Planet Visualization Project: Planet Skin

This is my custom planet skin for the Planet Project. I used numerous resources to create this, largely pulling from our own planet earth for reference in creating this along with world maps from games such as World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons. I am not well versed in planetary studies or geography, and had a lot of trouble making the planet unique and still having it be realistic. Even after the research done, I chose to keep the planet similar to our own, with a few alterations that would add a unique look to it as well as something that would keep it different from other planetary projects. The final addition added to this map was the Maelstrom in the center of the continents, and this was added for the reason of a unique planetary landmark other than the different continental shapes.
I had several iterations on this map, and will show the progress down below that shows the change in color and details that I chose to add.

Progress Check 1:

The first iteration, most of the shapes for the continents were planned out, however the color was still similar to that of Earth. Some details were still not finalized.

Progress Check 2:

The second iteration, now with newer details in some of the islands, as well as recoloring to a more orange, muted tone. I was very proud of this, however it still needed something unique to it.

Progress Check 3:

This is the final version of the Planetary map, and I have added all the details I saw necessary. More rivers, shading and details throughout. The largest detail is the Maelstrom added to the center continents and filling the gap between the two sides of the map.