I started a side hustle making stickers and art prints to escape from work — now I earn more than my old day job

Gwen Lee runs an art side hustle in Singapore, which she says brings in more income than her main gig used to.

Gwen Lee

• Gwen Lee used to work in animation, an industry she is passionate about.
• But the gory things she had to animate made her crave a wholesome creative outlet.
• She started her art side hustle in 2020 and now devotes half her workdays to building it.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lee Tze Gwen, a 32-year-old animator and artist from Singapore.