Tau Beta-7 - Solar System Map

[Cirias]

Hi Guildies!

Just wanted to share a different sort of map that I created late last year. Up til then I'd worked on quite traditional fantasy maps in a range of styles, but I'd never even considered a sci-fi/space map. One day I was playing around with clouds and lens flare in GIMP and I started work on what would eventually become Tau Beta-7!

So this was created in GIMP and took around 8-10 hours. The planet graphics were also created by me in GIMP and I can give you more info here on the process if you'd like it (just ask). There's a sneaky reference in here to my favourite Star Trek TNG episode too, The Inner Light - see if you can spot it.

Comments and critique always appreciated!

Tau Beta-7.jpg

[AzurePlanet]

Oh! A very nice and neat solar system!
Since I've a lot to learn about GIMP, may I ask you how did you make the starfield?

[Francissimo]

Always a pleasure to see a space map here
The result is pretty neat, that's an agitated system with all those orbits! The stars you draw in the background are really well done, same thing for the planet shadows.
Small critics\advises from a space map addict: i would have worked a bit more the nebula background and the lights on the sun. I often use real nebula pictures that i recolor and distort in photoshop for the background, and play wit some lense flare pictures blended with the sun to depict sun ray, you can also use the halo effect from photoshop (i guess the same effect exist in gimp) to improve the lights from your sun.

[Ilanthar]

Well, Francissimo says quite my thinking about this map... So, nice map, Cirias !
And very bright sun .

[Cirias]

Thanks guys for the comments and also the rep. Always appreciated

[Cirias]

Oh! A very nice and neat solar system!
Since I've a lot to learn about GIMP, may I ask you how did you make the starfield?

Thanks AzurePlanet

For the starfield I basically used HSV noise to create a smattering of tiny dots and then I did it again and grew the result so I had some larger stars. I then used the Sparkle effect (GIMP) to give the larger stars some additional shape and glow.

The nebula I had do twice from scratch because the first one ended up far too misty looking and not vibrant enough. The nebula was created using a Plasma layer that I deleted large parts of and desaturated/coloured, then again for the next colour etc.

Looking back on the image I think the starfield is probably too heavy and could do with being broken up and more random. There's a great tutorial for it here. However I found that after I made this image, so I didn't get to use it! I'll probably attempt another one soon.

[AzurePlanet]

Thanks twice for your full explanation, and the link.
By the way, I didn't know that useful GIMPusers site!

[Robulous]

Interesting, makes a nice change to see a space map, though those orbits aren't plausible.

[Cirias]

Interesting, makes a nice change to see a space map, though those orbits aren't plausible.

Yeh safe to say I botched science big time!