Louisa M. Windle-Hartshorn
animation
University of derby
Graduates: 2026
Specialisms: Animation / Graphic Design / Digital Design
My location: Derby, United Kingdom
Louisa M. Windle-Hartshorn
First Name: Louisa
Last Name: M. Windle-Hartshorn
University / College: University of derby
Course / Program: animation
Graduates: 2026
Specialisms: Animation / Graphic Design / Digital Design
My Location: Derby, United Kingdom
Website: Click To See Website
About
My practice revolves around creating absurd and surreal animations that reflect an inner world I often struggle to express through words alone. I’m drawn to the freedom of animation, the ability to create literally anything and bring life to ideas that may start as a passing joke, strange thought, or fleeting image. Inspired by the cartoons I grew up watching, such as The Simpsons and King of the Hill, as well as early YouTube hits like Salad Fingers and Charlie the Unicorn, my work embraces humour, discomfort, and surreal storytelling. Although creativity has always been central to who I am, I discovered animation later in life after teaching myself Adobe After Effects at 23. A year later, I left my job to pursue a degree in animation, now I'm eager to start work within the animation industries and beyond.
My film, Growing Pains, follows a young girl who trespasses into an abandoned amusement park and boards the only working ride. What begins as an act of curiosity actually becomes an unknowing voyage out of her childhood. As the ride unfolds, the girl is submerged into fragments of her childhood, they begin to reject and torment her, things which once brought her joy now disrupt her world. Through shifting environments, using obscure metamorphism and increasingly antagonistic imagery, Growing Pains reflects on the loss of innocence and the quiet violence of outgrowing the spaces and identities that once felt safe.