Meet Gunjan Dere

We were lucky to catch up with Gunjan Dere recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gunjan , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is basically my studio roommate. It’s always around; I’ve just learned not to let it touch my work. For me, it doesn’t always show up as fear; sometimes it’s over-preparing, over-analyzing, or convincing myself I need to earn every small win twice. It got louder every time I moved somewhere new, from India to Canada, to Ireland, and now the US. Each place exposed me to its own creative language, and I often felt like I was still learning the alphabet while everyone else was already writing beautiful poetry.

What helped was realizing that doubt and confidence can coexist. You don’t outgrow imposter syndrome! You just learn to stop giving it the final say. I try to stay curious instead of comparative. Curiosity keeps me creating even when confidence wavers. It turns “Am I good enough?” into “What can I learn here?”

Some days, I still feel like I’m pretending to know what I’m doing. But I’ve made peace with that. It usually means I’m growing, stretching into new territory where things aren’t guaranteed to work yet. I think that’s where the best stuff comes from anyway.

It’s a bit like drawing with shaky hands: the line might not be perfect, but it still leads somewhere.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m an animator, illustrator, and storyteller drawn to stylized, character-driven worlds. My work often explores memory, imagination, and that thin line where play turns into reflection.

Film, and animation in particular, has this rare ability to be both graphic and deeply human at the same time. You can communicate an emotion through a single gesture, a color palette, or even the way light moves through a frame. That kind of control over visual language fascinates me.

Right now, I’m expanding my storytelling practice through storyboarding and short-form visual pieces. I recently directed Salt and Pepper, an animated short about creative paralysis. It reminded me that ideas only come to life when you start, even if you start scared, it ties back to what I said about imposter syndrome. That philosophy continues to guide everything I make, whether it’s a small looping animation, a comic panel, or a full narrative project.

I want my work to feel honest, not lofty or distant, but recognizable. I love when someone watches something I’ve made and thinks, “I’ve felt that before, but I’ve never seen it expressed like that.” That’s the space I want to keep exploring: between the familiar and the unexpected, where small emotions can feel cinematic.

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?

If I had to pick three, I’d say curiosity, patience, and self-trust.

Curiosity has been my compass since day one. Most of what I’ve learned came from asking, “How did they do that?” and then trying to figure it out myself. Curiosity keeps the process playful, it turns learning into exploration instead of obligation.
My advice? Stay in that mode for as long as possible. You don’t have to master everything; just stay interested enough to keep going.

Patience came later, and mostly through failure. Animation and storytelling can feel painfully slow, and it’s easy to confuse progress with speed. But every good idea takes its own time to mature.

And finally, self-trust: probably the hardest one, and the one that will lapse the most. When you’re surrounded by talented people, it’s easy to believe everyone else knows something you don’t. But over time I realized that no one actually has it “figured out.” Everyone’s experimenting: finding what works, what doesn’t, and what feels true to them.. Trusting your instincts, even when they’re half-formed, is how you eventually find your voice.

For anyone just starting out, I’d say: learn widely, create consistently, and don’t rush to define yourself. The work will teach you who you are, if you give it time.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed, I walk away. It’s simple. If I can’t solve something now, I probably won’t solve it thirty minutes later if my state of mind hasn’t changed. So I try to step away, physically and mentally. I’ll play guitar, moonlight as a bedroom producer, or dive into some video games. Usually, one thing leads to another, I’ll get inspired by a sound or an idea, start chasing it, and before I know it, I’m learning that unicorns are the national animal of Scotland. By the time I look up, I’ve given myself enough space to return with a clearer head. And if that doesn’t work, I just ask my friends for help. You can’t possibly know everything, right?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gunjandere.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gunjandere/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunjandere