Yeah spec is really important. If you don't use spec, your normal is pretty much wasted. Also before the days where spec was used in games, you would paint the spec highlights right onto the texture. This would define different material types and make models pop more.
Spec goes a long way to really differentiate material types. You dont seem to have any spec on the metal, which makes it look like rock no matter what. Get some spec on there, Brighter spec for the scratches and less for the grimy parts. Check out some metal in real life and observe that way the light reflects off it,…
@Anuxinamoon I really keep forgetting how important the spec map is to my textures. I have read that article before, but I am going to look over it again and hopefully this time I can really understand it. @mgoblue412 What I am going to do to fix that is layover my normals on to my diffuse as a guide to where the indents…
Lets break it down. Low poly model: You have used far too many polygons for something like a bin. the model itself is nice and clean but too dense. Avoid modeling bevels and small bumps into low poly models. that's what the normal map is for. also you could do with using fewer segments on the cylinder. Unwrap: You should…