Understanding UV maps

UV maps represent a 3D model's surface as a 2D representation, as shown in Figure 4.1.

Imagine a geographical map of the Earth; the map is 2D, but we all know that it is a flattened representation of the surface of our planet and that the map wraps around the spherical (globe) shape. Similarly, a 2D UV map represents a 3D surface.

You can download an example of an Earth Globe model (Earth.blend) at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Unreal-Engine-5-Character-Creation-Animation-and-Cinematics/tree/main/Chapter04.

Open this Blender file and select the model named Earth. Then, click on the UV Editing Workspace tab to examine the UV map of this model.

This will give you a good understanding of the way that UV mapping works. See Figure 4.1 to view what this Earth model looks like in the 3D Viewport window and the UV Editor window:

Figure 4.1 – The Earth model and its UV map inside the UV Editor window (on the left-hand...