Schedule

Storytelling and Virtual Production

Friday 10/14 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 101

Mark Andrews

In my talk I will lay out how we used the virtual production process in creating episodes for Super Giant Robot Brothers. This is an insight into how cutting edge Virtual production methods and the use of Unreal engine ( or any game engine) will ultimately reshape how animation is created and produced. Allowing for more authorship of smaller crews on the projects, to faster timetables and cheaper budgets, to create more content and access more voices in the animation world.

How to Format Your Portfolio

Friday 10/14 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 204

Titmouse, Ellen Su, Judy Lung

Whether you’re new to the industry or a veteran, a poorly formatted portfolio, resume or email outreach could be what’s standing in the way between you and an opportunity. Join Ellen Su (head of artistic recruiting at Titmouse) for an informative presentation about how to format your portfolio for various roles the 2d animation industry. We’ll also cover best practices in email outreach, utilizing social media and LinkedIn. The presentation will be followed by a Q and A with the Titmouse Recruiting Team.

Creating the world of ARCANE

Friday 10/14 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 207

Tom Bancroft, Tony Bancroft, Alex Yee, Melinda Dilger

Arcane show co-creator Alex Yee and Exec Producer/ Head of Production Melinda Dilger join Disney animation vets Tom and Tony Bancroft for a LIVE Bancroft Bros Animation podcast! After just winning an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, it’s a good time to honor the Arcane team with this live interview. We will talk about how this production started and the innovated animation and art direction techniques for this groundbreaking Netflix series!

Costume Life Drawing, hosted by Karla Ortiz

Friday 10/14 12:10PM - 2:40PM Room 103

Karla Ortiz

Take a break to sharpen your observational and draftsmanship skills with this good old fashioned costume life drawing session! The session will be led by renowned artist, Karla Ortiz, who will be drawing alongside attendees and offering general tips to improve your life drawing skills. So bring your pencils, pens, brushes, drawing pads and/or tablets, and enjoy a relaxed and fun life drawing session!

Designing Characters For Animation

Friday 10/14 12:20PM - 1:20PM Room 208

Aaron Blaise

Watch as former Disney animator & Director explains his approach to designing characters for animated films.

Building the World of Graphic Design at Pixar

Friday 10/14 12:20PM - 1:20PM Room 107

Pixar, Paul Conrad

Join us for an inside look at Pixar’s design process with Graphics Art Director Paul Conrad. He’ll give insight on how graphic design helps bring our animated worlds to life using examples from Onward and Lightyear.

Storytelling in Design – A Conversation with Disney Television Animation’s Visual Development Team

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Room 102

Disney TV Animation, Baptiste Lucas, Justin Rodrigues, Sam Kallis, Angela Mueller

Join us for a discussion about story, art, and early show development with Disney Television Animation’s unique Visual Development Team. The team works to create the initial artistic direction for the studio’s projects in development. Their mission is to work together with show creators, production and the development executives for Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney+, and more to uncover the big visual storytelling ideas unique to each show.

Portrait Demo By Seo Kim

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Seo Kim

I’ll be drawing live portraits of a number of subjects while discussing my process. I’ll ask the audience for suggestions for famous people to draw, as well as for volunteers to be drawn.

Building worlds with your friends

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Room 209-210

Lip Comarella, Ian Worrel

Collaborative VR tools and how it changed our way to exchange ideas and visual develop for good.

Overcoming the Challenges of Game Internationalization

Friday 10/14 12:40PM - 1:40PM Room 211

Share Creators, Ada Liu

Designing games that can be adapted for a global audience is full of challenges. We saw many cases that some games are very successful in the Asian market but not doing so well in the western market, or vice versa. Due to the innate cultural barriers caused by cultural differences, it is extremely difficult to successfully market games in different regions throughout the world without the game undergoing serious “acculturation,” which often leads to the failure of a game. With a focus on how Chinese domestic games are brought to overseas markets, this presentation will address how game produce...rs can get a better understanding of the preferences of their target audience. How to do better oversea marketing AB tests and common mistakes that art designers should avoid for developers to get a better conversion rate. And other key components to helping solve potential inadaptability problems of domestic games in overseas markets.

The Art of Balance: Kids and Career

Friday 10/14 12:40PM - 1:40PM Room 104-105

Concept Art Association, Pernille Ørum, Lynn Chen, Nicole Hendrix, Eliza Ivanova, Rachel Meinerding

Moderated by Rachel and Nicole of Concept Art Association, join industry artists Pernille Orum, Lynn Chen and more to be announced as they discuss the balance of kids and career. This will be a casual and open conversation about the challenges, the joys and pressures of maintaining a career that you love while still being a present parent and successfully raising a family. In partnership with Women in Animation.

A new way to make animation

Friday 10/14 12:50PM - 1:50PM Room 212

Ethan Becker, Rad Sechrist, Jonnie Ross

Rad, Ethan and Jonnie will talk about and share the independent animation projects they are working on as well as talk about their process for studio animation vs independent projects.

The Greatest Process Ever: Creation by Division

Friday 10/14 1:00PM - 2:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Sam Nielson

Veteran game and film artist Sam Nielson will teach a design process that he uses to improve his compositions, his character designs, and his use color and light in painting. Sam will show how to leverage the natural human response to irony with an easy iterative process that significantly increases the appeal of any design or painting.

Am I too old to be in the industry?

Friday 10/14 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 214

Scott Thigpen

If you’ve thought, “I’m too old to get into the industry,” remember that age is inevitable; aging isn’t. At nearly 50, Scott Thigpen has been a freelance artist in the illustration and animation industry. Even starting a little later in age, he has worked for Dreamworks, Sony Animation, The Wall Street Journal, Penguin, and Harlequin books. Scott’s late start in his art career had many hurdles to overcome. His talk is aimed to give you some encouragement and motivation for the one thing we all can’t escape but can embrace, aging.

Fireside Chat: Finding Work as an Artist in the Entertainment Industry

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 101

Airi Pan, Maxx Burman, Finnian MacManus, ArtStation, Alexander Vagalis, Sierra Mon

Getting your foot in the door as an artist in the entertainment industry can be daunting. To help you in your journey, join ArtStation along with artists and recruiters who have been killing it in the game lately for a fireside chat where they share advice and insights on building a career in the industry.

Fashion & Concept Art

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 204

Riot Games, Oscar Vega

An analysis of resonance, reference and reinvention in design. In this talk we take a deep dive into fashion design and what we can apply into concept art by understanding the fashion industry, its inner workings, and its history.

Painting in Procreate with Max Ulichney

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 106

Max Ulichney, Procreate

Max Ulichney an artist who wears many hats, literally and artistically. As an animation character designer, art director, and director, the majority of his career has been focused on CG supervision and production, skills which have fed back into his character design and illustration work in the form of fun, production-worthy characters, and scenes with bold cinematography at the forefront. He’s known for creating the beloved ‘MaxPacks’ brushes in Procreate, which are known for their richly textured, traditional feel. Join Max and discover more about his creative process as he paints in Procrea...te.

Let's Talk Story Moments

Friday 10/14 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 207

John Nevarez, Armand Baltazar

We’ll discuss how to add storytelling to story moments through composition, performance and lighting

Road of Vengeance - Screening and Panel

Friday 10/14 1:50PM - 2:50PM Room 208

Road of Vengeance, Adam Bernard, Aaron Parry, Marcelo Vignali

ROAD OF VENGEANCE is a sword and sorcery action-adventure animated series set in an alternate universe of Asian mythology. The after screening panel will discuss “the creative” (from development to screen) and the “pathbending collaborative aspects” that are needed in todays entertainment sector.

Your Best Shot: Storyboarding Your Way Toward Disney Animation

Friday 10/14 1:50PM - 2:50PM Room 107

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Samantha Vilfort, Tyler McKim, Tyre Jones

No two journeys are alike! Story Artists Samantha Vilfort and Tyre Jones share each of their roads into Disney Animation and give insights on how to showcase your skills to stand out. Tyler McKim, Associate Manager for Talent Development, will moderate the conversation and speak to current opportunities, intern and trainee programs, and how to prepare for and navigate the application process. Bring your questions!

Esther Wu Demo

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Esther Wu

Visual Development for Games

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 102

Maxis, Leading Concept Artists, Art Directors, and Content Creators from EA-MAXIS Studio

Are you interested in learning about game development and how studios use visual development in their process? Join the Maxis Art Team for an overview of their shared experiences working on many AAA game titles as visual development artists, art directors, and content creators. They will discuss common practices studios use during pre-production, through postproduction and the many hats they have worn over their 20+cumulative years of working in the games industry.

Acting, Animation and How we can Plus

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 209-210

Andrew Gordon

This talk will take a look at some of the things live action actors take for granted. Choices. Animators block and then finish their work. This talk examines why some of the better animators work excels because of the choices they make. We will discuss Gesture, Cliche, Heart, Broad and Subtle and Appeal.

Creators: Before and after the Show

Friday 10/14 2:10PM - 3:10PM Room 104-105

Jorge Gutiérrez, Jeremiah Cortez, Jim Bryson, Andy Cung, Everett Downing, Adam Jeffcoat

Join us in this Creator’s panel with Showrunners & Creators: Jeremiah Cortez (Dogs in Space), Jorge R. Gutiérrez (Maya and the Three), Everett Downing (My Dad the Bounty Hunter), Jim Bryson & Adam Jeffcoat (Niko and the Sword of Light). We’ll discuss what it takes to create an idea, pitch, sell, develop and produce your show for an audience. We’ll also tackle the big question after the show is said and done of “What’s next?”

Storyboarding for Live-Action Feature Films

Friday 10/14 2:10PM - 3:10PM Room 211

Aaron Sowd, Josh Sheppard, Amy Umezu, Bill Thompson, Jeffrey Henderson, Doug Lefler

Join some of the best storyboard artists working in live action today as they discuss their process, careers and personal journeys working on some of the biggest blockbuster films in recent history from Disney, Legendary, Marvel Studios, Sony, Warner Bros., among others. Aaron Sowd (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Godzilla vs. Kong, Secret Invasion) Amy Umezu (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Flash, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Bill Thompson (Blue Beetle, Bright, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers) Doug Lefler (Deadpool 2, Godzilla vs. Kong, Spider-Man) Josh Sheppard (The Batman, Black Panther...: Wakanda Forever, Black Adam) Jeffrey Henderson (Uncharted, Jungle Cruise, The Boys)

40 years of drawing and exaggerating. A few thoughts. Watch me draw!

Friday 10/14 2:20PM - 3:20PM Room 212

Thomas Fluharty

I’m always helped by just watching someone draw. That’s exactly what I will be doing and you can watch as well and at the end ask a few questions. I’ll try not to choke on this demo. I will also give away my drawing to one individual. See ya there!

TB Choi Demo

Friday 10/14 2:30PM - 3:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

TB Choi

The Power of Storytelling through Metaphors, Symbolism, and Color

Friday 10/14 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 214

Tim Evatt

Tim Evatt recently finished production designing the movie Lightyear at Pixar Animation Studio. He is a seventeen year design veteran whose career has spanned both video games and animation. His credits include Toy Story 3, Coco, and Soul, to name a few. Join Tim while he discusses his passion for studying visual structure in film and how to give your scenes power.

Eric Canete Demo

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 4:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Eric Canete

ONI: Thunder God’s Tale Screening of Chapters 1&2 followed by Q&A

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 5:00PM Civic Auditorium

Charles Solomon, Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo, Sara K Sampson

In a world filled with Japanese mythological oddball gods and monsters, one of the creatures’ free-spirited daughters, Onari, is determined to follow in the footsteps of the mighty heroes of lore, but her unique powers are yet to be revealed. Does she have what it takes to fight to protect her peaceful village from the encroaching threat of the gods’ mysterious enemies, the “Oni”?

Building Blocks: How To Thrive In The Animation World

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 204

Steamroller Animation, Jalil Sadool, Amanda Renfroe, Ben Rische, Adam Meyer, Josh Carroll

HOD Tom Jelneck, Steamroller Animation Head of Marketing to kick off the event and ask questions to founders and fellow HODS. After a bit of discussion (35-40 minutes) we’d open the floor to the audience for additional questions. Sample Sample Questions: – What were your backgrounds before you got into Animation? – What was one of the most important lessons you’ve learned while working in animation? – Who has inspired you most along the way? – What are some tips to hone your storytelling techniques? – How can animators keep tuning their technique? – What’s y...our absolute favorite animated movie and why? – How did you learn to accept “notes” on your work? – What’s one of the most effective ways to communicate “notes” to your team? – What’s the most valuable bit of advice that you can offer

Hero's Journey - Creating Characters for the Game Industry

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 101

Raf Grassetti, Dela Longfish

Dela and Grassetti will take you behind the scenes and walk through their process of designing some of the most iconic characters in the game industry

Costumed Life Drawing (Uninstructed)

Friday 10/14 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 103

Let it flow: creature motion in fluids

Friday 10/14 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 207

Michael Habib

In this presentation, Dr. Michael Habib will detail some fundamentals for effectively, and rapidly, building creature anatomy and story sequences for motion in fluid environments. He will detail why fins and wings are essentially the same (and how they work), how to make a flyer launch in a way that feels compelling and real, how to deal with the buoyancy for swimmers, and more! Dr. Habib will cover how to ground your builds in real physics and anatomy, so that you can apply the concepts to any build in any environment. Exemplars will be shared from one of Dr. Habib’s latest projects: Prehisto...ric Planet, from BBC Studios. As a finale, Dr. Habib will do a speed storyboard demo of a marine dragon, taking cues from the audience in terms of the look and behavior to be boarded.

Lessons from our Favorite Artists

Friday 10/14 3:20PM - 4:20PM Room 208

Marshall Vandruff, Peter Han

Join Peter Han and Marshall Vandruff as they spotlight favorite artists and illustrators, current and past, to discuss the role of classic picture-making skills. Showcased artists include Winsor McCay, Heinrich Kley, Katsuya Terada, Sergio Toppi, MC Escher, Takehiko Inoue, Franklin Booth, Moebius, Hokusai, and Katsuhiro Otomo. Peter and Marshall will celebrate great drawing and painting masters, offering lessons from them for all artists.

Directors Panel

Friday 10/14 3:20PM - 4:20PM Room 107

Tony Bancroft, Brenda Chapman, Jill Culton, Chris Williams, Chris Sanders

Directors Brenda Chapman (“Brave”), Jill Culton (“Abominable”), Chris Williams (“The Sea Beast”), Chris Sanders (“Lilo and Stitch”) join our Directors panel to share some insight into the incredibly demanding undertaking of directing a film or TV show. Q&A to follow. Moderated by director Tony Bancroft.

Characters & Colors

Friday 10/14 3:30PM - 4:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Pernille Ørum

Pernille will be sharing her process bringing a sketch to final. Pernille is a professional character designer and she’s know for her simple colors and designs and in this demo she’ll show her process.

Creating A Cast: Character Design Panel

Friday 10/14 3:30PM - 4:30PM Room 102

Joe Moshier, Peter de Sève, Kei Acedera, Shiyoon Kim, Keiko Murayama, Maureen Fan

Character designers Peter de Seve, Kei Acedera, Shiyoon Kim, Keiko Murayama and Joe Moshier reveal what their processes for creating appealing characters for animated films and TV entails and answer audience questions about how to create a compelling cast of characters for any project. Moderated by Maureen Fan.

Asian Queens Leading in Animation

Friday 10/14 3:30PM - 4:30PM Room 209-210

Megha Davalath, Shin Park, Maansi Sunkara, Josie Trinidad, Sarasawathi Vani Balgam

Join AQIA, for their first in-person panel and for a chance to hear from some Asian queens in leadership roles to learn about their journey breaking into animation, their goals as a leader, and how they build their careers to where they are today.

Managing Art & Mental Health in the Age of Social Media

Friday 10/14 3:40PM - 4:40PM Room 211

Loish, Iris Muddy, Sam Yang, Ross Tran, Spiridon Giannakis

Join this open discussion about caring for your mental health. Our host Spiridon talks to Loish, Iris Muddy, Sam Yang, and Ross Tran about how they deal with burnout, art block, and how to build a stronger emotional relationship and confidence with your art while navigating through the stress and pressures of social media. The panel ends with a Q&A session.

When Art Imitates Life: Concept Art for Live Action Entertainment

Friday 10/14 3:40PM - 4:40PM Room 104-105

Naomi Baker, Pablo Carpio, Pablo Dominguez, Alexander Mandradjiev, Phil Saunders, Banks Boutté

Join artists Alexander Mandradjiev (Avengers: Infinity War), Phil Saunders (Iron Man), Naomi Baker (Ghost of Tsushima), Danar Worya (The Last of Us Part II), Pablo Carpio (Captain Marvel), Pablo Dominguez (Star Wars Ep. IX), as they share tales from their celebrated concept careers and how they keep up with the ever-changing industry. Q & A to follow. Moderated by Banks Boutté from KitBash3D

Charles Lee Demo

Friday 10/14 3:50PM - 4:50PM Room 212

Kazone Art, Charles Lee

Marvel Comics: More than just the Marvel Way!

Friday 10/14 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 214

C.B. Cebulski, Rickey Purdin, Ellie Pyle

Hey True Believers! Join Marvel Comics’ Editor in Chief, C.B. Cebulski, Marvel Comics Talent Scout, Rickey Purdin and Executive Director of Audio Content and Story Ellie Pyle as they showcase the growing diversity in styles and content now being featured at the House of Ideas! From Super Heroes to YA to vertical comics, they’ll show aspiring illustrators that there’s never been a “house style” at Marvel, that variety is what Marvel is all about and demonstrate that you can submit your portfolio even if you’ve never drawn a Super Hero comic before!

Talk to the Procreate Team: Q&A

Friday 10/14 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 106

Procreate, Nathan Clegg, Lauren Yates-Jones

Procreate is the most powerful digital art app on iPad today. It has everything you need to create expressive sketches, rich paintings, beautiful animations and more. Packed with unique features and intuitive creative tools, Procreate is the complete art studio you can take anywhere. Made for artists, by artists. Procreate has been the best-selling paid iPad app on App Store for the past five years, and has received two coveted Apple Design Awards. Come meet the dedicated team that is making waves in the creative software industry.

Concept Artist of Television and Film

Friday 10/14 4:30PM - 5:30PM Room 101

Phil Boutte Jr., Imogene Chayes, Luca Nemolato, Constantine Sekeris, Raphael phillips, Gina DeDomenico, Greg Hopwood

Concept Artists of Television & Film Presents: Concept artists Phil Boutte’ (Blue Beetle, Wicked, Wakanda Forever, Jungle Cruise), Imogen Chayes (She-Hulk, Madame Web, Masters of the Universe), Luca Nemolato (Shape of Water, Avatar the Last Airbender, Jungle Cruise),Raphael Phillips (Creed III, Moon Knight, Masters of the Universe), Greg Hopwood (Echo, The Boys, Ironheart), Constantine Sekeris (Masters of the Universe, House of Dragon), discuss the process behind creating concept art for some of the most exciting productions on Television and in Film. Including also a Q&A to answ...er audience questions.

Work Smarter & Harder: The Things We Wish We Knew

Friday 10/14 4:30PM - 5:30PM Room 204

Mike Uwandi, Drew Hartel

Mike Uwandi and Drew Hartel discuss mutual coaching, navigating the entertainment industry, and the many breakthroughs they have had along the way.

Portrait Painting from Life

Friday 10/14 4:40PM - 5:40PM Room 103

Jonathan Hardesty

In this class, you’ll work alongside Jonathan Hardesty and learn his techniques for painting a portrait from life. Jonathan will give you a one hour demo and crash course on understanding the methodology and mindset behind completing a quick portrait study. You’ll learn to capture proportion, value, and color, in order to be able to create the most impactful and realistic portrait possible.

Managing Time

Friday 10/14 4:40PM - 5:40PM Room 207

Sonja Christoph

There are 24 hours in a day – a lot of time if you think about it, but how often have you felt like the day has just flown by and you got nothing done? Or on the other side of the spectrum, how often have you felt like you got so much done, you didn’t even have time to eat, take a break or go to the bathroom? It all comes down to how we choose to spend our time. Time is finite – we can’t get more of it but we can be more efficient with how we spend it. Join schoolism instructor, freelance artist and small business owner Sonja Christoph as she shares a few practical tips and strategies to... help organize your time, complete your tasks and feel accomplished at the end of the day.

The Secrets to Photorealism

Friday 10/14 4:50PM - 5:50PM Room 208

Andrew Price

Uncover the science of believability! In this 20-minute power talk you’ll discover the simple rules of light and material physics to achieve effortless realism.

The Art of The Bad Guys

Friday 10/14 4:50PM - 5:50PM Room 107

Dreamworks, Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, JP Sans, Floriane Marchix, Luc Desmarchelier

Director Pierre Perifel leads a discussion on the making of The Bad Guys with Production Designer Luc Desmarchelier, Head of Character Animation JP Sans and Art Director Floriane Marchix. Based on the best-selling book series by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys is a new action comedy from DreamWorks Animation about a crackerjack criminal crew of five animal outlaws attempting their most challenging con yet – becoming model citizens. In his feature directorial debut, The Bad Guys is directed by Pierre Perifel, and produced by Damon Ross and Rebecca Huntley.

Starting From Scratch: Visual Development for Animation

Friday 10/14 5:00PM - 6:00PM Room 102

Claire Keane, Sunmin Inn, Grace Kum, Arthur Fong, Diana Ling, Marlon West, Manu Arenas

Claire Keane, Manu Arenas, Diana Ling, Sunmin Inn, Grace Kum, and Arthur Fong discuss the visual development process as it pertains to animation as they share stories from their careers about the importance of team collaboration and the hurdles they need to overcome to create the perfect world for the story they’re trying to tell. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Marlon West.

Wild Blue: Creating a Concept Art Co-Op

Friday 10/14 5:00PM - 6:00PM Room 209-210

Alexandria Neonakis, Chris McGeorge, Eli Allen

A discussion about forming and being a member of a worker owned co-op creating concept art and illustration for AAA clients while maintaining worker health and balance above all else. In this panel of members and founders we’ll be talking about what it took to get to this point, to make this a success, and how we operate to keep it functional.

Ai tools in Practical use for Digital Artists

Friday 10/14 5:00PM - 6:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Marcin Rubinkowski

I will bring the very popular Ai topic and show how to use but not overuse. There will be a short demo that will show how to use generated assets and not got crazy but use it with right balance to remain in control and maintain the flow of inspiration

The Best of Animayo: The 2022 Winners Screening

Friday 10/14 6:00PM - 7:30PM Civic Auditorium

The Animayo Animation Festival is an Oscar Award-qualifying festival that features incredible short films from around the world. Come and watch the winners of the 2022 festival in this 90 minute animation extravaganza! Featuring Frydenlund Hair Parlour (Norway), Absence (France), Leopoldo (Spain), Flower Under Water (Spain), Elena (Lithuania, France, Croatia), Depths of Night (Hong Kong), Mula (Spain), Resident Evil: Village (Poland), Real (Brazil), and more! All films subtitled in English.

Adventures of Sheridan Animation Grads

Saturday 10/15 10:00AM - 11:00AM Room 101

Naz Ghodrati-Azadi, Anna Gopin, Lee_Ann Dufour, Sheridan, Theresa Scandiffio

This panel of talented Sheridan College graduates will share how their respective careers have evolved after graduating from Sheridan’s award-winning animation program. From classroom aspirations to industry insights, these animation insiders will share their views on a range of topics including supporting women in the industry, building inclusivity, and mentorship. Moderated by Theresa Scandiffio, Associate Dean, Animation & Game Design

The Art of Nickelodeon's Monster High

Saturday 10/15 10:00AM - 11:00AM Room 204

Sarah Marino, Nickelodeon, Matt Whitlock, Ariel Song

From Mattel’s iconic fashion doll brand to live action movie, to a new CG animated Series on Nickelodeon, “Monster High” is everywhere. Join Nickelodeon Animation Studio and the creatives and artists behind the new series premiering October 28 on Nickelodeon.

Costumed Life Drawing (Uninstructed)

Saturday 10/15 10:10AM - 11:10AM Room 103

Multi-cultural perspective in workplace

Saturday 10/15 10:10AM - 11:10AM Room 207

Celine Kim, Grace Kum, Teny Issakhanian, Camilo Castro, Monica Davila

As the industry is growing and implementing more diverse and cultural story, how do we navigate discussions, research and offer solutions to help with that? With our array of multcultured panelists we’ll discuss together of our experiences in the industry and ways to problem solve this ever growing industry to become more inclusive and diverse as ourselves.

From Start to Pitch: Meet Bento Box Entertainment

Saturday 10/15 10:20AM - 11:20AM Room 208

Kelly Harper, Brooke Keesling, Bento Box

Come spend an hour conversing with Bento Box’s Kelly Harper (Creative Producer, Development and Special Projects) and Brooke Keesling (Head of Animation Talent Development) about how to get your foot in the door, learn about career opportunities in animation and best practices for pitching. A FOX Entertainment company, Bento Box Entertainment’s recent work includes programming on Apple TV+ (“Central Park”), FOX (multiple Emmy® Award-winning “Bob’s Burgers”, “Duncanville”,“The Great North” and “Housebroken”), Netflix (“Mulligan,” “Paradise PD,” Farzar), along with many other series,... pilots and presentations.

Advanced Photoshop Power Tips & Tricks

Saturday 10/15 10:20AM - 11:20AM Room 107

MSI, Jesús Ramirez

Join Jesús Ramirez in this information-packed session for advanced Photoshop users that will leave you with at least one “Wow, I didn’t know Photoshop could do that!” moment. This fast-paced session will teach you techniques to work faster and smarter to become a Photoshop power user! In this session, you will explore: Neural Filters for real-world workflows. Compositing tricks from the Hollywood industry. Understanding how color works. Lesser known features that make a big difference. And much more!

12 Steps to a Better ArtStation Portfolio

Saturday 10/15 10:30AM - 11:30AM Room 209-210

ArtStation, Brian Zerkler, Victor Zamudio

The ArtStation team shares valuable tips and steps on how you can make the most of your portfolio to make it more discoverable and stand out to recruiters.

Imaginative Realism: Classical How-To

Saturday 10/15 10:30AM - 11:30AM Room 102

James Gurney

Dream it, plan it, paint it! This lively and entertaining digital slide presentation for all audiences examines the practical methods for translating an imaginative scene into a realistic painting. The topics include research, thumbnail sketches, models posing, maquettes, photo reference, and plein-air studies. I’ll chronicle the creative development that led to the fantasy universe of Dinotopia, the behind-the-scenes work on a scientific rendering of a dinosaur, archaeological reconstructions for National Geographic, and how I painted a giant robot outdoors, on location, in an urban streetsca...pe.

2D Animation Demo

Saturday 10/15 10:30AM - 12:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Aaron Blaise

Join Oscar nominated director and animator Aaron Blaise as he demonstrates hand drawn animation LIVE and answers your questions!

Creatives of Color Panel

Saturday 10/15 10:40AM - 11:40AM Room 211

Marlon West, Phil Boutte Jr., Frank Abney, Chrystin Garland, Mike Uwandi, Everett Downing

Join Marlon West, Phillip Boutte Jr., Frank Abney, Everett Downing, Chrystin Garland, and Mike Uwandi for a discussion about their experiences being Black artists and creatives in the entertainment industry and how they continue to break barriers in their creative roles. Moderated by Phillip Boutte Jr.

Marvel Studios' Journey Into Animation

Saturday 10/15 10:40AM - 11:40AM Room 104-105

Bryan Andrews, Kirsten Lepore, Alex Scharf

In 2021, Marvel Studios released its first-ever animated series, “What If…?” followed by its first collection of animated shorts, “I Am Groot.” Hear from the directors who helped Marvel Studios venture into the world of animation by joining Bryan Andrews (“What If…?”) and Kirsten Lepore (“I Am Groot”) for a conversation on their filmmaking journey.

Exploring the Dynamic Range in your Sketching

Saturday 10/15 10:50AM - 11:50AM Room 212

Peter Han

Sketching From observation is the first step in any artists ability to curate a deep visual library and to hone their craft. But then what? Using your creativity and freedom to choose in how to express is a necessity to find a voice in the process. By knowing the rules, now it’s time to try to bend them. By using what Peter calls the ‘Slinky Technique’, He will show a demo on how far he is exploring the range of pushing his sketches.

Jana Schirmer Demo

Saturday 10/15 11:00AM - 12:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Jana Schirmer

Lessons I've Learned from Splash Art

Saturday 10/15 11:00AM - 12:00PM Room 214

Jessica Oyhenart

After going from junior illustrator to art lead, from Sion to Akali to Vi, I’ll share the high-moments, pitfalls, and important lessons I’ve learned making League of Legends splash illustration.

Creating Children's Books with Procreate

Saturday 10/15 11:00AM - 12:00PM Room 106

Anoosha Syed, Procreate

Anoosha Syed is a Pakistani-Canadian author, illustrator and character designer for animation. She is the author of That’s Not My Name! and has illustrated over twenty picture books including the award winning Bilal Cooks Daal. As a freelance character designer she has worked with clients including Netflix, Disney and Google. In her spare time Anoosha hosts a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing her picture book process and art education. Join Anoosha as she explains her Procreate workflow and her process as a children’s book illustrator.

Using 3D to Create Iconic Characters & Creatures for Film & Games

Saturday 10/15 11:30AM - 12:30PM Room 101

Gnomon, Jared Krichevsky, Amy Sharpe, Ashley Stegon, Adam Hartel

This will be a panel interview with each artist about how they use 3D to create iconic characters and creatures for film, armor and costume for shows, and games. We will be showing some of their work, speaking with each of them about their artistic journeys, and how 3D is an inspiring tool for them to expand their creativity and designs.

Costuming a Character's Narrative Arc

Saturday 10/15 11:30AM - 12:30PM Room 204

Alexandria Neonakis

Join Alexandria Neonakis as she discuss the character’s arc throughout a game and how she go about designing costumes around that. Using the characters she already started to costume in her Schoolism class, creating characters and costumes for games, Alexandria is going to create hypothetical story beats for them that would change their costuming and show the design choices and process she would use for that.

Journey the Ambassador Wolf

Saturday 10/15 11:40AM - 12:40PM Room 103

Charlotte Belland, Journey The Ambassador Wolf

Get up close and personal with a real live wolf at LightBox Expo during this exciting event! Educator and illustrator, Charlotte Belland, is thrilled to be bringing Journey the Ambassador Wolf back to LBX for an hour-long life drawing session that is sure to be a howling good time.

Writing in TV Animation

Saturday 10/15 11:40AM - 12:40PM Room 207

Dreamworks, Josh Baca, Ami Boghani, Dimitry Pompee

Step into the wonderful world of writing for TV Animation. Meet our DreamWorks Television Animation writers and learn about their journeys getting into writing and how they deliver compelling stories with an authentic voice.

Ronnie del Carmen's strange path to success that should not work!

Saturday 10/15 11:50AM - 12:50PM Room 208

Ronnie del Carmen

What I’ve avoided to do early in my career comes around to make me face it anyway. This has been my terror and the basis of what becomes the successes in my career as a story teller. A travelogue of my life in storytelling through drawings and drawn sequences that maybe you can learn from.

Illumination: Creating a Portfolio of Joy & Discovery

Saturday 10/15 11:50AM - 12:50PM Room 107

Illumination, Dawn Yamazi, Deb Stone, Allison McDaniel

There are many ways to approach a portfolio of Art, Visual Development, Character Design, or Story. It’s not only draftspersonship, color and design but humor, comedy, and character moments. We look for a confidence in line, a playfulness in execution and packaged in a way that highlights you and your unique point of view. Illumination looks for the joy of storytelling across these disciplines. This session hopes to share a point of view that will inspire and inform your own portfolios. Illumination was founded by Academy Award® nominee Chris Meledandri, the creator of Despicable Me, The Secre...t Life of Pets and Sing, and most recently, Sing 2 in 2021 and Minions: Rise of Gru in 2022. Illumination’s upcoming films include the new Super Mario Bros. animated film and Migration in 2023 and Despicable Me 4 in 2024. Illumination is based in Santa Monica, CA and its studio, Illumination Studio Paris, is located in the center of Paris, France. www.illumination.com Dawn Yamazi, SVP WW Talent Deb Stone, Director, Talent Recruitment Allison McDaniel, Recruitment coordinator

Art process with Christian Alzmann

Saturday 10/15 12:00PM - 1:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Christian Alzmann

A Conversation with Pixar's Women in Editorial

Saturday 10/15 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 102

Pixar, Ayesha Johannes, Amera Rizk, Marie Bartz

Have you ever wondered what a career editing animated films looks like? Join us for a conversation with Assistant Editor Ayesha Johannes and Editor Amera Rizk as they give insight on the art and collaboration that goes into editing animated films and their paths to Pixar. Moderated by Production Resource Associate Marie Bartz.

The Art of Selling Your Art: The Five Principles You Need to Know to Sell the Sh*t Out of Your Art

Saturday 10/15 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 209-210

Laetro, Dave Zaboski, Drake DeBiasse

Join former Disney Animator and Co-founder of Laetro.com Dave Zaboski and Drake DeBiasse, Head of Growth and Master of Sales for Laetro.com in this entertaining and informative session on how professional sales experts approach selling the sh*t out of their products. Learn the principles of unrelenting success and the secrets, practices and systems used by the best salespeople in the business. If you want to up your sales game, join us for this enlightening talk.

The Building Blocks of World Building

Saturday 10/15 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 104-105

Dylan Cole, David Levy, Armand Baltazar, Sparth, Sonja Christoph, Renee di Cherri, James Gurney

Artists Dylan Cole, David Levy, Armand Baltazar, Sparth, Sonja Christoph, and James Gurney discuss how they go about creating the immersive environments and whole new worlds. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Renee di Cherri.

Dealing with Art Block and Creative Burnout

Saturday 10/15 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 211

Djamila Knopf

Art block and creative burnout can be scary, but it’s something that happens to beginners and professionals alike. In this talk, we’ll be discussing underlying causes and look into strategies to overcome the things that keep us from creating.

John Nevarez Demo

Saturday 10/15 12:30PM - 1:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

John Nevarez

background design, story moments and/or portfolio preparation

Skills Art Schools Didn’t Teach You

Saturday 10/15 12:30PM - 1:30PM Room 214

Supercell, John “Cip” Cipriani, Ken Taya

What brush do you use? If you’ve ever asked this question you should attend this talk. This talk is about how soft skills, as opposed to hard skills, plays an integral role in your career as an Artist.

Esther Wu Demo

Saturday 10/15 1:00PM - 2:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Esther Wu

Life in a real-world Production Environment

Saturday 10/15 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 101

Xencelabs, Justin Fields, Jayme Wilkinson, Steve Talkowski, Bryan K. Turner, Rich Hurrey, Mark Walsh, RC Aradio

From graphic novels to animation for TV or feature films, it’s all about bringing your ‘A’ game and understanding the secrets to the business. Get insights from top industry experts on collaborating in a professional studio setting. Whether working as an independent contractor at a small boutique agency or working in the trenches at a major studio. Join our panel of artists as they relay the ins and outs of their experiences, contributing to a range of creative projects.

Preparing students and schools for future careers in the creative arts

Saturday 10/15 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 204

Wacom, Nicole Hendrix, Anne Younglove, Simone Price, Carson Smith

The wide-spread adoption of remote work and virtual workflows has forced technology innovation. For professional in the creative community, many of these changes were anticipated and largely in process already. However, many students and their schools don’t have the technology or the expertise in place to teach students about these new ways of working. This panel and open discussion will share ideas on how to help our schools teach and support students who want to pursue careers in the arts and share resources and tips on getting involved with schools and teachers who are coaching and leading ...our new generation of artists.

9B Collective: World Building in TV, Film, & Games

Saturday 10/15 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 106

Phil Boutte Jr., Mike Uwandi, Aldis Hodge, Angela Alise Johnson, Procreate

9B Collective Studio is the first Black-Owned Concept Art Studio made up primarily of BIPOC artists and founded by Phillip Boutté Jr., Mike Uwandi, and Aldis Hodge. Our goal is to provide a shift in the Entertainment landscape by working towards true inclusivity both in front of, and behind the camera. Join Co-Founders Phillip Boutté Jr., Mike Uwandi, and Aldis Hodge in a lively discussion about how 9B Collective | Concept Art Studio aims to help shift the imbalance in equity for the BIPOC community in the Entertainment landscape to achieve a means of true equality and inclusivity for all star...ting from behind the camera. Learn about the organization, its projects, and mission-driven education and mentorship arm.

The Changing Landscape Of Digital Art

Saturday 10/15 1:10PM - 2:10PM Room 207

Loish, Anthony Francisco, Karla Ortiz, DeviantArt, Julian Schratter, BossLogic

It is no secret that change causes controversy, and digital art is changing fast. From the rapid growth of web3 and NFTs to the debate around AI art – digital art is being ushered into a new frontier where tech and art converge. Join us in an open format discussion presented by DeviantArt covering opinions, thoughts and experiences from our panelists BossLogic, Anthony Francisco, Karla Ortiz and Lois van Baarle.

Portrait Painting from Life

Saturday 10/15 1:10PM - 2:10PM Room 103

Jonathan Hardesty

In this class, you’ll work alongside Jonathan Hardesty and learn his techniques for painting a portrait from life. Jonathan will give you a one hour demo and crash course on understanding the methodology and mindset behind completing a quick portrait study. You’ll learn to capture proportion, value, and color, in order to be able to create the most impactful and realistic portrait possible.

Art at Disney Animation: Strange World

Saturday 10/15 1:20PM - 2:20PM Room 107

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Mehrdad Isvandi, Joyce Lee, Matt Roberts

Learn about life as a Disney Animation visual development artist from Production Designer Mehrdad Isvandi and visual development artist Joyce Lee as they present on the art and creative process behind Disney Animation’s forthcoming feature Strange World. Followed by a Q&A moderated by Sr. Recruiter Matt Roberts.

Tales From The Front Lines: ADG Veteran Illustrators Talk About Flexibility And Learning To Be Successful In Your Career

Saturday 10/15 1:20PM - 2:20PM Room 208

Art Directors Guild, Phil Saunders, Eric Ramsey, Sean Hargreaves, Benton Jew

Four longtime veterans of the industry, who began their careers from a variety of backgrounds, discuss the changing nature of the industry. Subject matter, budgets, working methods, and other aspects of the creative process always seem to be in flux – so how does an artist stay relevant and have a long career? You’ll hear what these veterans have done to adapt, change and evolve in order to stay on the leading edge of the film industry. Participants will also take questions from the audience. Moderated by Benton Jew (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Wonder Woman, Logan). Panelist...s include: Sean Hargreaves (Star Trek Beyond, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Thir13en Ghosts), Eric Ramsey (Iron Man, Contact, Apollo 13), and Phil Saunders (Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, TRON: Legacy, Kingsman: The Golden Circle).

Tamo Junto: When Art heals your heart

Saturday 10/15 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 209-210

Pedro Conti

Tamo Junto is an idependent Brazilian short film produced and directed by Pedro Conti. In this Panel, Pedro will share the creative proccess and behind the scenes of the project. Also share how culture and the place we grow up can influence us the way we produce art.

Painting a Movie-scene in Procreate

Saturday 10/15 1:30PM - 2:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Nikolai Lockertsen, Schoolism

Nikko will show you how he builds up a painting from scratch in Procreate. Using Perspective, Composition, colors and mood to create a cool movie-looking painting.

“Victor and Valentino” Behind the Scenes Presentation with Peter Chung

Saturday 10/15 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 102

Cartoon Network Studios, Peter Chung

Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) presents a behind-the-scenes look at his special episode of the Cartoon Network series Victor and Valentino. Hear from the legendary animator as he breaks down how he brought his visually arresting and avant-garde style to the popular animated children’s series. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, Victor and Valentino is a supernatural adventure comedy created by Diego Molano and follows two half-brothers who spend a summer with their grandma in Monte Macabre, a small and mysterious town, where the myths and legends of Mesoamerican folklore come to life.

Production Design Panel

Saturday 10/15 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 104-105

Helen Chen, Paul Felix, Michael Knapp, Paul Lasaine, Christophe Lautrette, Jeff Turley, Maureen Fan

Production Designers Helen Mingjue Chen, Paul Lasaine, Paul Felix, Michael Knapp, Christophe Lautrette, and Jeff Turley share a behind the scenes look at the production design process and answer audience questions about what’s involved when working with producers and directors to bring their vision to the screen. Moderated by Maureen Fan.

Sony Pictures Animation: How to Ace the Job Search

Saturday 10/15 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 211

Sony Pictures Animation, Chris Leahy, Kevin Noel, Maggie Kang, Octavio Rodriguez, Joe Moshier

Join us for an interactive discussion with creative and production leaders at Sony Pictures Animation as they discuss their journeys into animation and the things that make a portfolio or resume positively stand out. We will answer your most pressing questions and provide practical tips on how to make the most out of your job search. Moderator: Chris Leahy – Director, Global Talent Acquisition, Sony Pictures Animation Panelists: Kevin Noel – Senior Vice President of Production, Sony Pictures Animation Maggie Kang – Director, K-POP: Demon Hunters Octavio Rodriguez – Head... of Story, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Joe Moshier – Character Designer/Art Director

Visual Development Film, Beyond Pretty Pictures

Saturday 10/15 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 214

Noah Klocek

In art school and online “visual development” is mainly discussed in terms of technique or craft, but these are just the tools of the trade. The visual development job is so much more, it is storytelling, taste-making, researching, observing, designing and re-designing, communicating, self-analyzing, etc. This talk is about the practical process and philosophy behind visual development and production design beyond just making pretty pictures.

Let's have fun with 3D for 2D

Saturday 10/15 2:00PM - 3:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Iris Muddy, Justin Conway

Similar to how they say two heads are better than one; three dimensions can be better than two. A presentation encouraging fun exploration of vr/3d tools for 2d artists. Demonstrating ways in which vr/3d tools can help support and expand upon what we already know if we’re willing to experiment and enthusiastically approach the potential without fearful assumptions. Moderated by Justin Conway.

Form Language and Color for Live Action Film

Saturday 10/15 2:30PM - 3:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Finnian MacManus

In this presentation and talk, Finnian will walk through many examples from his own work, and Terraform Studios’ work, to show how a designer can utilize form language and color to create immersive environments for the Entertainment Industry. Starting with a thorough explanation of form language, and then examples inside of Photoshop, Finnian will explain the importance of design decisions, ideation, color combinations, and how to create or improve striking imagery to help convey concepts for some of the largest Entertainment productions worldwide.

Preparing for the future of the creative industry

Saturday 10/15 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 204

Wacom, Felix Jorge, AJ Wedding, Erik Weaver, Eric Rigney, Tom Thudiyanpackal

The last three years forced the creative industry into innovating and implementing new working styles, from wide-spread adoption of virtual production to preparing an entire workforce to work remotely. Many of these changes have been beneficial to artists, while some changes have put artists at risk. The panel and open conversation will offer ideas on what the future holds and how we can both prepare for the next wave of innovation and help artists navigate the current reality. Guests include: experts who work in virtual production, a professional studio head who works in a studio that has a r...emote work force, an expert who helps artists freelance without being taken advantage of, and education experts to discuss ways that we can prepare students for this future, as well as a representative of Wacom who will share the ways technology has changed and is currently adapting to these new ways of working.

The Future of Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Paramount Pictures Animation

Saturday 10/15 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 101

Camille Eden, Emily Nordwind, Kari Kim, Nellie Tehrani

With Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Paramount Animation now under the direction of Ramsey Naito, these two iconic legacy brands have come together as one big animation team. While still operating independently, these two studios going forward will share content and resources. What exactly does this mean for content coming out of these studios, and how will it impact staffing for productions? Representatives from both studios will detail what this means for viewers, job seekers, and the studios themselves.

Draw along with Angela Sung

Saturday 10/15 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 106

Angela Sung, Procreate

A plein-air painter who works in animation, Angela finds ways to apply what she learns from practicing traditional paintings to her digital work. She’s worked as an Art Director at Netflix Animation, on “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts”, as a VisDev Artist on “Bad Guys” Feature Film, and as a Background Designer and Painter on “Legend of Korra” TV Series. She has shared her learnings with many students in the US, Mexico, China, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands and beyond. Grab your iPad and join Angela as she paints in Procreate.

Birds of Prey

Saturday 10/15 2:40PM - 3:40PM Room 103

Manny Carrasco, Michael Clark, Tony Suffredini

Prey-pare for an epic animal life drawing session with artists and animal activists Manny Carrasco, Michael Clark, and Tony Suffredini. You won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to meet and draw live birds during this hour-long demo that will bring your sketchbook to soaring new heights!

Concept Art for the Sims 4

Saturday 10/15 2:40PM - 3:40PM Room 207

Maxis, Leading Concept Artists from EA-MAXIS Studio working on The Sims

The Concept Team will give an overview of our creative process for creating appealing and authentic designs that empower player customization and storytelling through props, furniture, environments, hair, and clothing.

More Than Unreal: Art in the New Digital Hollywood

Saturday 10/15 2:50PM - 3:50PM Room 208

Art Directors Guild, Josh Sheppard, Fae Corrigan, Jasmine Alexia Jackson, David Duncan, Tim Burgard, IATSE Local 800

Illustrators, prepare for cutting edge entertainment productions. Pioneers in the new Hollywood share with you how it is and how it’s done.

An Epic World of Ships and Beasts

Saturday 10/15 2:50PM - 3:50PM Room 107

Netflix Animation, Chris Williams, Matthias Lechner

An Epic World of Ships and Beasts: Designing the world of ‘The Sea Beast’ with Director Chris Williams and Production Designer Matthias Lechner

The Art of... The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder

Saturday 10/15 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 102

Disney TV Animation, Bruce W. Smith, Eastwood Wong

Join us as Executive Producer, Bruce Smith, and Art Director, Eastwood Wong, dive into how the new look and feel of “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” was accomplished. They will share insights into the style evolution from the original series, development, and through current episodes on Disney+.

The Sculptor's Station: Clay Sculpting Techniques

Saturday 10/15 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 209-210

Simon Lee, Andrea Blasich, Kristine Poole, Colin Poole

You could say that this group of artists are absolutely kil’n it! Join sculptors Andrea Blasich, Simon Lee, Kristine Poole and Colin Poole as they talk about working in the concept art, fine art and imaginative realism fields. They’ll discuss oil, wax, water and polymer clays, as well as bronze, alternative materials and tools they use to create breathtaking 3D characters and creatures. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Kristine and Colin Poole.

Composition for visual storytellers with Marcos Mateu-Mestre

Saturday 10/15 3:00PM - 4:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Marcos Mateu-Mestre

Marcos Mateu-Mestre will do a live demo on cinematic composition for visual storytellers. He’ll explain the basics of how to visually compose an emotionally compelling moment so that it delivers the message a story requires at any given time. Bring your thoughts and questions as there will be live interaction with the audience!

Designing Characters for Live Action Entertainment

Saturday 10/15 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 211

Karla Ortiz, Christian Alzmann, Phil Boutte Jr., Wesley Burt, Rob Bliss, Neville Page, Crash McCreery

This talk is all about designing characters for live action TV and films with industry giants Crash McCreery, Karla Ortiz, Christian Alzmann, Rob Bliss, Phillip Boutte Jr., Wesley Burt, and Neville Page. Find out what it takes to bring characters to the live action world and hear the stories along the way. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Phillip Boutte Jr.

Character Design: A conversation with the pros at Skydance Animation

Saturday 10/15 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 104-105

Skydance Animation, Christopher Ables, Natalia Falciglia, Maliheh Rahrovan, Annwhitney McCombs, Ariel Goldberg

This presentation will feature a brief introduction to Skydance Animation, discussing the studio’s history and culture, followed by a moderated discussion in which two recruiters and three artists discuss what it takes to develop oneself as an artist so as to secure a position at a studio like Skydance. The conversation will offer a variety of perspectives, from those who have been working for a long time, as well as those who are closer to the beginning of their careers. Each of the panelists has had a unique career path, and we hope that our collective stories demonstrate to the audien...ce that there is no singular, “right” way to build a career in the Animation industry.

Eliza Ivanova Demo

Saturday 10/15 3:20PM - 4:20PM Room 212

Eliza Ivanova

Viktor Kalvachev Demo

Saturday 10/15 3:30PM - 4:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Viktor Kalvachev

Making of HUXLEY Trailer

Saturday 10/15 3:30PM - 4:30PM Room 214

Ben Mauro

Ben will discuss the making of and creation of the HUXLEY cinematic trailer, showing the process of adapting his original graphic novel series into photoreal cinematic form.

John Burton Demo

Saturday 10/15 4:00PM - 5:30PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

John Burton

A Meditative Outlook on Art

Saturday 10/15 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 204

Sinix

Improving at art is a journey that requires not only educational fundamentals, but also a positive mental fortitude. In this talk, Sinix will discuss many actionable aspects of improving your mental outlook on art in order to reach your goals most effectively. Topics will range from the broadest outlooks on art, to the actual moment to moment mentality that can lead to more effective sketches and paintings. So, whether it’s the most tangible aspects of neuro-science or the seemingly abstract ideas of conscious meditation, everything has something to offer your artistic journey.

Making Characters Move

Saturday 10/15 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 106

Nikolai Lockertsen, Procreate

Nikolai Lockertsen is a concept artist and illustrator based in Norway. He has worked in the film industry for over 20 years, for studios including Qvisten, Filmkameratene, Gimpville and Storm Studios. In addition to his film work, Nikolai also illustrates book covers, children books, promotional commercial art, and more for clients from all over the world. Nikolai is a pioneer of iPad art, having done all of his personal and professional work since 2012 using Procreate. He teaches his techniques at art and film schools, and holds lectures and demos worldwide. Bring your iPad and follow along ...with Nikolai as he brings his characters to life by creating a walk cycle using Procreate’s Animation Assist.

Balancing Creativity and Life

Saturday 10/15 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 101

Loish

There’s a prevailing myth that artists must always create and engage in their craft. This is a beautiful concept, but there is a dark side: many artists find themselves burned out, injured, or just uninspired from focusing all of their energy on creating. This talk is about ways that we can balance our creative practice with downtime, rest, and time away from art. The irony is that setting these boundaries is an essential part of ensuring that our creativity thrives when we do return to it. I will talk about my personal experiences, as well as give tips and advice for how artists can manage th...eir time.

Costumed Life Drawing (Uninstructed)

Saturday 10/15 4:10PM - 6:00PM Room 103

The Sims 4 Animation Team: How The Sims 4 Animation team creates animation assets in support of a wide variety of character and object customization

Saturday 10/15 4:10PM - 5:10PM Room 207

Maxis, Yusun Chung, Senior Animation Lead on the Sims4

The Sims 4 animations are created to support a diverse range of characters and interactions. We will discuss both our aesthetic considerations and technical workflows for producing Animations for optimal customization, including, acting considerations, IK retargeting, use of block model, and content verification using our proprietary art graph editor, SAGE.

Social Media Superstars Panel

Saturday 10/15 4:20PM - 5:20PM Room 107

BossLogic, Ross Tran, Raf Grassetti, Sam Yang, Pernille Ørum, Djamila Knopf, Banks Boutté

Social media has evolved into one of the most useful tools for artists to market themselves and get their work discovered by a larger audience, but what are the best ways for artists to take full advantage of their online platforms? Join social media superstars Ross Tran (1.4M IG Followers), Samdoesarts (2M IG Followers), Raf Grassetti (725K IG Followers), Boss Logic (2.2M IG Followers), Pernille Ørum (943K IG Followers), and Djamila Knopf (505K IG Followers) as they share all the essential information artists should know about building an online following, making a living off of their online ...presence, using their platforms as networking tool, and how to stay consistent! Moderated by Banks Boutté.

The Women: Illustrators of the ADG

Saturday 10/15 4:20PM - 5:20PM Room 208

Art Directors Guild, Sienne Josselin, Dawn Brown, Danelle Davenport, Jasmine Alexia Jackson, Frankie Smith, Talia Spencer, IATSE Local 800

Six Women Illustrators of the Art Director’s Guild share how to be a fearless female voice while navigating the crafts of storyboarding, concept art, and pre-visualization. This diverse group of artists will discuss how they leverage their skills to help create and tell an authentic story as they share their personal journeys, professional experiences, and artwork from movies, TV, and commercials. You’ll hear how they stay creatively engaged and motivated, and their advice on how to dive into the industry head on. Moderated by Sienne Josselin (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, “Mons...ter: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, “Chief Of War”). Panelists include: Dawn Brown (Alita: Battle Angel, Hunger Games: Mockingjay), Danelle Davenport (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Tomorrow War, Baby Driver), Jasmine Alexia Jackson (BP2: Wakanda Forever, “Station Eleven”, The Inspection), Frankie Smith (The Perfection, “The Letter for the King”, Broken Lizard), and Talia Spencer (The Matrix 4, Wicked, Borderlands).

Pitching Your Show: Insights from Show Creators

Saturday 10/15 4:30PM - 5:30PM Room 102

Disney TV Animation, Steve Loter, Craig Gerber, Natasha Kline, Frank Montagna, Alfredo Marun, Chelsea Beyl

Join us as Disney Television Animation show creators discuss the creative process that drives a successful pitch and into early development. They will discuss how to generate ideas for original shows, IP, the challenges that come with pitching both, and tips on thriving in the long development process.

How to start a feature animation movie!

Saturday 10/15 4:30PM - 6:00PM Room 209-210

Christophe Lautrette

Christophe Lautrette explains how to start an animation feature, and how to build a style guide from character design to the full details of production design, AND get a green light from the studio. All the tips and secrets to get the visuals you build approved from start to finish, the full length of production, for everyone!!!

Environment Panel

Saturday 10/15 4:40PM - 5:40PM Room 211

Pablo Carpio, Sparth, Yujin Choo, Renee di Cherri

Join artists Yujin Choo, Pablo Carpio, and Sparth for this discussion about their processes for designing the perfect setting for any film, game or TV show. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Renee di Cherri.

Storyboards to Screen: Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation’s LUCK

Saturday 10/15 4:40PM - 5:40PM Room 104-105

Louie del Carmen, Skydance Animation

This will be a step-by-step breakdown of the storyboarding process from concept, script to final on some key sequences from Apple TV Plus and Skydance Animation’s movie LUCK.

How has Copic shaped your career?

Saturday 10/15 4:50PM - 5:50PM Room 212

Angela Sung, Bryce Kho, Cheyne Gallarde, Shannon Brouk, Copic

We’ll begin the conversation by exploring how each panelists’ artistic interests began and how traditional mediums, specifically Copic markers, played a key role in its development. We’ll then dive into each of their careers, taking note of how their use of Copic products has evolved. Lastly, we’ll discuss tips and tricks each panelist would like to share to inspire the panel attendees to open up their marker box again and to rediscover the joys of creating with Copic; or to continue to use Copic in their work.

Career Change: From Engineering to Story Artist

Saturday 10/15 5:00PM - 6:00PM Room 214

Andy Cung

Andy Cung will share his journey on how he made the switch from being an Electrical Engineer of 7 years to being a Story Artist in the industry for animation and live action. Andy will have discuss his educational path and how he developed his foundations to make the jump while navigating his day job and family. Andy Cung is currently a Writer/ Director based in LA. He has worked at studios such as: Netflix, Titmouse, Glen Keane Productions, Cartoon Network, Disney, and Collective Pictures. He has experience in a range of projects from board driven to script driven as well as live action &... animation. Past credits: Powerpuff Girls, CODE 8, Trash Truck, Arlo: The Alligator Boy, Arlo Series, CODE 8: PART II, AZNBBGRL, SISTERS

The Concept Art Awards Presented by LightBox Expo

Saturday 10/15 6:30PM - 8:30PM Civic Auditorium

The Concept Art Awards is an annual hosted award show celebrating the work that artists have created in the past year. Professional categories honor excellence in character, creature, environment, prop/vehicle, visual development, and color keys across animation, live-action, and video games. Independent, Fan Art, and Student Artwork is also celebrated, along with Lifetime Achievement, LightBox Expo Concept Art Luminary Award, an award honoring the concept or visual development artist whose art made a biggest impact culturally this past year, the ArtStation Rising Star Award, an award recogniz...ing an up and coming artist with less than five years industry experience, and the Wacom Community Impact Award, celebrating a person or group that’s helping to make the industry a better, more equitable place. Don’t miss live performances and more at the historic Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Creating A Cast: Character Design Panel

Sunday 10/16 10:00AM - 11:00AM Room 101

Wouter Tulp, Daniel Arriaga, Genevieve Tsai, Ricky de Los Angeles, Stephen Silver

Character designers Genevieve Tsai, Daniel Arriaga, Wouter Tulp, and Ricky de Los Angeles discuss the challenges of designing compelling characters, the ingredients for a good character design, and answer audience questions about what being a character designer for animated films and TV involves. Moderated by Stephen Silver

The New Adobe Fresco

Sunday 10/16 10:00AM - 11:00AM Room 204

Kyle Webster

Join Kyle T. Webster, Illustrator, author, and digital brush wizard in this feature-packed live demo exploring Adobe’s newest drawing, painting, and illustration app: Adobe Fresco. Get started with the basics like brushes, layers, selections and masks, and then dive deeper into some of Fresco’s most recently added powerful features, such as: animation, perspective drawing, advanced watercolor and oil brush techniques, outline and jitter vector brushes, and multi-color swatches. Kyle will also show you some great time-saving features, like version tracking, instant cloud sync with Photoshop, re...ference layer fill, and more. You’ll walk away ready to create your next masterpiece from start to finish in this versatile (yet easy-to-master) illustration app. Download Fresco (it’s free!) and bring your device to the presentation if you want to follow along or ask questions.

Thomas Fluharty's Live drawing, a costumed model

Sunday 10/16 10:10AM - 11:10AM Room 103

Thomas Fluharty

I will demo quickly a few thoughts about what I see in the model and how I might execute my drawing, and then open up the class to draw for an hour and I walk around and give insights/critiques with each artist. Cool thing about this is everyone benefits from every critique since we are all in the same room.

Feature Film Polish for Animation

Sunday 10/16 10:10AM - 11:10AM Room 207

Michal Makarewicz

This lecture will detail Michal’s approach to Polish for feature film.

Introducing Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Sunday 10/16 10:20AM - 11:20AM Room 107

Disney TV Animation, Kat Kosmala, Chris Whittier, Jose Lopez, Rodney Clouden, Steve Loter

Join us for a discussion about the art and development of “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.” Hear directly from the crew as they break down the intricacies of what it took to create this highly anticipated show. Moderated by Steve Loter (Executive Producer), the panelists include Rodney Clouden (Supervising Producer), Ben Juwono (Supervising Director), Jose Lopez (Character Design Lead), Chris Whittier (Art Director) and Kat Kosmala (Animation Lead).

The Concept Art of Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Sunday 10/16 10:20AM - 11:20AM Room 208

Brynn Metheney

Join Brynn Metheney as she shares concepts from the film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Brynn will walk through the process of creating new ghosts and creatures for the film as well as resurrecting classic ghosts from the franchise.

Wesley Burt Demo

Sunday 10/16 10:30AM - 11:30AM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Wesley Burt

Animation in Canada: How to Succeed

Sunday 10/16 10:30AM - 11:30AM Room 209-210

Seneca, Mark Jones, Sean Craig, Jim Bryson

Leaders from the award-winning animation program at Seneca College in Toronto host a panel of successful grads to talk about their work and journey from high school to becoming professionals, and what they learned along the way.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Sunday 10/16 10:30AM - 11:30AM Room 102

Dreamworks, Joel Crawford, Heidi Jo Gilbert, Nate Wragg, Jim Ryan

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is the long-awaited follow-up to the 2011 Academy Award®-nominated blockbuster. The panel will be led by director Joel Crawford and will include head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert, production designer Nate Wragg, and editor Jim Ryan. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” opens in theaters on December 21 and is produced by Mark Swift. ””

Comic Commentary: A Graphic Novel & Comics Discussion

Sunday 10/16 10:40AM - 11:40AM Room 211

Mike Mignola, Jen Bartel, Victoria Ying, Dustin Nguyen, Ryan Lang, Renee di Cherri

Warning: This panel contains “GRAPHIC” content! 😉 Join artists Dustin Nguyen, Mike Mignola, Jen Bartel, Victoria Ying, and Ryan Lang as they come together to discuss their processes creating comics and graphic novels, the reasoning behind the creative choices they make, and how they create stories that translate to the comic and graphic novel medium. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Renee di Cherri.

Moving Pixels: All-Star Animators Panel

Sunday 10/16 10:40AM - 11:40AM Room 104-105

Andrew Gordon, Anna Gopin, Toniko Pantoja, Tom Bancroft

Talk about bringing artwork to life! Animators Anna Gopin (“Lightyear”, “The Mitchells vs the Machines”), Toniko Pantoja (“The Croods: A New Age”, “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts”), and Andrew Gordon (“Ron’s Gone Wrong”, “Incredibles 2”, “Finding Dory”) share how and why they got into animation, the challenges they face during the animation process, and answer audience questions about how to become successful animators in the industry. Moderated by Tom Bancroft.

Night Flyers: Building Bat-like Creatures

Sunday 10/16 10:50AM - 11:50AM Room 212

Michael Habib

From vampires to the wings of dragons, bats are a popular source of inspiration for visual storytelling. Making compelling bat-like creatures can be especially challenging, because bats have numerous unique anatomical features. Dr. Michael Habib will give a brief overview of the wonderful diversity of form and visual inspiration available in the world of living Chiroptera (bats!) and discuss some of the key anatomical elements in bats that any creature designer should know. Dr. Habib will then unveil a series of bat-inspired creatures, illustrated by internationally acclaimed creature designer..., Terryl Whitlatch. He will give an in-depth account of how he and Terryl collaborated to create these weird and wonderful creatures – including bringing along some real bat skeletons used in the “making of”.

One Key Element to Improving your Story Portfolio

Sunday 10/16 11:00AM - 12:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Justin Copeland

Creating your next great portfolio piece can be daunting, difficult and time consuming. Not only that, but how do you even know if you’re on the right track? If you have ever found yourself in this situation or are curious about how to take your portfolio to the next level, then this panel is for you! Most artists are only a few steps away from taking their work to the next level! Join me as we discuss storytelling, storyboarding, and the animation industry. Justin Copeland is a 12 year industry vet who has worked for Marvel tv, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros., where he also made his director...ial debut on “Batman: Hush.” From there he teamed up with his brother Chris to work on Amazon’s “Invincible” as Supervising Directors. Currently he and his brother are in development on an animated feature.

How to Start/Grow Your Own Studio and IP

Sunday 10/16 11:00AM - 12:00PM Room 214

Robert Simons, Peggy Chung

Starting your own successful studio/IP sounds pretty cool, right? One of the best ways to launch a successful studio/IP is to learn from the mistakes/successes of others. Join Peggy Chung and Robert Simons, owners of the growing studio and IP, Gadget-Bot & Kaidro as they share their valuable life lessons. They’ll take you on a journey from small garage studio to getting backed by top investors.

Loish in Conversation: Q&A

Sunday 10/16 11:00AM - 11:30AM Room 106

Loish, Procreate

Lois is a digital artist who divides her time between creating personal art and character design work. She has released three books, all of which were successfully funded through Kickstarter. You can find her work on loish.net and on instagram.com/loisvb. Join us as we sit down for a Q&A with Lois, and find out more about the process behind her stunning commission for Procreate 5X.

Cody Gramstad Demo

Sunday 10/16 11:30AM - 12:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Cody Gramstad

The Art of the Legend of Vox Machina

Sunday 10/16 11:30AM - 12:30PM Room 101

Titmouse, Arthur Loftis, Phil Bourassa

When Critical Role decided to pitch an animated series based on their tabletop RPG campaign, they turned to the Emmy award-winning animation studio, Titmouse. Art Director Arthur Loftis and Lead Character Designer Phil Bourassa will discuss the evolution of the Critical Role universe from role-playing livestream into a high budget action-adventure series on Amazon Prime. The Legend of Vox Machina was initially funded by a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that stunned both fans and creators. Since then, the creative team at Titmouse has worked closely with the cast members of Critical Role ...to capture the magic of their sprawling universe. During this panel, Arthur and Phil will cover the challenges of adapting an existing story that spans hundreds of hours, and the expectations that come with a project backed by fan funding. They’ll also dig into the design process of building a world that has already been represented in comics, campaign guides and fan art.

Illumination: The Joy of Storyboard Portfolios

Sunday 10/16 11:30AM - 12:30PM Room 204

Illumination, Dawn Yamazi, Deb Stone, Allison McDaniel

Creating a Storyboard portfolio that stands out takes draftspersonship, strong technique, entertaining ideas and joy but for Illumination, it also requires an eye toward action, comedy and humor. During this session, key aspects of what makes a story portfolio break through is highlighted. Crafting a Storyboard portfolio is not always just about the boards but also about all the extra ways you can make the audience emote. Be ready to take a deep dive on how to edit your portfolio for strength in story and cinematic skill. Illumination was founded by Academy Award® nominee Chris Meledandri, the... creator of Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, and most recently, Sing 2 in 2021 and Minions: Rise of Gru in 2022. Illumination’s upcoming films include the new Super Mario Bros. animated film and Migration in 2023 and Despicable Me 4 in 2024. Illumination is based in Santa Monica, CA and its studio, Illumination Studio Paris, is located in the center of Paris, France. www.illumination.com Dawn Yamazi, SVP WW Talent Deb Stone, Director, Talent Recruitment Allison McDaniel, Recruitment coordinator

Costumed Life Drawing (Uninstructed)

Sunday 10/16 11:40AM - 5:00PM Room 103

Storydriven Colorscripting and Artdirection

Sunday 10/16 11:40AM - 12:40PM Room 207

Alexey Andreev

Our role as artists in the entertainment industry is to help tell complex stories. I will expand on my last year’s presentation and talk on how art can meaningfully contribute to the storytelling, help to build visual progressions and add value to the story in its own unique way. I will focus on my favorite subjects–lighting, color and cinematography but will also touch on other themes like set and character design. I will bring up examples of my work for the Love Death and Robots tv series for which I’ve art directed 5 episodes across 3 seasons as well as other project I had... a chance to work on in the past few years.

Designing the Multiverse: The Art of What If...?

Sunday 10/16 11:50AM - 12:50PM Room 208

Paul Lasaine, Kristina Vardazaryan, Cynthia Halley, Alex Del Rosario, Marvel Animation

Ever wonder what it’s like to develop the artwork for a groundbreaking animation series? Production Designer Paul Lasaine and Art Directors Cynthia Halley and Kristina Vardazaryan are three of the key creative forces behind Marvel’s What If, and are excited to share some of their experiences making the show! The discussion will range from initial development and building a team, to landing on final look and the nuances of working with an unprecedented 2D/3D pipeline. Come listen to a candid conversation about the design process for Marvel Studio’s first ever animated product...ion, and have a chance to ask your most burning questions about the artwork for the many worlds of What If!

Recruiting @ Dreamworks animation

Sunday 10/16 11:50AM - 12:50PM Room 107

Dreamworks, Alexis Ball, Caitlin Dietz, Robin Trujillo, Jillian Gomez, Apollonia Vick, Kate Valliant, Rachel Morales, Dustin Scholl, Rabia Abedin

A talk/discussion featuring Dreamworks Recruiters about the hiring journey at Dreamworks

Surviving a Career in Concept Design

Sunday 10/16 12:00PM - 2:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Phil Saunders

Back again, this time in person! A frank discussion with Marvel Vis Dev concept designer Phil Saunders about tackling all the personal struggles you assumed would go away once you’d “made it.” Imposter syndrome, blank page paralysis, performance anxiety, it’s all fair game. If you’ve ever felt alone in your creative journey, this one’s for you. You won’t learn that magic Photoshop trick but it may improve your quality of life.

Aaron Blaise: Animation in Procreate

Sunday 10/16 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 106

Aaron Blaise, Procreate

Aaron Blaise is an animator, director and wildlife artist. For 21 years Aaron worked with Disney helping to create some of the greatest animated films ever made. During that time he worked as an animator or supervising animator on “The Rescuers Down Under”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Lion King”, “Pocahontas”, “Mulan” and more. In 2003 he was co-director of “Brother Bear” for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Aaron continues to develop animation & film projects ...while also teaching students around the world through his popular art education website, CreatureArtTeacher.com. Join Aaron as he draws and animates live in Procreate, and answers your questions.

Making an Independent Documentary Film

Sunday 10/16 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 209-210

Jim Demonakos, Kevin Konrad Hanna

Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters is an award-winning feature-length documentary about Mike Mignola and the creation of his comic book universe centered around Hellboy. The film was self-funded at first, and then fully funded on Kickstarter. Join filmmakers Kevin Konrad Hanna and Jim Demonakos as they discuss how they went followed an independent DIY path to creating this film, which they hope can give you some ideas on how to fund your own creative projects as well.

Creating the Visual World of Entergalactic

Sunday 10/16 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 102

Netflix Animation, Robh Ruppel, Fletcher Moules

Director and executive producer Fletcher Moules and production designer Robh Ruppel will discuss creating the visual world of Netflix’s television event, Entergalactic, from the creative minds Kid Cudi & Kenya Barris. Learn more about how animation, music, fashion and art combined to tell a modern love story in NYC.

Developing Maya and The Three

Sunday 10/16 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 104-105

Jorge Gutiérrez, Tim Yoon, Jeff Ranjo, Netflix Animation, Sandra Equihua

A behind the scenes look at the development of Netflix’s Maya and the Three.

Creating Iconic Heroes with the Overwatch Team!

Sunday 10/16 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 211

Paul Warzecha, Qiu Fang, Daryl Tan, Rakan Khamash

From conceptual sketches to final character models learn how the Overwatch team breathes life into the heroes of Overwatch 2. Members of the Overwatch concept team will show what goes into creating new hero and skin designs followed by the character modeling team sharing how these are translated into final ingame models. Big emphasis on creating appealing characters that resonate with players and how to make sure we don’t lose the cool factor as the designs are taken into 3 dimensions.

The Magic is in Learning to See

Sunday 10/16 12:20PM - 1:20PM Room 212

Kristine Poole, Colin Poole

Turbo charge your artistic development by training your eye to see. Join the Pooles for this dynamic discussion-demo on how to effectively improve your ability to see form, color and specificity and how this will boost your work to the next level rapidly and continually. For all artists of all levels, digital or traditional, 2D or 3D.

Animation Performance Demo

Sunday 10/16 12:30PM - 1:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Michal Makarewicz

This will be a live demonstration in Maya Detailing how Michal animates for performance.

A.I. for Entertainment Design and Illustration

Sunday 10/16 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 204

Kirsten Zirngibl

An overview of how artificial intelligence tools can enhance the ideation, iteration, compositing and rendering process for concept art, illustration, and production. Also covered is an overview of the tech and its philosophical and legal implications. How will these tools affect the future of the entertainment industry, and what is the best mindset for using them?

Things We Do In Our Paintings That WORK!

Sunday 10/16 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 101

Tiffanie Mang, Marco Bucci

Painting is complicated. It’s a task of stacking and combining the fundamentals – line, shapes, values, edges, color, composition , as well as personal style– to create a painting that sings! Any one of these is hard enough to master on its own. Putting them together? It’s so easy to get lost. The skill of the professional artist is managing all these things in a consistent and cohesive way. Tiffanie Mang and Marco Bucci will help show you what works and what doesn’t in a painting, and will help you develop both the mindset and the toolset to achieve professional ...results in your work.

Creating Characters and Worlds at DreamWorks (FX, CFX, Rigging, & More)

Sunday 10/16 1:10PM - 2:10PM Room 207

Dreamworks, Artists from FX, CFX, Rigging, Surfacing, & Modeling

Join us for a behind the scenes look of how our FX, CFX, Rigging, Surfacing, & Modeling teams create the iconic worlds and characters of DreamWorks!

Marvel Studios Visual Development Panel

Sunday 10/16 1:20PM - 2:20PM Room 107

Jackson Sze, Ian Joyner, Holly Myer, Ryan Meinerding, Andy Park, Rodney Fuentebella, Jana Schirmer

Join the Marvel Studios Visual Development team for a conversation on developing concept art for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Smash Through That Wall!

Sunday 10/16 1:20PM - 2:20PM Room 208

Nathan Fowkes, Schoolism

Being a concept artist can be hard, I mean, really, really hard. But it’s also the most amazing career imaginable if you’re willing to fight through the pain. In this talk, concept artist Nathan Fowkes (DreamWorks, Disney, Blue Sky, Paramount, many others) shares experiences and lessons from the last 25 years in the business to help you break through.

Brick x Brick- Problem solving, art, and career

Sunday 10/16 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 209-210

Mike Uwandi, Andy Cung, Anthony Francisco, Drew Hartel

An informative panel discussing the art of mixing intuition with logic to elevate problem solving skills and navigate the industry as a whole.

Celebrating Asian American Artists in Entertainment

Sunday 10/16 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 102

Simon Lee, Anoosha Syed, Yingjue Chen, Mehrdad Isvandi, Moderated by Michelle Sugihara

Concept artist Simon Lee (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”, “Godzilla vs. Kong”, “Star Trek Beyond”), art director Mehrdad Isvandi (“Encanto”, “Raya and the Last Dragon”, “Over the Moon”), author & illustrator Anoosha Syed (“That’s Not My Name!”, “I Am Perfectly Designed”, “Other Words for Home”), and art director Linda Yingjue Chen (“Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans”, “Wizards”) discuss their experiences in the entertainment industry as Asian American artists, and how they navigated their ways toward successful art careers in film, television, and books. Q&A to follow. Mode...rated by Michelle Sugihara (Executive Director, CAPE).

Love Death and Robots - Exit Strategies concepts

Sunday 10/16 1:30PM - 2:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Marcin Rubinkowski

Behind the scene show and tell about the Concept Art process for the “First Sequel” in the Netflix Original Series with known 3 Robots.

Sparth Demo

Sunday 10/16 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 104-105

Sparth

Ever wanted to see Sparth paint LIVE?! Here’s your chance.

From Star Wars to Harry Potter: UK Film Industry

Sunday 10/16 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 211

Dermot Power, Rob Bliss, Nicole Hendrix, Concept Art Association, Jack Dudman, Rachel Meinerding, Darrell Warner, Brooke Dibble

Join Concept Art Association in a discussion with UK-based concept artist’s Dermot Power, Rob Bliss, Darrell Warner, Jack Dudman and Brooke Dibble. With an impressive combined resume the panelists have worked on everything from Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dr Strange, Harry Potter, Wonder Woman and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider to name but a few. This is sure to be an insightful conversation touching on subjects such as what it looks like to be one of the first on a project during pre-production, collaboration with directors, costume designers and production designers and the ups and d...owns of the freelance lifestyle of a concept artist. Followed by a Q&A.

Character design using the "The Wheel of Death"

Sunday 10/16 1:50PM - 2:50PM Room 212

Crash McCreery

I created “The Wheel of Death” to encourage free thought and to help push the boundaries of the imagination. It’s a way to randomly mash-up several character traits and features to create a unique yet believable Creature with its own story. I will start the presentation having already spun the wheel, decided on a direction and present drawings from the “rough sketch” phase, explaining my process up to that point. I will demonstrate how I refine the character in a tighter sketch and then describe how I photograph and implement real world reference for adding textur...es to the piece in Photoshop for the finishing touches.

Ricky de Los Angeles Demo

Sunday 10/16 2:00PM - 3:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Ricky de Los Angeles

AAA: Art, Artists and AI.

Sunday 10/16 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 214

Jama Jurabaev

In this talk Jama will talk about how the industry is being affected as the technology around us is evolving and so do we as artists. What is the future for artists might look like? Will it be a struggle or a happy and creative collaboration between man and machine?

The Art of Business

Sunday 10/16 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 106

Banks Boutté, Spiridon Giannakis, Finnian MacManus, Sozomaika, Procreate

Tune in for a lively panel discussion exploring the challenges and opportunities in building your own business as a creative, and navigating the art world.

Once Upon A Storyboard Panel

Sunday 10/16 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 101

Michael Daley, Michelle Lam, Alessandra Sorrentino, David Colman, Justin Copeland, John Hoffman, Chris Copeland

Story artists Alessandra Sorrentino, Michelle Lam, Michael Daley, John Hoffman, Justin Copeland, David Colman, and Chris Copeland get their stories straight for this panel discussion about what it takes to be a good story artist and share their own stories about various projects they’ve worked on and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Q&A to follow.

Where do we go from here

Sunday 10/16 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 204

Maxx Burman

This talk isn’t about how to accomplish goals or about how it feels to arrive at the destination. This talk is about what happens after. We’ll cover a lot of art work, and the journey of getting to work on blockbuster films, AAA games, releasing an indie game with Nintendo, and ultimately starting KitBash3D. We’ll dive deep into “Post-Release Depression” and the moments of reinvention that come after. Whether you’re a senior artist, or just starting out in your career, hopefully this talk can show some of the do’s and don’t that will add longevit...y and fulfillment to your pursuits.

Environment Design and Composition

Sunday 10/16 2:30PM - 3:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Kalen Chock

Discussing environment design, composition, common mistakes to avoid and how to better analyze environments

Coffee Talk: Narrative Costume Design

Sunday 10/16 2:40PM - 3:40PM Room 207

Ashley Swidowski, Karla Ortiz, Claire Hummel

Join Karla, Claire and Ashley for a casual conversation on their careers in character and costume design for film and video games.

Beating Burnout: Learning how to enjoy making art

Sunday 10/16 2:50PM - 3:50PM Room 208

Ryan Lang

My process to overcome burnout during the pandemic, and how to structure a workflow that helps to get you back to being inspired to make art.

Women in Visual Development

Sunday 10/16 2:50PM - 3:50PM Room 107

Dreamworks, Kendal Cronkhite, Aurora Jimenez, and Natalie Corsie (Moderator: Angela Lepito)

Meet some of the amazing talent who work in Visual Development at DreamWorks and learn about interesting creative challenges they’ve conquered!

The Right Direction - Directors Panel

Sunday 10/16 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 102

Louis Gonzales, Kristen Lester, Tony Bancroft, Patrick Osborne

Directors Louis Gonzales (“Nona”), Kristen Lester (“Purl”), and Patrick Osborne (“Feast”) join our Directors panel to share some insight into the incredibly demanding undertaking of directing an animated film. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Tony Bancroft.

Blending Realities: Your Recipe for the Future of Creative Innovation

Sunday 10/16 3:00PM - 4:00PM Room 209-210

Estella Tse, Charlie Goelst

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Meat Reality, NFTs, AI – future tech is overwhelming, ambiguous, a bit scary, and confusing! How do artists and designers fit into the picture? And where is the creativity and expression in all this!? Join Charlie and Estella as they dive into the latest in XR, how our digital and IRL realities are becoming more blended, the future of creative tech and the role of creatives, and how ice cream will lead us there!

The Path to Pitching

Sunday 10/16 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 211

Jorge Gutiérrez, Violaine Briat, Rob Hoegee, The Animation Guild

Do you have an idea for an original show? Or perhaps a studio has asked you to share your vision for an existing concept? So, where do you start? The Path to Pitching will offer more than just how to get the opportunity to pitch and nail it. Industry veterans Violaine Briat (Director/Storyboard Artist; Wings of Fire, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Rob Hoegee (Writer/Producer; Stillwater, Thunderbirds Are Go), and Jorge Gutierrez (Writer/Director; I, Chihuahua, Maya and the Three) will share their own experiences to take you on the pitching journey. Beginning with how to prepare, you’ll ...learn inside tips on getting your ideas ready for a close-up. You’ll also learn dos and don’ts for making connections that are right for your project, and receive practical advice.

Ethan Becker vs Samdoesarts vs Rossdraws Superpanel

Sunday 10/16 3:10PM - 4:10PM Room 104-105

Sam Yang, Ethan Becker, Ross Tran

Ethan, Sam and Ross talk about becoming art/content creators, having a Social Media Presence, and trying to stay true to your path in today’s day and age. Ethan, Sam and Ross will review entries from the FanArt Contest where a winner will be revealed LIVE. Q&A will follow and a secret surprise will be unveiled at the end!

Watercolor Demo: Love in Paris

Sunday 10/16 3:20PM - 4:20PM Room 212

Thomas Campi

Watercolour demo- painting a small illustration, part of the ongoing series “Love in Paris”

Lynn Chen Demo

Sunday 10/16 3:30PM - 4:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Lynn Chen

Storyboarding with Intent

Sunday 10/16 3:30PM - 4:30PM Room 214

Andy Cung

Andy Cung will talk about the importance of storyboarding with intent and how a lot of time is spent thumbnailing, planning, researching, writing to understand the character point of view and story before even drawing a single storyboard. It is important to have a clear understanding of your intentions before storyboarding to help give you a sense of direction. Andy will break down his own storyboards and scripts to help demonstrate how he does it. Andy Cung is currently a Writer/ Director based in LA. He has worked at studios such as: Netflix, Titmouse, Glen Keane Productions, Cartoon Network..., Disney, and Collective Pictures.

Create an 3D scene in AR on iPad

Sunday 10/16 3:30PM - 4:30PM Room 106

Jarom Vogel, Procreate

Jarom Vogel is an illustrator based in the Portland Oregon Area. He’s created commercial illustrations for clients like Disney, Spotify, and Pepsi, as well as illustrating 3 children’s books. Jarom also enjoys coding, especially finding ways to incorporate code with illustration. Sit down with Jarom and use your iPad to sculpt a simple character in Nomad Sculpt, paint it in Procreate, and bring it to life using Augmented Reality.

Video Game Characters for Every Screen

Sunday 10/16 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 204

Alvin Lee, Jennifer Wuestling, Viktor Kalvachev, Banks Boutté

Join artists Alvin Lee, Jennifer Wuestling and Viktor Kalvachev for a panel discussion comparing and contrasting the artistic, professional and personal nuances of crafting iconic characters in AAA, mobile and blockchain video games. Q&A to follow. Moderated by Banks Boutté from KitBash3D

Careers in Entertainment Design after ArtCenter

Sunday 10/16 4:00PM - 5:00PM Room 101

ArtCenter, Prog Wang, Qiu Fang, Ainsley Dye, Guillaume Aretos, Tim Campos

A conversation with alumni and young professionals about life as a concept artist after ArtCenter. Topics will be: -Preparing for a career as a Character Designer -Preparing for a career as a Story Artist -Preparing for a career as a Concept Artist in Animation -Preparing for a career as a Concept Artist in Video Games -Career paths for Concept Artists

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Friday 10/14

12:00PM

Storytelling and Virtual Production

Friday 10/14 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 101

How to Format Your Portfolio

Friday 10/14 12:00PM - 1:00PM Room 204

12:10PM

Creating the world of ARCANE

Friday 10/14 12:10PM - 1:10PM Room 207

Costume Life Drawing, hosted by Karla Ortiz

Friday 10/14 12:10PM - 2:40PM Room 103

12:20PM

Designing Characters For Animation

Friday 10/14 12:20PM - 1:20PM Room 208

Building the World of Graphic Design at Pixar

Friday 10/14 12:20PM - 1:20PM Room 107

12:30PM

Storytelling in Design – A Conversation with Disney Television Animation’s Visual Development Team

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Room 102

Portrait Demo By Seo Kim

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

Building worlds with your friends

Friday 10/14 12:30PM - 1:30PM Room 209-210

12:40PM

Overcoming the Challenges of Game Internationalization

Friday 10/14 12:40PM - 1:40PM Room 211

The Art of Balance: Kids and Career

Friday 10/14 12:40PM - 1:40PM Room 104-105

12:50PM

A new way to make animation

Friday 10/14 12:50PM - 1:50PM Room 212

1:00PM

The Greatest Process Ever: Creation by Division

Friday 10/14 1:00PM - 2:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Am I too old to be in the industry?

Friday 10/14 1:00PM - 2:00PM Room 214

1:30PM

Fireside Chat: Finding Work as an Artist in the Entertainment Industry

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 101

Fashion & Concept Art

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 204

Painting in Procreate with Max Ulichney

Friday 10/14 1:30PM - 2:30PM Room 106

1:40PM

Let's Talk Story Moments

Friday 10/14 1:40PM - 2:40PM Room 207

1:50PM

Road of Vengeance - Screening and Panel

Friday 10/14 1:50PM - 2:50PM Room 208

Your Best Shot: Storyboarding Your Way Toward Disney Animation

Friday 10/14 1:50PM - 2:50PM Room 107

2:00PM

Esther Wu Demo

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

Visual Development for Games

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 102

Acting, Animation and How we can Plus

Friday 10/14 2:00PM - 3:00PM Room 209-210

2:10PM

Creators: Before and after the Show

Friday 10/14 2:10PM - 3:10PM Room 104-105

Storyboarding for Live-Action Feature Films

Friday 10/14 2:10PM - 3:10PM Room 211

2:20PM

40 years of drawing and exaggerating. A few thoughts. Watch me draw!

Friday 10/14 2:20PM - 3:20PM Room 212

2:30PM

TB Choi Demo

Friday 10/14 2:30PM - 3:30PM Demo Area 1 - HALL C

The Power of Storytelling through Metaphors, Symbolism, and Color

Friday 10/14 2:30PM - 3:30PM Room 214

3:00PM

Eric Canete Demo

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 4:00PM Demo Area 2 - HALL C

ONI: Thunder God’s Tale Screening of Chapters 1&2 followed by Q&A

Friday 10/14 3:00PM - 5:00PM Civic Auditorium