LightBox Expo, An Annual Celebration of Art, is Coming to Pasadena in 2019

October 29, 2018 - In 2019, 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. LightBox Expo (or 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.

An impressive range of artists, 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, are already confirmed as inaugural guests with more guests to be announced in the upcoming months. The event will be held from September 6-8, 2019 at the Pasadena Convention Center with tickets going on sale early next spring.

After years of holding workshops around the world with his company Schoolism, Bobby Chiu is partnering with Jim Demonakos to found the event. “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, LightBox Expo’s 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.”

One of the missions of LightBox Expo is to ensure that the artists in attendance, from students to professionals, will be respected and treated fairly. To that end, an advisory council has been created, made up of some of the most experienced artists and studio representatives in the business, including 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, the 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.

For more information, please visit www.lightboxexpo.com and follow on Twitter,Facebook, and Instagram. Inquiries regarding participating in the event, including exhibiting, advertising or sponsorship, may be directed to info@lightboxexpo.com.

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David Hyde Superfan Promotions LLC 917-803-6684; david.hyde@superfanpromotions.com; @superfanpr

About the Show Organizers

Bobby Chiu has been a professional artist for over twenty years, starting at the age of seventeen designing Disney, Warner Bros., and Star Wars toys at Thinkway Toys in Toronto, Canada. He is the founder and creative director at Imaginism Studios located in Toronto. He is an acclaimed concept artist and character designer, winning an Emmy award for his creation of Niko and the Sword of Light. Some of his most well known designs are the characters for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton's Alice Through the Looking Glass, and he was also a Master Award recipient at Exposé 3. Bobby is also extremely passionate about teaching and education and is heavily involved in the artistic community. He continuously provides lectures at schools, workshops, and conventions. He also runs an online school known as Schoolism, for today's evolving artist, and hosts a YouTube channel that is extremely educational and informative, providing artist interviews, tips, demos, and news.

Jim Demonakos has been active in the pop culture event industry for two decades. He is the founder of Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, and he spent 15 years developing it into the premier event of every convention season. After stepping down from that role, he worked on events around the world including New York Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, Comic Con Paris, and many more. Jim’s other projects have included co-writing the New York Times bestselling graphic novel The Silence of Our Friends, creating and manufacturing The Classic Comic Book Spinner Rack and running the largest chain of retail comic books stores in the Pacific Northwest.