February 2023 Challenge: Mikrenu System

[Rubikia]

I have a bad track record with completing challenge maps but I am confident I can do it this time, after all it's a star system map! How could I not resist I'm also recording my process so that should be an extra precaution to ensure I finish...

My initial idea was a trinary star system, purely for aesthetics. I have no knowledge of how it would really work, but I imagine that what I've plotted would not be possible, but no matter!

This is the basic outline, 20 planets of varying sizes orbiting 3 stars.

Mikrenu Prison System.png

But my idea was to use this more simplistic rendering of the system as a base to inspire a far more stylised map. I've drawn 20 unique planets and placed them in orbit around stylised stars. None of this is to scale, and I plan on including a lot more images, borders, names and moons around the map as I go.

### Latest WIP ###
Mikrenu Prison System Stylised.png

The basic idea for the lore is that the planet Mikrenu was a prison planet for a mysterious and oppressive intergalactic organisation, meaning it houses numerous species of differing technology levels, cultures, religions, etc which includes fantasy and sci-fi-type species from my various projects. The planet was eventually forgotten about, and the prison and surrounding worlds were effectively left on their own. A key goal for the peoples on Mikrenu is escaping the confines of the planet and the system and be able to truly regain freedom.

I think on the whole I'm happy with how it's progressing, but I might have to mess around with some line widths in order to get it right.

[Diamond]

Looking cool (and complicated) so far. And good lore; I always love the idea of a planet sinking into barbarism and / or forgetting their technological past after being abandoned.

[Rubikia]

Looking cool (and complicated) so far. And good lore; I always love the idea of a planet sinking into barbarism and / or forgetting their technological past after being abandoned.

Thank you! I'm going to try and incorporate as much of the 'lore' in the map as I can, potentially with certain megastructures looming in the system from a bygone era.

In the meantime I have revamped the layout into something I find far more visually pleasing and somewhat more interesting as a stylistic representation of a solar system. I felt as though the last one was a bit too close to a traditional system map and I wanted to make it feel less astrologically informed and had more to do with its purpose in-universe. To do this I thought about what are the key bits of information that need to be relayed (stars, planets (and their order), and how the three stars relate to one another) as well as how they would be thought about (potentially as a cosmic organic structure).

### Latest WIP ###
Mikrenu Prison System Stylised 9-2-2023.png

In the bottom left-hand corner I think I'm going to include a representation of the wider galaxy, the galactic tree which this cosmic leaf inhabits, and I'm racking my brain to think of something neat for the bottom right.

[Rubikia]

Added more flare around the border and an additional colour to shake things up Also added a look at the Mikrenu's position in the local stellar community which is stylised to look like some sort of cosmic tree.

### Latest WIP ###

Mikrenu Prison System Stylised 12-2-2023.png

I'm still struggling to think of what to put in the bottom right. Initially I thought of a pie chart depicting the demographics/the various species that inhabit the planets but I don't really want to use that much text and I think it's a bit too technical for what I have set out to do.

[Greason Wolfe]

With Mr. D on this, digging the art-deco style and overall layout.

[Simkin]

The way you did the map is really cool. About your question, I thinked about a symbol that represent the system, don't, like a stylized Y?

[jshoer]

That's pretty wild and innovative.

[Tiana]

I love how unusual this map design is!

[Naima]

Pretty cool and unusual style!

[Ciel]

I really love the colors and art deco feel of this piece, it's very unique!