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Texture Appears Distorted or Stretched on Certain Surfaces

Problem​

> The wood texture (or another material) looks fine on some surfaces of the model, but on others—such as the top and bottom—it appears stretched, distorted, or irregular in size. The texture only works if you set the scale factor in the material very high (e.g., to 25).

Cause​

This is almost always due to incorrect UV coordinates in the 3D model. The UV map determines how the 2D texture is “wrapped” around the 3D surfaces. If the UVs are incorrect, a surface will only cut out a small, irregular section of the texture image—instead of a uniform section. The high scaling factor is then a symptom, not a fix.

This often happens when editing or assembling models, when the original UVs are lost or become inconsistent.

Solution: Box Projection in Cinema 4D​

For cuboid objects (cabinets, units, trim pieces, etc.), Box Projection is the right choice. It projects the texture onto all faces at a consistent size—unlike Cubic, which distorts non-square faces.

Step by Step​

  1. In the dropdown menu at the top right, switch the layout to BP – UV Edit. (In newer versions starting with R25/S22, it’s called UV Edit.)
  2. Select the object. If the object consisted of multiple parts or has been edited, first create a new UV tag: Right-click the object in the Object Manager → UV Tags → Generate UVW Coordinates (or Tags menu → Set UVW from Projection).
  3. Switch to UV Polygons mode.
  4. Select all polygons with Strg + A.
  5. Click the UV Mapping menu → Projection → Box. Not Cubic!
  6. Check the result: In the UV Editor, all faces should appear as uniform rectangles. If necessary, adjust the texture size using T (Scale) and rotate using R.

For Complex Geometry​

If the model has slanted, conical, or triangular faces (not strictly rectangular), the Automatic UV / Optimal Mapping feature (available in C4D S22/R25 and later) usually produces better results than a standard box projection. Afterward, apply Relax UV if necessary to reduce distortions.

Solution: Cube Projection in Blender​

In Blender, the corresponding function is called Cube Projection and works similarly to the box projection in Cinema 4D.

Step by Step​

  1. Select the object and switch to Edit Mode (Tab).
  2. Select all polygons: A.
  3. At the top of the viewport, click UV → Cube Projection.
  4. In the Operator Panel that appears (bottom left), adjust the Scale—this controls how large the texture appears on the faces. Typically: 0.5 to 2.0, depending on the object’s size.
  5. Switch to the UV Editor and check: All faces should be uniform rectangles.
  6. If necessary, scale using S or move using G in the UV Editor.

For complex geometry​

For objects with non-rectangular faces, Smart UV Project is recommended (also found under UV in Edit Mode). Afterward, use Minimize Stretch (UV → Minimize Stretch) to reduce distortion if necessary.

UVs and materials are separate

Deleting or reassigning a material does not reset the UVs in Blender. The UV map remains on the mesh and must be corrected there.

Pre-export checklist​

  • A UVW tag is present on the object (checker icon in the Object Manager).
  • All faces display the texture at the same size and orientation.
  • No UV islands exist as tiny fragments or outside the texture range (0–1)—visible in the UV Editor.
  • When exporting (glTF / GLB), the Include UV Coordinates / Textures option is enabled.
Materials and UVs are separate

Deleting and reassigning a material does not reset the UVs—corrections must always be made on the UVW tag.

Reset material scaling

After correcting the UVs, reset the scaling factor in the K3 material back to 1. If it was previously set to 25, that was a workaround for the faulty UVs—it is no longer necessary afterward.