Thanks for the reply, helloimneil.
To get a similar size, please have a look here:
https://help.maxon.net/us/#11657?anchor=REALIGN
Equalize Island Size
Yes, the little checker-box texture shows that very well. A reason why I use texture and not a shader.
During the screen-capture, I use the scale and non-uniform-scale to give this problem a little bit of space. Yes, the best UV is given when the texture is equally sized all over the surface (if nothing else is the target).
That it wraps very well around edges is undoubtedly preferable, but sometimes not doable, as everyone who wraps a gift with paper knows it.
To do UV work is as a creative challenge (tool and procedure wise) as any other part of the work. A good model will certainly support this work more than one with a sloppy mesh.
I might have said it many times, but think of UV work like finding for each polygon the right crop of an image; To frame it. All of that with the idea to have all frames combined like a puzzle. There are a lot of ways to do, but if the idea of the frame as a translator between the object surface and image area is not clearly understood, the tools will be most-likely used in a way that doesn’t work very well. Hence the little drill that I have used for a decade now with 100% success during hands-on classes. But often, I see a resistance to do that, as it looks so simple, and the idea of UV must be challenging. Well, its not, but it takes some time to get used to it. So, again, when you see me scaling things, or using elsewhere the move or ration tool, it is a demo of how things relate.
So, why not start with a simple cube, just six sides? Replace the box you had and use a cube. Use the Image in the background of the UV editor. (If UV polygons are difficult to see, use the image adjustments in the upper right corner.)
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/dehW5tSZp9Y8OZubA7jqJ679oyfObdtOi8GLVNC0yCC
More in detail: Snapping
https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/y2vNv7mvUc9cXx2Hu1G4IZ6zz1kQtnwunLyYmSIgSZx
The idea is here to get comfortable with Select, Move, Rotate, Scale (manual or numerically), and snapping. These five seems to be the main parts of UV work that needs to be pure muscle memory. Often I heard, “I know that”, which I’m not primarily interested in, I want that this is muscle memory. Otherwise, these essential and straightforward operations take attention away. Let me rephrase, it is the difference between taking an image with a camera and drawing the scene. There are worlds between. These are simple things, but people want to do the complicated stuff, as that is the part the bugs them. Well, anything is complicated as long as the basics are not muscle memory. To do the simple stuff feels like wasting time, and missing time for the “real stuff”, well experience show otherwise.
Well, I’m not clear what exactly you need to feel comfortable (or what you already use with ease), so I can show only what has worked so far.
The Basics, if not available, will act like black holes, continually taking energy out of the creative process.
Enjoy
