You'll obsess over a screen grab paused frame-by-frame, chasing a bevel or weathering pattern almost nobody else would notice. The work spans foam, resin, sewing, and paint, so you're constantly a beginner at the next technique, and a single piece can swallow weeks before it looks right.

Sanding and priming are tedious and toxic-smelling.

But the moment you hold a prop that looks like it walked off the set, the grind disappears.