Celebrated character designer and illustrator Bobby Chiu (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) and Emerald City Comic Con founder Jim Demonakos are launching LightBox Expo, a three day celebration of the visual arts in Pasadena, California next year. LightBox Expo (LBX) will be a multi-faceted experience for everyone from aspiring artists and students, to professionals and fans, with a focus on animation, illustration and concept art. The inaugural dates have been set as September 6-8, 2019 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
A line-up of impressive artists from the worlds of animation, film and comics are already confirmed as guests — including Daniel Arriaga (Coco), illustrator Loish, Iain McCaig (Star Wars), Crash McCreery (Jurassic Park), Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, Ryan Meinerding (Marvel Studios), Karla Ortiz (Dr. Strange), Victoria Ying (Tangled) and illustrator Claire Wendling. More will be announced in the coming months.
“LightBox Expo was conceived as a way to unite the best artists in the animation, illustration, live-action and gaming industries under one roof for the ultimate celebration of art,” said Chiu, LBX Creative Director. “This event is a place where we can come together once a year to hang out, share our work with the public, meet other artists, further our skills and educate those coming up in our respective industries.”
Prior to partnering with Demonakos, Chiu spent years holding workshops around the world with his company, Schoolism.
One of the missions of LBX is to treat all attending artists with respect and fairness, and to that end has created an advisory council of experienced artists and studio representatives: Stephen Silver (Kim Possible), Justin Goby Fields (Ironklad Studios), Helen Mingjue Chen (Wreck-It Ralph), Ryan Lang (Big Hero 6), Renee di Cherri (Adobe), Douglas Little (Wacom), Christophe Lautrette (Kung Fu Panda), alongside previously mentioned artists McCreery, McCaig, Ortiz and Loish.
“We’re really proud of the Advisory Council and its impact on the event,” said Demonakos, LBX Convention Director. “Their direction is helping us put together an experience like no other, including a professional development day on Friday, plus countless hours of programming to help artists no matter what stage they’re at in their career.”
