I became a millionaire creating social media filters — and bought my family a dream house

Cyrene Quiamco — better-known as CyreneQ in tech circles — is cashing in on the general public’s obsession with turning themselves into what they’re should not.

The 34-year-old Filipino American digital artist, influencer, writer and “augmented actuality lens creator” started her journey of making humorous social media filters six years in the past as a “curious novice.”

Now, Quiamco is a proud millionaire garnering nonstop consideration — and as much as $30,000 per lens or filter — from prime manufacturers and on-line platforms like Snapchat and TikTok.

After solely three years on the job, the social media artist was in a position to totally buy — with money — her “dream home in her dream neighborhood” in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2020.

She now lives surrounded by a golf course and inside strolling distance to sure requirements, similar to eating places.

Together with housing a number of arcade machines and an enormous pond, Quiamco’s spectacular abode additionally has certainly one of her lifelong wish-list options: a twisting staircase.

Quiamco had no prior coding expertise earlier than coming onto the scene with tough animation abilities.

“After a number of hours of watching tutorials, I made my very first lens. It bought over 150,000 views in lower than 24 hours,” she informed to Caters Information Company. “It was a bouncing head. It was so tough — however folks thought it was humorous.”

Nonetheless, pursuing a profession in artwork was at all times on her thoughts as early as childhood, regardless of the stigma of the ravenous artist, she told Forbes.

“I knew early on I wanted to work further laborious to make my dream as an artist come true,” Quiamco defined to the outlet. “My artwork profession began in highschool after I would create T-shirt designs and promote it to highschool golf equipment. I bear in mind buying my first laptop computer with the income I produced from promoting my shirt designs.”

From there, she was in a position to discover the world {of professional} freelance work.

Quiamco’s indie gigs designing logos, brochures and web sites began in highschool and continued into faculty. It was in her sophomore yr that she paid off her first home in money earned by freelancing and scholarship cash, she admitted to Forbes.

Her profession took a flip when she created an internet site for a brand new app the place customers might ship footage that may disappear in 10 seconds: Snapchat.

“There was a group of artists that doodled on prime of disappearing footage,” Quiamco stated. “The art work was so superb that I felt it was a waste that they disappeared, so I created an internet site that archived and showcased these items. It was being concerned on this new Snapchat artwork group that I used to be in a position to create a following and a profession with my doodles.”

Quiamco makes a median of $20,000 to $30,000 per lens, in response to Caters. She first hit the $1 million mark in 2022.

Even so, it took years of dedication to get to the financially snug level she’s at now.

“I work from the second I wake up-to-the-minute I sleep, which typically means 18-hour days,” Quiamco stated. “Now, I’ve sufficient saved to pay for many years of payments without having to work, however I really like doing this, and it’s a bit addictive.”

Since 2017, her lenses on Snapchat have amassed over 1.5 million views and her filters on TikTok have been used greater than 17,000 instances. Quiamco’s most viral sensation is her celeb selfie sequence, the place she would take a traditional selfie after which doodle a celeb subsequent to her.

“I’ve created lots of, possibly close to a thousand, filters for my natural Snapchat account, and I’ve additionally collaborated with manufacturers,” she stated. “There are some days the place I take a relaxation, however most days, it’s loopy hours. It’s equal to full time, and I simply actually need to hold going with it. I need to be on the forefront of this expertise.” 

Quiamco continues to be in disbelief over what social media has allowed her to perform. After attaining monetary freedom whereas doing one thing she loves for 5 years, she was additionally in a position to fund the early retirement of her mom, Christine Ganzon.

“My mother was a single mum elevating two youngsters on a retail-job wage. I knew what her hardship was rising up,” she defined. “My mother went to work each day and typically she would come residence late as a result of she had further shifts.”

Quiamco continued, “I believe the best way that I grew up, not having a lot, is what made my creativeness develop additional. All I might do was give attention to my desires, and I’ve simply actually honed into that ability. I believe all of this began my success.”