Smith & Wesson volcanic repeater lever-action pistol [Feedback requested]

Macebo

Hello, Polycount! 

I believe i finished (?) this piece for my portfolio. But - before i release it on my Artstation - i would like to request some feedback. 

On this project i began modeling the "run of the mill" gun, and then, after i finished it, i thought with myself: "meh". 

Then i modeled a scene to give it more personality. This is what i came with.

I was in doubt of which objects to put in it, so i stayed with what came along with the gun originaly: the wooden case (which i modified with an ornament because i found it boring to stick to the reference), a turnscrew, a cleaning rod, and a glass which i believe was used to store grease. Then a carpet, a flannel and an oil lamp. 

I thought on adding a cigar, ashtray a whisky and a bottle, but then i would diverge and draw the attention away from my main subject: the gun. The scene would be cluttered as well... 

So this is the end (?) result:

In the following shot you can see the parallax i used in the carpet:

I'll lower the contrast of the cameras a little, but i need some rest right now.
 
I aimed for a cozy and warm environment, with a soft moonlight. I plan on placing a visible light inside the lamp, but i came across a bug in Marmoset that won't let me add new lights to the scene, so i have to re-do the scene (or wait for Toolbag 3   ).

I'm avid to hear from this community that helped me so much pursuing my objective of becoming a 3d artist. 

Thanks!

Meloncov

Everything in your diorama is in the same general value range, so nothing stands out. Put the gun against something either lighter or darker than it.

skyline5gtr

Agreed with melon , the gun which should be the center point had no pop and got lost to the fabric when I first looked

Macebo

@Meloncov @skyline5gtr Thank you for the feedback. Maybe if i increase the lightness of the carpet? I think that this could be a problem of the high contrast of the shots, as well as the low brightness of the lights in the scene. I'll play around with that. What would you suggest on top of that?

Thanks again!

Macebo

I played around with the carpet diffuse, increasing its saturation and lightness. I worked with the lights as well. I didn't change the values too much in order to not mess with the feeling i am pursuing.  I worked on the gun texture as well, in order to match more with the reference

Left one is the earlier version, right is the one i tweaked.



I feel this is the way to go. Only thing i am working right now is handpainting some grunge in the crevices of engravings of the gun, to make them pop out more.

I'm still accepting feedback, they are extremelly valuable for me. Please feel free and encouraged to criticise. 

Thanks!