How my Photoshop side hustle makes me more money than my teaching job
An illustration of singer Shiro wa GP.
Had it not been for his brother, Dominic Mburu, a chemistry and maths teacher, might not have known he had creative skills that could earn him extra money.
It all started while he was in campus when he taught himself how to use Photoshop. At the time, it was just a hobby, but later an opportunity arose when his brother decided to run for an elective position.
Mburu created campaign posters for his brother.
"I taught myself Photoshop in 2014 when I was still a student on campus, and soon discovered that I had a passion for it and for art in general. My brother and I come from very humble backgrounds. So much so that he couldn't afford to have a proper photo shoot or have posters done professionally," said Mburu.
He used the skills he had acquired over time to Photoshop a suit over his brother's photo.
After that, Mburu volunteered to make posters for various events for his class and other university events.
Dominic Mburu an illustrator and a Chemistry and Maths teacher in Nakuru.
"I started making cartoon illustrations two years ago and honed my skills through a lot of practice and a lot of YouTube videos," he said.
He then shared the illustrations he created on social media, which resulted in his work getting a lot of attention.
"Social media has been a really big help in attracting clients. Especially after I started doing illustrations of famous people who would then share my work on their platforms," he said.
If you happen to be on Facebook, you may have come across some hilarious photoshopped illustrations by Facebook user Nicky Honest, often accompanied by even funnier captions.
Some of the famous people Dominic has illustrated include Pastor Natasha, Bahati MP Irene Njoko, Mugithi singer Samidoh and Kikuyu gospel artist Karango Muraya.
Although art is a hobby for Mburu, it has been able to sustain him even when he lacks a steady source of income.
"At one point, my teaching job hadn't paid for three months. Luckily, through art I was able to pay my bills comfortably and buy my essentials for the whole time I didn't get paid," he says.
When asked if he plans to quit teaching to pursue art full time, he replies, "No, I won't because I enjoy teaching. As much as art makes me happy, it's just a hobby that I will continue to do on the side."