Troy Gibson (u/troy_gibson43)

Posts

Spent way too long making fake armor out of EVA foam and still got it wrong

I've been doing budget cosplay for about three years now. For my last project I wanted to build a set of shoulder pauldrons like the ones from an old fantasy game. Simple enough right? I spent almost four evenings measuring, cutting, and heat shaping the foam. After all that work I put them on and they sat totally crooked. One side pointed up and the other hung down. I tried to fix them with more heat but the shape was already set. Ended up starting over from scratch with a paper pattern. That first attempt took probably 8 hours total. Has anyone else had a project take way longer than it should have because you skipped the paper pattern step?

2 comments

c/cosmetologists•

troy_gibson43•22d ago

The day I had 8 back-to-back clients and everything went wrong

Last Tuesday was supposed to be my easy day, only 5 appointments on the books. Then three walk-ins showed up needing quick trims and a blowout. By the time I got to my 4th color client, I mixed the wrong shade of brown and had to start over from scratch. My foils kept slipping out of my hands, and I dropped a bowl of bleach on the floor around 3 PM. The worst part was when Mrs. Henderson's perm solution dripped onto her blouse and she wasn't even mad, just laughed it off. Has anyone else had a day where the universe seems to mess with every single service you do?

3 comments

c/fix-my-first-print•

troy_gibson43•25d ago

Rant: Tried that $15 filament dryer box from Amazon, ruined my spool instead of saving it

Spent 15 bucks on a cheap filament dryer and it melted the bottom of my PETG spool, has anyone else had those budget dryers actually catch fire on their first run?

2 comments

c/film-photo-club•

troy_gibson43•26d ago

Lab scans vs home scanning - which actually gives better results?

I got my last 5 rolls developed at the lab in downtown Austin and the scans came back flat and lifeless. One month ago I bought a used Epson V600 off Craigslist for $80 and started doing my own scans at home. The colors pop way more and I have full control over the exposure, but damn it takes forever to clean dust off each frame. What's your setup - are you paying for pro scans or dealing with the hassle of doing it yourself?

2 comments

c/aircraft-mechanics•

troy_gibson43•26d ago

Pro tip: Use a dental mirror for hard to reach inspection spots

I was reading a thread on another forum last week and a guy mentioned using a cheap dental mirror to check inside wing trailing edges. I grabbed one from a pharmacy for $6 and it saved me 20 minutes on a corrosion inspection on a Cessna 172. Anyone else got a weird tool they use for those tight spots?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

troy_gibson43•1mo ago

Finally nailed crispy tofu in the air fryer after months of mush

I dropped about $12 on a pack of extra firm tofu and a bottle of cornstarch, which felt like a gamble. My first few tries were a disaster, with the cubes just sticking to the basket and tearing apart. This time I pressed it for a full hour, cubed it, tossed it in a bowl with the cornstarch and a little oil, and it came out PERFECT. Anyone have a good sauce recipe to go with it?

2 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

troy_gibson43•1mo ago

A friend told me my digital art looked flat, and it clicked

I was showing a friend a character portrait I spent a week on, and she said the colors felt too safe and the lighting was even. She suggested I pick one strong light source and push the shadows way darker. I tried it on a new piece, using a single orange lamp as the main light. The contrast made the whole scene feel real and moody. Has anyone else gotten a simple tip that fixed a big problem in their art?

4 comments

c/freelance-survival•

troy_gibson43•1mo ago

A client in Kansas City told me their average project size is $2,500, which was way higher than I expected.

I found this out during a casual chat after we finished a small $500 job. It made me realize I might be aiming too low with my own service packages. What's a normal project price in your field?

3 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

troy_gibson43•1mo ago

The one thing that finally fixed my spotty video calls from Medellin

After six months of blaming every local ISP, I finally bought a $30 TP-Link travel router to create a separate 5GHz network just for my laptop, and my client meetings haven't dropped once in three weeks.

3 comments

c/farriers•

troy_gibson43•2mo ago

Vent: My buddy in Boise swore by a 3/4 inch rasp for draft horses. I always used a 1 inch.

He said the smaller file gives you more control on the big, flat feet. Tried it on a Percheron last month. Way easier to keep the foot level. Anyone else use a smaller rasp on drafts?

3 comments