BIOGRAPHY
Richard C Trebus Jr. was born in the small town of Canfield Ohio. The middle child of three children, he used art as a means to stand apart and shine in his own light.
Throughout his life, Rich has always been fascinated by images and how the world is represented through the eyes of an artist, so naturally, he became drawn to illustration and painting. This interest was cultivated during his early teen years and further developed as he entered high school. During these high school years, he developed his painting skills and was awarded numerous Hallmark Gold and Silver Key Awards at the National Scholastics Art Competition, as well as go on to receive a Governor's Award of Excellence and be named one of the state’s top 25 young artists.
Rich received a scholarship to The Columbus College of Art & Design in 1990 with a goal to pursue a career in Illustration, when, in his junior year, he was given the opportunity to train for 4 months at Walt Disney Feature Animation. Upon completion of the training he returned to Ohio for the summer break, and he began work on the film: The Swan Princess; he quickly found a love for animation that he turned into a career for years to come. Rich’s filmography includes Swan Princess, Space Jam, The Quest for Camelot, Anastasia, Beauty & the Beast Enchanted Christmas, Mulan, Tarzan, Beauty & the Beast Special Edition, Emperor's New Groove, Lilo & Stitch, as well as many commercials and shorts.
Since 2003, Rich ventured out on his own as a freelance designer and illustrator, formally opening Rich Trebus Illustration & Design. His clients have included Disney, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony, to just name a few. Rich also runs the art department for Hollywood Collectibles Group, a company out of Orlando Florida that makes and sells high quality prop replicas and museum quality statues.
More recently, Rich has joined forces with the cast of the beloved Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. Together, they are building a company that will spread the love and joy of the film to fans around the world. Rich is the Chief Creative Officer of the company and is currently in charge of overseeing all creative aspects of the company.
Rich currently lives and works in Saint Cloud, Florida.
RESUME
WO
WORK EXPERIENCE
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10/ 2020 - Present A Christmas Story Family, LLC - Atlanta, Georgia
CCO, Art Director, Illustrator and Designer.
Responsible for overseeing all aspects of creative output. as the Chief Creative Officer, the responsibility include creating concept designs, product designs, social media designs, print designs, packaging material and web designs for our catalog of products and online presence. ACSF is a business built and run by the cast of the film: A Christmas Story.
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4/ 2013 - Present Hollywood Collectibles Group - Orlando, Florid
Head Graphic Designer, Illustrator and fabricator.
Responsible for running the art department. Responsibilities include creating concept designs, social media ads, print ads, packaging material and web designs for our catalog of products. HCG currently holds the license for over 30 franchise, including but not limited to: Aliens, Ghostbusters, Rambo, Halloween, Men and Black and Bladerunner.
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1/ 2013 - Present PD/GO Digital Marketing - Vero Beach, Florida
Website Designer, Graphic Designer, and Illustrator.
Responsible for designing websites for clients. Also responsible for graphic design work such as, but not limited to: creating social media ads, social media covers, profile images, logo designs, postcards, lead cards, rack cards, brochures, business cards, letterheads, print ads.
EXPERIENC
12/ 2002 - Present Rich Trebus Illustration & Design - Orlando, Florida
Freelance Designer, Illustrator, Animator, Muralist, Children's Book Author/Illlustrator
Worked with clients on graphic design projects, illustrations for print, website design, brand design, social media design and animation for television, as well as interior designs and murals for residential projects. Clientele list includes: Disney Design, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Busch Entertainment Corp., AT&T, Garth Brooks Enterprise.
7/1997 - 12/2002 Walt Disney Feature Animation - Orlando, Florida
Clean- up Animator
Responsibilities included breaking down and keying of animation scenes. Worked on the character Mulan from the film Mulan, various characters from the film Tarzan, the character Goofy from the short film How to Haunt a House, and the character Lilo from the feature film Lilo & Stitch.
6/1995 - 6/1997 Character Builders Inc. - Columbus, Ohio
Assistant Animator
Responsibilities included key clean-ups, rough animation, layouts, storyboarding, effects animation and effects clean-up, conceptual design, character design, and illustrations for clients. Film work includes: Anastasia for Twentieth Century Fox, Space Jam for Warner Bros., Swan Princess for Nest Entertainment, Beauty and the Beast’s Enchanted Christmas and numerous other television spots, commercials and shows such as Life with Louie, Beethoven, and Happiest Ever After Fairy Tales.
1/1994 - 5/1994 Walt Disney Feature Animation Internship Program - Orlando, Florida
Intern
Received basic training in all aspects and departments of Disney Animation.
1998 - 1993 Freelance Illustrator, Designer and Watercolorist - Canfield, Ohio
Worked with numerous clients on commissioned paintings, shirt designs, newspaper advertisements, illustrations, company logos and murals.
Clients included Youngstown Vindicator and AT&T.
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EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
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1990 - 1994 Columbus College of Art & Design - Columbus, Ohio
Studied - Illustration Design & Advertising Design
Art classes included: 2-D Design, 3-D Sculpture Design, Structural/Perspective Drawing, Color Concept and Color Theory, Painting, Figure Drawing and Rapid Sketch, Advertising, Package Design, Art History, Illustration and Decorative Illustration.
SPECIAL SKILLS
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Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Premier Pro.
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Power Point.
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Video editing in Adobe Premier Pro.
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Experienced draughtsman and watercolorist.
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Adobe In-Design