I'm Ben. I'm a Los Angeles-based illustrator + animator, specializing in comics and visual development for TV animation. I subsist on peach-pear LaCroix, Popeyes' spicy chicken tenders, and compulsively rewatching old episodes of Great British Bake Off.
Currently, I’m a background painter on an ~unannounced project~ at Titmouse Animation. Most recently, I was a background painter on Titmouse/Amazon’s The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy. Prior to that, I’ve worked as a background painter and color designer on other productions at Titmouse, Netflix, and DreamWorks TV, and as an illustrator on the editorial art desk at BuzzFeed.
Born and raised near Chicago, I earned my BA at Tulane University, and graduated with my MFA from the Animation Workshop at the UCLA School of Theater, Film + Television. I’ve made illustrated and animated content that’s been shared over 28 million times on BuzzFeed’s Snapchat Discover channel and Instagram Stories. I’ve had short films featured as part of the New Orleans Film Festival, the UCLA Director's Spotlight, and the BAFTA US Student Film Awards shortlist.
When I’m not pushing pixels for money, my hobbies include being gay, cooking, walking Stevie (my husky mix) at the Silver Lake Reservoir, going to karaoke just to sing Landslide (the Chicks version), running, getting fries for the table, and continuing my quest to find LA’s best breakfast burrito (tie between Wake & Late and Lucky Boy, with Tacos Villa Corona as the old standby).
Freelance clients include Nike, GIPHY, Pepsi, Starbucks, Will Smith, Birds Eye, Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, Modern Health, and Superfruit.
CONTACT: ben.j.haist@gmail.com