Entertainment and art industry event LightBox Expo will bring thousands of creatives together from October 24-26 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Today, on top of the official announcement of many exciting program highlights, Animation Magazine dug a little deeper in a Q&A session of our own, with event organizers Bobby Chiu (character designer and illustrator; Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) and Jim Demonakos (event organizer and filmmaker; Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters) — who tell us they expect to see between 16,00 and 18,00 people over the expo weekend! You can read the Q&A below this quick review of LBX’s packed schedule.

The 2025 programming lineup, original demos and participating artists including John Musker (Aladdin) and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid), Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans (KPop Demon Hunters), Alex Woo (In Your Dreams), Fede Álvarez (Alien: Romulus), Kevin Lima (A Goofy Movie), Angela Sung (The Bad Guys), Patrick McHale (Over the Garden Wall), SamDoesArts, Jorge R. Gutierrez (El Guapo vs. The Narco Vampires), Darrell Warner and Paul Tazewell (Wicked), and hundreds more.

The schedule is packed with new panels given by those spearheading productions at Disney, Netflix Animation, Laika, Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks, Skydance Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Titmouse and others. With over 200 hours of programs, demos, panels, workshops and more including a special sing-along screening of KPop Demon Hunters, the complete content schedule is now available at lightboxexpo.com/schedule.

“LightBox Expo is a time to celebrate the creators, visionaries, and storytellers who ensure that dreams and magic exist in the world,” said Maggie Kang, director and creator of KPop Demon Hunters. “It is a reminder that we are a community brought together by our shared passion to create, to ignite joy, to bring hope, and today we are needed more than ever.”

The event also offers opportunities for portfolio reviews and one-on-one interactions with more than 30 companies, schools and studios that are advancing the opportunity for artists to grow in their disciplines. A favorite community event, Sketch Crawl, returns in 2025: Hosted by story artist Nick Sung and director, Dave Pimental, Sketch Crawl invites visitors to grab their sketchbooks, slow down, draw and connect with industry friends from around the world.

Paint the Scene is a new plein air event taking place on Friday morning in front of the LightBox Expo letters at the Pasadena Convention Center — Angela Sung and Warrior Painters with mentors Michelle Lin, Sean Bodley, Jennifer Wang, Qianjiao Ma and Jeff Hong will meet fellow artists as they observe, learn and draw or paint alongside one another.

Alongside the KPop Demon Hunters sing-along screening, animated highlights include anniversary retrospectives marking Corpse Bride‘s 20th, The Emperor’s New Groove‘s 25th and A Goofy Movie‘s 30th. LightBox visitors will also have the chance to go behind the scenes of Netflix’s new animated feature, In Your Dreams. The Disney family of studios will host a whopping 12 panels, covering Elio, Zootopia 2, Phineas & Ferb and career panels from Disney Imagineering, Pixar, Disney Animation, and recruiters from multiple Mouse House studios. This is on top of a special talk by Disney veterans Ron Clements and John Musker on “The Art of Storytelling.” There will also be odes to the art of the animated short with a best-of program from Animayo and an awards season “Best Animated Shorts” screening curated by The Animation Showcase.

Of course, the artists who bring all these incredible visions to life will be celebrated at The Concept Art Awards, recognizing 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 7th Annual Concept Art Awards being honored on Sat., Oct. 25 are Lifetime Achievement recipients Tim Burton and Stan Winston.

Q&A with Bobby Chiu and Jim Demonakos

Interview conducted by Ramin Zahed.

Animation Magazine: Congrats on planning yet another fantastic edition of your event. Can you tell us about some of the big highlights this year?

Bobby Chiu: The Concept Art Awards are always a centerpiece, and our Artist Alley continues to be one of the most exciting parts of the show. There will be thousands of attendees discovering new artists, buying prints, and connecting directly with creators.

On the panels side, we have some incredible highlights: The directors of KPop Demon Hunters, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, will be on a panel Q&A. Legendary Disney directors Ron Clements and John Musker will be joining us for a special talk. Director Kevin Lima will take part in a panel celebrating A Goofy Movie, which has such a devoted following. We’re hosting an Art of Star Wars panel, which is always hugely popular. We’ll also dive into the Art of Alien: Romulus, with director Fede Álvarez and some of the key artists. We’re marking the 20th Anniversary of Corpse Bride with three of the original creative forces behind the film: Carlos Grangel, Ian Mackinnon and Anthony Scott. There’s a lot more but these are some of the exciting things off the top of my head.

Jim Demonakos: I’m very excited for the Artist Alley, it’s one of the most dynamic parts of the show. We don’t allow anyone to have a table more than two years in a row because we don’t want to make it a closed ecosystem. People have to apply each year to get selected, which means that the Artist Alley is 80% new creators each year, helping us spotlight both emerging and existing talent!

A lot of people are looking for work in the animation business. How will LightBox help them this year?

Bobby: One of the most powerful things about LightBox Expo is the community it brings together. While we don’t position LBX as a “job fair,” what we do is create an environment where opportunities naturally happen. For artists looking to grow their careers, that means:

• Building your network — whether that’s meeting industry veterans, studio recruiters, or simply connecting with peers who may become future collaborators.
• Starting new conversations — our panels, portfolio reviews, and informal meetups are designed to spark dialogue and open doors.
• Introducing yourself to the big studios — many of the world’s leading studios have booths or programming at LBX, so it’s a rare chance to put a face to your name and share your work.
• And of course, making new friends — the kind of long-term relationships that often lead to creative partnerships and, sometimes, professional opportunities down the road.

What are some of the ways you are addressing the impact of AI on the industry at your event?

Bobby: We’ve taken a clear stance on this at LightBox Expo. We don’t allow the display or selling of AI-generated images in Artist Alley or at exhibitor booths. Whether it’s original creations or fan art, the key for us is that it’s made by the artists themselves. That helps protect the integrity of the work and ensures attendees are engaging directly with human creativity.

We also know that many artists are feeling uncertain about how AI may affect their careers. That’s why we’re hosting panels and discussions where industry professionals can speak honestly about the impact of AI — how it’s being used, what it means for creative jobs, and what steps artists can take if they’re feeling threatened by these changes.

What do you love best about this event?

Bobby: For me, it’s being able to serve the community in a meaningful way. That’s what it’s always been about. Now that we’ve been running LightBox Expo for seven years, we’re really starting to see the ripple effects and how the event has positively impacted people’s lives. Whether it’s friendships formed, collaborations created or inspiring artists to go for their dreams, those stories are very encouraging to us. Seeing that we helped to build a community like this is my favorite part about LightBox Expo.

Jim: It’s something that’s not very tangible but for me it’s the energy that the show generates in the artistic community. We hear over and over each year that LightBox Expo recharges and fuels people’s creativity by being around so many artists. That’s such a great thing to put into the world and I couldn’t be more thrilled that LBX is this touchstone for the creative community.

What has been the biggest challenge this year?

Bobby: Honestly, the hardest part is deciding who gets to do what. We have so many more incredible people who want to give talks or exhibit at LightBox than we have space for, and the reality is that they’re all highly qualified and talented. Choosing is definitely the toughest part. To make the process as fair as possible, we rely on our Advisory Council. Everyone on the council has voting power when it comes to programming and exhibitors, so the decisions aren’t based on just one person’s taste or perspective.

Jim: Bobby highlighted the challenge, it is the demand outstripping supply. The same goes in Artist Alley, we had over 1,400 applications for just 250 tables! The Advisory Council we have is invaluable to be able to curate the selection.