Louise Kneath and Ian Gilbertson

Inspirational creative professionals

Ian Gilbertson was born in Whitehaven, Cumbria in 1979.  He attended Kingmoor Junior and Trinity Secondary School and graduated from the Institute of the Arts (now part of our University of Cumbria) in 2002 with a BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Design and Illustration.

Louise Kneath was born in Portsmouth in 1984. She attended Annan Academy and George Street School of Art in Dumfries and graduated from the Institute of the Arts in 2006 with a BA (Hons) degree in Multimedia Design and Digital Animation.

Fresh out of university with her animation degree, Lou’s path crossed Ian’s at Cumbrian Newspapers on Dalston Road in Carlisle when she got a job designing digital adverts.  Ian had taken a break from his job in the advertising design department to travel, and now returned to find “this woman sitting in my chair”.  It was the start of a creative and personal partnership.

In 2010 Lou left her job and was accepted onto a prestigious online animation course based in San Francisco called Animation Mentor. At the end of the course, Ian resigned his position at Cumbrian Newspapers and they travelled to California for the graduation. Back in the UK Lou worked for CBeebies in Manchester doing character animation before they moved back to Carlisle and decided to set up their own animation and production studio, Cloudscape. Ian continued his development by attending Animschool, a renowned animation school that specialises in animation, modelling and rigging. It was here that Ian was taught by modelling professionals from Blue Sky Studios, Dreamworks, Disney and Pixar.

As a cloud-based studio, Ian and Lou work with animation industry professionals, experienced artists and technical specialists from around the globe to bring high-concept productions to life for use on all media platforms. Initially running their business from home, in 2016 Cloudscape Studios had grown strong enough to run its own studio to meet the demands of its client base and they now operate from a converted stable block to the west of Carlisle. That same year Ian and Lou were awarded the Carlisle Living Creative City Award by the CN Group.

At Cloudscape, Ian is the illustrator, director, character designer and story-teller, whilst Lou is the animator, the technical person who brings the characters to life. Lou also works as a lecturer and training specialist to promote the study of animation in her local community. In January of this year they brought the Disney Pixar Studios to the UK with a two-day animation workshop led by Michal Makarewicz, an event that provided opportunities for current students and graduates of the University of Cumbria to learn from this world-renowned animator.

A winning combination from this dynamic duo who have huge ambitions for the future. They are keen to produce a mainstream animation blockbuster out of Cumbria and are working on a number of short films to take to festivals. Ian and Louise are highly motivated and creative individuals who, together, have a strong work ethic and are keen to establish their business in Cumbria and support other young people looking for their own start and inspiration in animation.

Within its academic portfolio the University of Cumbria has a range of degree programmes in media arts and we are delighted to have engaged Ian and Lou as mentors and contributors to these programmes.  The University will continue to deliver and develop this high quality academic provision in the Institute of the Arts.