1) Add more detail to the camouflage. Yours is very simple. See all the marks in theirs?
2) You need a bit more color variance between the camo and the exposed metal pieces. RIght now, everything is very brown. Contrast is important for interest
3) See the polycount wiki for normal mapping... Lots of really good advice there. For instance, make sure that any extrusions you want to show in your normal map are slightly sloped, or they won't be visible.
4) Look into faked beveling. It will make your handle and clip look higher-poly.
5) Don't forget that you can't do everything with just normal maps. Sometimes you need to add some extra depth with geometry!
Replies
1) Add more detail to the camouflage. Yours is very simple. See all the marks in theirs?
2) You need a bit more color variance between the camo and the exposed metal pieces. RIght now, everything is very brown. Contrast is important for interest
3) See the polycount wiki for normal mapping... Lots of really good advice there. For instance, make sure that any extrusions you want to show in your normal map are slightly sloped, or they won't be visible.
4) Look into faked beveling. It will make your handle and clip look higher-poly.
5) Don't forget that you can't do everything with just normal maps. Sometimes you need to add some extra depth with geometry!