Creating and Editing Texture Coordinates (UVs) - An Introduction to Computer Graphics for Artists - page 166

Fig. 10.29 This sphere was mapped by using six planar projections. This solution has less distor-
tion than the transpherical projection, but a different kind of distortion

10.4.7 Cubic Projection

Six planar projections into each of the three positive and negative global axes
are called a cubic projection (Fig. 10.29 ) . A cubic projection creates distortion con-
centrated around the edges of all seams. Overall this solution is a good compromise
between seams, distortion, and the time required to edit the UVs.

10.4.8 Geodesic Projection

A geodesic sphere is made entirely of triangles that have been projected onto a
sphere (Fig. 10.30 ). These are good to work with because at low resolution they
distort the shape of a sphere less than other sphere types and it is possible to make
a UV layout that is distortion-free with a small number of seams. The drawback is
that they can only be made with 20, 80, 320, 1,280, 5,120, 20,480… triangles, each
successive sphere four times larger than the last. This limits your resolution options,
but it can be worth it.

10.4.9 Cubic Projection

A cube's default coordinates are distortion-free and have a small number of seams.
By smoothing a cube several times, a sphere can be created that retains the UV