October 16th, 2024 
Jerry Beck 
LightBox Expo (LBX), a three-day entertainment industry event that brings together creatives to ignite a shared passion for art, today unveiled its stellar programming lineup, original demos and participating artists including: Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot), Colin Lorimer (The Last of Us), Constantine Sekeris (Black Panther), Deanna Marsigliese (Art Director, Pixar), Doug Chiang (Star Wars), John Musker (Moana), Neysa Bove (WondLa), Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit), Paul Lasaine (Lord of the Rings), Phillip Boutte Jr. (Wakanda Forever), Rich Moore (Zootopia), Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles) and hundreds more!
“LightBox Expo is where I go to be inspired,” said Chris Sanders, writer and director of Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot. “It is one of the greatest gatherings of comic, film, game, and graphic artists anywhere!”
Created by character designer and illustrator, Bobby Chiu (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) and Jim Demonakos, event organizer and filmmaker (Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters), LBX is the only place where you can get a behind the scenes look at franchises including Star Wars, Devil May Cry, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Moana 2 and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Plus, watch Dinotopia creator, James Gurney paint “Colossal Characters” live in front of the Pasadena Convention Center, go on a Sketch Crawl with Netflix story artist, Nick Sung and Dave Pimental, head of story on Moana, and meet up with artists specializing in multiple disciplines.
“The collective inspiration, passion and expertise that blends together under one roof is exactly why we call LBX ‘for artists and by artists,’” said Bobby Chiu, LightBox Expo co-creator.
Building on the success of last year’s record-breaking event that attracted nearly 15,000 attendees, on October 25-27 the Pasadena Convention Center will be home to panels given by those spearheading productions at Disney, Netflix, Illumination, Pixar, Laika, Sony Pictures
Animation, Dreamworks, Skydance Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Marvel Animation and more. With over 200 hours of programs, demos, panels, workshops and more, the complete content schedule is now available at https://lightboxexpo.com/schedule/. LightBox Expo’s other co-creator, Jim Demonakos added, “We are excited to welcome new sponsors such as 20th Television Animation, Laika, Walt Disney Imagineering and ILM Immersive, and are thankful for the support of more than 30 companies, schools and studios that are advancing the opportunity for artists to grow in their disciplines.”
Disney and Netflix Programming Rooms
More than 20 hosted panels from Netflix and The Walt Disney Family of Companies are part of this year’s programming. The expansive list includes “Walt Disney Animation Studios presents: Diving Into the Creative Process Behind Moana 2,” a panel on storytelling through character design at Pixar, a behind the scenes look at developing concept art for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Career Journeys to the Star Wars Universe with Lucasfilm Animation. Netflix will host panels and signings for Ultraman: Rising and Arcane: League of Legends, a panel for its longest running adult animated series entering its 8th and final season, Big Mouth, as well as a featured talk from Academy Award Winning Director, Nick Park and Emmy Nominated Director, Merlin Crossingham for their upcoming film Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
International Animation on Friday, October 25
The first Pakistani 2D hand-drawn animated feature, The Glassworker, an official Annecy and Cannes film selection, will have its U.S. premiere at this year’s LightBox Expo on Friday, October 25. The screening is open to anyone with a LBX event badge.
Animayo, the first and only animation festival in Spain designated a qualifying festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will showcase the award-winning international short films on Friday night. Following that, the Animation Showcase, curated by Benoit Berthe Siward, is screening top animation productions from around the world; historically many of the projects he has screened have gone on to win numerous awards, including Oscars.
Video Games
Adi Shankar, the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the upcoming animated series, Devil May Cry based on the popular video game will present. On Sunday, fans of League of Legends will be treated to a panel and signing for Arcane: League of Legends – The Alchemy of Animation. Another featured Sunday panel is “The Art of Video Games: Panel with Top Industry Artists” that includes: Raf Grassetti (God of War), Loish (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Bruno “Noxizmad” Gore (Death Stranding), Alexandria Neonakis (The Last of Us) and Alvin Lee (League of Legends).
Concept Art Awards
Every year, LightBox Expo presents The Concept Art Awards, which recognizes the best concept art from film, TV, video games as well as independent and student artists, presented in partnership with the Concept Art Association. Among the recipients of the 6th Annual Concept Art Awards being honored are Lifetime Achievement recipients, Star Wars legends, Doug Chiang and Terryl Whitlatch. The annual award ceremony presentation will be on Saturday night, October 26th, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The awards are open to anyone with a LBX event badge.
About LightBox Expo
For artists, by artists. LightBox Expo (LBX) is a three-day entertainment art industry event that brings together creatives to learn, inspire, and ignite a shared passion for art. Held October 25-27 at the Pasadena Convention Center, we invite you to connect with artists, indie studios, and renowned leaders in animation, live-action, illustration and gaming. LBX features hundreds of panels, programs and demos, as well as the coolest artist alley on the planet! Don’t miss this exceptional industry event. Celebrate your craft and make meaningful connections before tickets sell out.
Click Here for Tickets.
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