About

Terez “Rezz” Benoit is a Creative Producer, Animator, and Illustrator for commercial clients and independent projects in games and animation.

Benoit completed their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation, with an Emphasis in Graphic Design, at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) in 2019 and, in 2023, they received recognition for their senior thesis film Burgle Bud (2019) during a special screening event at the Cinematheque Theatre (Cleveland, OH) to celebrate the past 10 years of animation created through the institute. During their undergraduate studies, Benoit was selected to act as the 3D Layout Lead in General Motors Co-Op Program where their team received the Best Collaborators award from GM’s Global Manager of Creative Visualization. They were honored with the opportunity to act as Art Exhibition Juror for the Scholastic Art + Writing Awards (2022, 2024) and to be a Guest Speaker at the Cleveland Institute of Art (2023-25) where they led discussions on the intersection between climate change, environmental disaster recovery, cultural resilience, and the arts.

Benoit has held leadership positions in directing, production, 3D layout, animation, and render farm management and has contributed to five animated short films created using 2D, 3D, and Stop-Motion. They also have experience in many additional areas of the production pipeline, including 3D Layout, 3D Modeling, Animation (2D, 3D, Stop-Motion), Color Scripting, and Subject Matter Consulting. A published illustrator, Benoit has created 150+ illustrations for books, advertisements, album covers, academic resources, training guides, presentations, mental health resources, and more. Their work has been screened in the planetarium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, on the Power Portal in Rocket Arena, and in the Reinberger Gallery (Cleveland, OH).

Benoit is based in South Louisiana and currently serves as an Alumni Council Member (CIA, 2024-) and a Member of the New Orleans Film Society. When they’re not making art, they spend most of their time playing sudoku and seeing movies at their local indie theater.