This Propmaster Wore a New Disguise Every Day for a Year

Committing to anything for an entire year is hard, which is a part of the reason why only eight percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions will keep them. Last year, Michael Gump was one of the few.

On the first day of 2015, the propmaster and art designer made a plan to get back into the habit of keeping a daily art diary. He began his “Master of Disguise” project on Instagram, posting a photo of himself dressed as a werewolf. For each of the next 364 days, Gump created a unique costume, using an assortment of art supplies and found objects, including items at work. He also gained the attention of the team over at Great Big Story.

“The Master of Disguise project is partly to build creative strength,” Gump told the site, “or maybe to exorcise creative demons.”

In the video interview above, he demonstrates the process of getting into a disguise and explains that he typically does it without assistance. His Instagram quickly became his diary, with daily photos of projects that include razor blade masks, foil body wraps, basketball helmets, and collections of fake tattoos.

“It’s been kind an exhausting process in some ways,” the artist confessed to Great Big Story. “I usually only get maybe three hours of sleep a night.” Fortunately, sticking to the project was a reward in itself, he added. “On the days when I really feel tired and I don’t really want to do it, or I don’t really have a good idea, sometimes those projects come out better than the ones that I am really excited about.”

Watch the video profile on Michael Gump above, and check out some disguises from his Instagram below.

Images via Instagram // Michael Gump