We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janhavi Parekh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Janhavi, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
To me resilience is to keep going, even when you don’t know the answers, you take a deep breath, gather yourself, and keep going you will eventually figure it out. I don’t think I get resilience from just one place, it comes from the people around me, my friends, family, and mentors even things like books and music. I’m someone who overthinks a lot so when things don’t go according to plan, I just start imagining the worst possible scenarios and get super overwhelmed. My mom keeps telling me to look at the situation one at a time, and ask myself ‘Is there something I can do about this right now?’, that’s really effective for me. When I break down my problems into smaller pieces, I realise that maybe there’s only one thing I can control in the moment, even if it’s just showing up or making a plan to move forward.
When I tackle things one at a time and break them down, I get less overwhelmed and don’t look at every tough situation like it’s the end of the world. It’s a slow process, and I have long ways to go but I’m patient with myself. Resilience isn’t about having all the answers right then and there, I think it’s about trusting the process and taking it one step at a time.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Janhavi Parekh, I am a visual artist specializing in look development for animation. I am originally from India and now based in Atlanta, Georgia. My passion for storytelling drives my creative practice. I keep experimenting with different mediums and techniques to create stylized work whether its for animated shorts or my own illustrations. I am currently getting my masters in animation, its something I’ve been wanting to learn for as long as I can remember and now finally I got the opportunity to.
What excites me the most about my work is the ability to tell stories that are not only visually captivating but also evoke a strong emotional connection with the audience. To me animation brings a sense of wonder, magic and intrigue, it makes things come to life and I love that I can contribute to that. In 2024, I co-directed my film short film, for the first time ever I saw my name in the credits and it felt like a dream, it even got selected for a film festival! Whenever I get too overwhelmed I try to go back to that feeling.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I started learning 3D two years back, so not that long ago, and it was very daunting, it still is but there’s no better feeling than finishing a piece and looking back at how you achieved it. I made my first 2d/3d hybrid short film a year back and it felt surreal at the time, and now, looking back, I realize just how much I’ve learned since then, and I continue to everyday. If you’re starting in animation, the pipeline can seem intimidating and there is a lot of work but over time you will find your niche. I found my speciality in making environments and realised my love for texturing and look development.
My advice would be to not get discouraged when you’re starting out, just be patient and keep working. Its scary to start something new but there are a lot of resources out there, utilise them. Art is collaborative, as much as we love to be in our space and work alone, you need to put yourself and your work out there, take on projects and work with teams.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I get really overhwhelmed really fast, I’m currently working on my masters thesis film and there is so much work, it is easy to lose clarity. Something that helps me is talking about it to someone or writing it down. I also keep reminding myself that I don’t have to do everything in one day, having a schedule helps me cope with that feeling. I think its also important to acknowledge it rather than avoid it. When I address it, I get more clarity and can plan better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.janhaviparekh.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janhavi_parekh
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janhavi-parekh/
Image Credits
N/A
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