LightBox Expo, the award-winning entertainment and art industry event that was recognized by ASIFA-Hollywood at the 53rd Annie Awards for “transforming how artists connect,” is set to take place October 23-25 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Now in its 8th year, the annual conference fosters community, professional development and artistic creation.

With over 200 hours of programs, demos, panels, workshops and more, the complete content schedule is now available:https://lightboxexpo.com/schedule. Community events, portfolio reviews, an artist alley and evening events make LightBox Expo a special place where a shared passion to create and learn converge. Badge holders also have access to special evening events including the Concept Art Awards.

“After receiving the Special Achievement Annie Award for the lasting impact on the community, we are even more inspired to further our mission, building a place where artists can be celebrated, connected and treated with respect,” said Jim Demonakos, LightBox Expo co-creator, convention director, and filmmaker (Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters).

LightBox Expo’s other co-creator, character designer and illustrator, Bobby Chiu (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) added, “Everything we do is in service of that goal, from working with the artists who generously share their knowledge through panels and portfolio reviews as well as our supporting sponsors, universities and studios who discover new, emerging talent.”

One of the world’s top gathering places for artists, this year’s participating creative professionals include: Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ray Gunn), Crystal-Jade Vaughan (Predator: Badlands, Wicked for Good), Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy 7), Thibault Leclercq (Wildwood), Carsten Kurpanek (Coyote vs. Acme), Dylan Cole (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Christian Alzmann (The Mandalorian), Genevieve Tsai (Forgotten Island), Nathan Greno (Swapped), Cátia Chien (2026 Caldecott Medal winner for Fireworks), Emily Brundige (Strawberry Vampire), Imogene Chayes (Moana live action) and many more.

Participating studios include DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Animation, Skydance Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Netflix Animation Studios, Titmouse, a variety of Disney studios (including Disney Television Animation, ILM, Lucasfilm, Pixar, 20th Television Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering), Skybound Animation, Paramount Animation, Illumination, Bento Box, and many more.

This year’s community-focused events include:

• Community Picnic – Join the pre-show fun with a sketchbook in hand at Pasadena Central Park.
• New! Storyboard Deli Portfolio Reviews – The three-day event will feature a “rotating menu” where attendees take a ticket and wait their turn to get live feedback on storyboarding. Hosted by Michael Daley (Elio), Josh ‘Hat’ Lieberman (Wish Dragon), and Christian Roman (The Simpsons Movie), the Storyboard Deli will include a rotating array of guest artists to help give feedback.
• Drag and Draw – The popular live drawing event in front of the Civic Center, featuring drag queens, is presented byActuallyRea.
• Sketch Crawl – Story artist, Nick Sung (Up) and director, Dave Pimental (Big Hero 6), invite you to slow down, draw from life, make new industry friends, plus grab a limited-edition button.
• “Paint the Scene” – Step outside in this plein air painting experience in front of the Pasadena Convention Center. Hosts, Warrior Painter, will hand out commemorative event buttons. Meet fellow artists, observe, learn, and capture the vibrant street scenes alongside one another.

In addition to community events, only at LightBox Expo can you get a unique look behind the scenes of beloved IPs including: 

• The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Art of Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, The Art of Predator: Badlands and The Art of Wicked for Good: Costumes
• Wildwood: Shaping Characters from 2D to 3D
• Making Coyote vs Acme: Classic Animation in the Modern World
• The Great Mouse Detective 40th Anniversary! with John Musker (Moana) and Ron Clements (Aladdin), moderated by Nick Manfredi (Forgotten Island)
• Interview and signings with Yoshitaka Amano, character and concept designer for the Final Fantasy series.
• The Making of Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld
• The Story Art of HBO’s The Last of Us
• The Legend of Vox Machina: From Script to Screen
• The 25th anniversary of Cartoon Saloon celebration is coming to North America for the first time! The panel and signing includes the founders, Tomm Moore, Paul Young and Nora Twomey.
• ASIFA-Hollywood will unveil the inaugural Will Ryan Excellence in Humor Award winner during its panel, “CARTOON COMEDY: Five Animators Discuss Their Animated Inspirations”
• Lost Shorts of Disney TV Animation (screening) presented by Steve Moore, Darrell Rooney
• Avatar: Fire and Ash panels on designing environments and vehicles, and designing the monsters 
• The Walt Disney Family of Companies will host more than one dozen panels. More information can be found herehttps://lightboxexpo.com/schedule.

Concept Art Awards and Lifetime Achievement Recipients

In partnership with the Concept Art Association, LightBox Expo presents The Concept Art Awards on Saturday night, October 24th, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Open to anyone with a LBX badge, the event recognizes the best concept art from film, TV, video games as well as celebrated professional, independent, and student work, along with a Rising Star, LBX Luminary, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients are Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy) and Eyvind Earle (posthumously), who is a recognized Disney Legend (2015), (Sleeping Beauty).

Additional evening featured events at the Civic Auditorium include:

• Friday at 9 pm, Animayo Internacional Film Festival of Animation – The International Film Festival Animayo presents the Official Awards and a screening of outstanding award-winning films. From nearly 2,000 films submitted, a total 18 award winners and 3 special mentions from 78 countries will be recognized. Animayo is the first and only animation festival in Spain recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Oscar® Qualifying Festival in two categories, and it is also part of the Annie Awards Qualifying Festival List promoted by ASIFA-Hollywood.
• Saturday at 9 pm, The Very Best Animated Shorts of the 2026-2027 Awards Season – Curated by The Animation Showcase, this exclusive collection brings together some of the year’s most acclaimed animated shorts, selected from the world’s leading festivals. Previous editions have featured films that went on to earn Academy Award® nominations and wins.

About LightBox Expo

For artists and by artists, LightBox Expo (LBX) is an Annie award-winning three-day entertainment art industry event that brings together creatives to learn, inspire and ignite a shared passion for art. Held October 23-25 at the Pasadena Convention Center, we invite you to connect with artists, indie studios, and renowned leaders in animation, live-action, illustration and video games. LBX features hundreds of panels, programs and demos, as well as the coolest artist alley on the planet! Celebrate your craft and make meaningful connections. Don’t miss this exceptional industry event.

For more information: https://lightboxexpo.com

Tickets: https://events.leapevents.com/tickets/lightboxexpo2026

Stay Up to Date and Connect with Artists

Download the official LightBox Expo mobile app (Google Play and Apple iOS) for the latest programming updates and announcements.