Using the UV Editor

Here, we'll be working with the UV editor to unwrap a basic object like a cube.

Switch to the UV editing workspace.

The cube is already unwrapped by default since it is a primitive object in the UV editor.

All primitive Blender objects are unwrapped by default.

Adding a UV Texture

Select 'New' to add a UV texture.

Rename this to ‘Cube’ and Choose the 'uv grid' option under 'generated type'.

Leave the resolution at the default and click 'OK'. A new checker texture is now created.

Add in an image texture and select the checkered texture we just created

Split the window in two to see the shader editor and Switch to the material mode to view the unwrapped cube.

Unwrapping the Cube Manually

The UV coordinates are seen here and toggling this option on let’s us see all the faces of the cube at once.

To properly unwrap the cube, select the edges where the seams will be marked and ‘cut’, hit 'U' then select 'Mark seams'.

Select the whole cube and hit 'U' and then 'Unwrap'.

Manipulating the UV Map

The resulting UV map will resemble a cardboard cutout, making it easy to place textures all over the object.

Select any of the faces in the UV editor and use 'G' to move, 'R' to rotate, and 'S' to scale.

These are the basic unwrapping functions in the UV editor.