cube has to be cut somewhere to be able to unwrap into a flat plane.
Once you’re satisfied with the unwrap you’ve created, you can pack it and create seams from islands again, to update your mesh with the new data you’ve created.
Try this with different built-in primitives, it’s fun and good practice.

  1. You Really Don’t Have To Start With Seams.

If you’re working on something more complex than a cube, things of course get more complicated and interesting. But first, take a step back and look at your model. Does (a part of) it resemble a cube? A sphere? A cylinder? Even slightly? It can be a stretched, beveled cube, a squished cylinder, or just half a shpere. But if there is a clear resemblance, perhaps the built-in unwrap methods can help you get started on UVs:

Select that part of the model, and unwrap it using Cube, Cylinder or Sphere projections. Note that Cylinder and Sphere projections depend on your current view, though there are some options you could use to give Blender a hint on what you want.

For example, default Cylinder Projection expects that you’re looking at a cylindrical shape from the side, and the shape itself is standing up. So you might need to additionally rotate your view with shift + numpad arrows for better alignment (or even align your view to a face using View -> Align View -> Align View to Active menu). But after Cylinder Projection, press F6 and you can help Blender by telling how did you want that cylinder to unwrap: whether you were really looking at it from the side (View on the Equator), from the top (View on Poles), or maybe you know that the object’s oriented along that cylinder’s axis, so you can choose “Align to Object”. You can tweak the radius and choose which axis Blender uses to start unwrapping.

These projections will help you get started on the unwrapping, but most often you’ll also need to do some editing: moving/scaling/rotating/aligning UVs, stitching them together or further splitting them up (you can select some UV vertices, and then go Select -> Select Split to separate out the selected UV vertices: you’ll now be able to move the selection aside without dragging connected pieces together with it). Don’t forget to hide the part in 3D view after you’re done unwrapping it: this will help you work on the remaining pieces without cluttering the UV editor.

  1. But Seams Are Your Friends.

Once you’re comfortable enough with these different tools, you’re probably capable of placing the seams by eye and just hitting “Unwrap”, at least on certain parts of the model. Still remember that you don’t have to do everything in one step. Divide and conquer.

  1. Keep Your Work.

If you see that you need to re-unwrap a part of the model, for example to join two islands together (and for some reason stitching doesn’t help, i.e. distorts islands), but you really want to keep some of the existing UVs: pin them! (select them in UV editor, UVs -> Pin). Then select the relevant parts in 3D view and unwrap. Don’t forget to unpin later!

  1. Smart UV Project Is Not That Smart.

While the math behind this unwrap method is true to its name, it isn’t wizardry: the unwrap you’ll get from it will often neither be pretty nor efficient in terms of texture space usage: it might give smaller parts bigger islands, split up and rotate the UVs in strange ways, etc. Best keep this method for quick and dirty tests, for things you’ve discovered work well with it, or as an intermediate step when e.g. stitching some UVs.

  1. Always, Always Check For Options!

No matter the unwrapping operator you use, check its’ options in the F6 panel: perhaps a different algorithm or checking/un-checking a checkbox will give you better results.

  1. Do Not Repeat Yourself.

If your model is symmetrical, cut away half of it and add a Mirror modifier. This way you will only need to unwrap half of it. Later you can apply the modifier and either keep the UVs as they are, or select half of the model, drag its UVs to the side, reselect everything and stitch the corresponding parts together.

That’s not all there is to it, of course. There are things like displaying stretching (a setting in UV editor’s N panel), using the checker pattern or color grid to visualize the unwrap in 3D view, using Follow Active Quads method on regular shapes, snapping… But for now, don’t fight the tools. Play with them, learn exactly how they work, and you’ll know when, why, and how to apply them to achieve the results you seek.

I just had to stop in and say thanks Batman. (Stan Pancakes) And, have created a shortcut to your post here. Some of us manage to slide by on UV Unwrapping and some seem to know it. Obviously you do.

I’ve just bookmarked it too. Handy reference.

(But the OP’s seaming still appears to be wrong)

sent you a PM

Wow, Stan that was a very clear, thorough and to the point description of UV-mapping. A must read for anybody trying to learn UV-mapping. :slight_smile:

Thank you guys, I’m glad you found it helpful. Hopefully, it proves so for the OP as well.