Tim Burton, Stan Winston Honored As LightBox Expo Returns October 24–26 – Full Lineup Unveiled

LightBox Expo, SoCal’s celebration of artistry in animation, illustration, games, and live-action filmmaking, will return to the Pasadena Convention Center this October 24–26.

Now in its seventh year, LightBox has become a key date on the calendar for both fans and professionals, drawing thousands for a weekend of panels, screenings, workshops, and its popular artist alley.

This year’s program features more than 200 hours of content, ranging from behind-the-scenes talks on major franchises to community sketch sessions.

Highlights from this year’s program include:

KPop Demon Hunters: Sing-along screening and Q&A with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and producer Michelle Wong.

Wicked: Costume design and concept art panels

Netflix Animation’s In Your Dreams: Behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming epic feature.

Anniversaries & Retrospectives:

• 20th Anniversary of Corpse Bride
• 25th Anniversary of The Emperor’s New Groove
• 30th Anniversary spotlight, A Goofy Movie: From Script to Storyreels

The Art of… panels:

• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Star Wars
• Alien: Romulus
• The Cat in the Hat
• Wednesday, Season 2 Concept Art
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 2 Concept Art

The Art of Storytelling: Disney veterans Ron Clements and John Musker discuss their careers (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Moana) moderated by Pietro Schito.

Disney’s Expansive Participation: The Walt Disney Family of Companies will host 12 panels, including: Tails Behind the Art of Zootopia 2, Designing and Animating Graphics for Pixar’s Elio, Phineas and Ferb: The Evolution of Writing a Hit Comedy Series, ILM and Lucasfilm Animation Spotlight (celebrating ILM’s 50th and Lucasfilm Animation’s 20th anniversaries).

The studio will also host several career-focused panels, including Journeys to Walt Disney Imagineering; I’m Hired! What’s Next?, Craft, Creativity, and Career at Disney; The Winding Road to Story with Hillary Bradfield, and Meet the Disney Recruiters featuring representatives from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, ILM, Disney Television Animation, and Imagineering

Featured Guests and Creators: This year’s Expo brings together a remarkable roster of artists, directors, and storytellers, including Alex Woo, Nicky Lavender & Sacha Kapijimpanga (In Your Dreams); Fede Álvarez (Alien: Romulus); Kevin Lima & Jymn Magon (A Goofy Movie); Angela Sung (The Bad Guys); Patrick McHale (Over the Garden Wall); Jorge R. Gutierrez (El Guapo vs. The Narco Vampires); Darrell Warner & Paul Tazewell (Wicked)

Community Events

• Sketch Crawl: A favorite LightBox tradition hosted by Nick Sung and Dave Pimental, inviting artists to gather, draw, and connect.
• Paint the Scene: A new plein air event led by Angela Sung and the Warrior Painters with mentors Michelle Lin, Sean Bodley, Jennifer Wang, Qianjiao Ma, and Jeff Hong.

Awards and Honors: In partnership with the Concept Art Association, LightBox Expo will host the 7th Annual Concept Art Awards on Saturday, October 25, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards go to filmmaker Tim Burton and legendary special effects artist Stan Winston.

Film Festival Spotlights

• Animayo International Film Festival Showcase: Featuring Oscar-qualifying short films.
• Best Animated Shorts of 2025–2026 Awards Season: Curated by The Animation Showcase, with films that have collectively earned 32 Oscar nominations and nine wins.

About LightBox Expo: Founded by illustrator Bobby Chiu (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) and filmmaker Jim Demonakos (Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters), LightBox Expo is “for artists, by artists.” The event brings together professionals and students alike to celebrate creativity through panels, portfolio reviews, and the popular Artist Alley.