We're excited to introduce you to Tongal Creator Cyrene Quiamco! Cyrene is an augmented reality artist known for her pop culture-inspired, colorful, and fun AR creations on Snapchat. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider. Cyrene has also been named one of the Top 100 New Cultural Icons by Vanity Fair and earned a spot among Cosmopolitan's Top 50 Most Fascinating People.
Over the last year, Tongal has invited Creators across skillsets to produce video tutorials to be featured on our YouTube channel and Educational Hub, with the goal of helping our community learn new skills and level up as Creators. We were fortunate to collaborate with Cyrene, who produced a tutorial on how to make AR filters.
Ready to meet the Creator behind the effects that bring out your silly side? Read more about Cyrene, then watch her tutorial below for the 101 on AR filters.
Where did your journey as a Creator begin, and how has it unfolded? Ever since I was little, I knew making art was something I wanted to do for life. I also knew that the journey wasn't going to be easy. There's a stigma that pursuing art as a career could potentially result in being a starving artist.
My mom, sister and I immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines to pursue the American dream. My mom raised my sister and me by herself, working a retail job. My mom has always been supportive of my art, and I knew I needed to work extra hard if I wanted to pursue art and make sure all her sacrifices were worth it.
Early on, I was already experimenting ways to monetize my art. I would sell my t-shirt designs in school, enter a lot of art contests, and do a bit of design work for teachers and friends.
The first significant way art changed my life occurred when I was in college. I was awarded multiple art scholarships and anything extra was given to me as a form of a stipend. I was also doing freelance gigs on the side. With freelance and stipend money, I was able to buy my first house and pay it off during my sophomore year in college. This was great because I didn't have to worry about living expenses except for a few bills moving forward and I'm able to experiment with my art career.
After college, I worked for a corporate company for 3 years, before being a full time freelancer. Since then, my life as a Creator has unfolded in ways I couldn't have ever imagined. I create art for social media, some projects have given me the opportunity to travel, meets celebrities, be featured in a few major publications such as Forbes, Business Insider and Fast Company, but most importantly, retire my mom early and buy my second house, our dream house, fully paid off.
I know I'll never stop being a creator and keep pushing the boundaries of art.
How would you describe your artistic style? My art style is colorful, playful, and usually inspired by things I enjoy. A little bit of my personality is shown on each of my art projects.
From where do you get creative inspiration? Everything can be an inspiration- from the shows I watch, to games I play, to just dreaming and daydreaming!
Is there something you’re always striving to communicate with your art? As an artist, I always try to add a little bit of my style in every one of my projects. Art is supposed to trigger emotion.
What's your hometown? Little Rock, Arkansas, but I was born in Bacolod, Philippines.
What is your favorite cartoon? Enchanted - half cartoon, half live-action!
Name the most fun Tongal project you’ve worked on. Hard to pick favorites, all of it!
What's your favorite meal? My mom's spaghetti.
Tell us the last new skill you learned? I learned how to program voice commands for hands-free, augmented reality experiences.
What has been your happiest moment as a Creator? When I was able to buy my dream house and pay it in full using the savings I have earned from years of being a creator.
Do you have any pets? I have Rambo, a bearded dragon, and box turtles that I've raised since they hatched. The turtles are hibernating right now, but here's a pic of Rambo!
Looking to dip your toes into the world of AR Filter creation for Instagram, Snapchat & TikTok? Then let Cyrene walk you through a few basic steps to make these awesome Creator Goggles! You can also use these Creator Goggles by searching "Tongal Creator Goggles" in your IG Filter Search.
Happy creating!
