# Best way to unwrap a sphere?

**URL:** <https://blenderartists.org/t/best-way-to-unwrap-a-sphere/614600>\
**Category:** Materials and Textures\
**Created:** [June 29, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/best-way-to-unwrap-a-sphere/614600 "2014-06-29T04:37:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4

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**Author:** ![DruBan](https://blenderartists.org/user_avatar/blenderartists.org/druban/32/23822_2.png) [@DruBan](https://blenderartists.org/u/DruBan)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/best-way-to-unwrap-a-sphere/614600/4 "2014-06-29T16:41:33Z")

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As MCollett said, it’s _ **just not possible** _. But understanding [why it’s not possible](http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:2.6/Manual/Textures/Mapping/UV)and trying the various ways that people have tried to solve the problem with a compromise in one aspect or another can lead to better understanding of topology and tessellation and how they interact.

Not using a UV sphere makes it a different problem. Icospheres unwrap without any distortion at all and polyspheres have a trivial amount, but it’s more diifficult to map the texture, especially if you are trying to use premade ones, like a map of the globe. If you plan to subsurf then the polysphere has no shading problems, followed by the UV sphere with poles patched with rectilinear grids.

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