This September, celebrated character designer and illustrator Bobby Chiu and Emerald City Comic Con founder Jim Demonakos are not only bringing back LightBox Expo Online (LBXO), their unique international virtual art event, but expanding it to six days! The event will be held at www.lightboxexpo.com from Tuesday, September 7 through Sunday, September 12.

Based on the acclaimed celebration of the visual arts, LightBox Expo will feature over 400 guests and more than 200 presentations in a multi-faceted experience for everyone from aspiring artists and students, to professionals and fans, with a focus on animation, illustration and concept art. Guests featured in the vast array of programming include a who’s who of talent includes Oscar winner Domee Shi (director of Bao, upcoming Turning Red), Phil Boutte Jr. (costume concept artist, Black Panther), Maggie Kang (director of K-Pop: Demon Hunters), Derek Thompson (story artist, Toy Story 4), Armand Serrano (background designer, What If…?), Jill Culton (director of Abominable), Carlos Grangel (character designer, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride) and hundreds of others. 

On Saturday, September 11^th at 6PM PST, LBXO will present the third annual Concept Art Awards, hosted by Aldis Hodge (Black Adam) and Krystina Arielle (Star Wars: The High Republic). The Concept Art Awards is produced by The Concept Art Association, an organization that focuses on elevating and raising the profile of concept artists, and remains the only award show of its kind to recognize and bring increased awareness to the role of concept artists throughout the world of entertainment. 

During the event, artists will be honored for their artistic excellence in the Professional categories of Live-Action for Film and Series, Animation for Film and Series, Games, VR, and then Original Concepts/Independent, Student Work, and Fan Art. Art was submitted from projects such as: Soul, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Raya and The Last Dragon, Lovecraft Country, Mulan, WandaVision, Cyberpunk 2077, Loki, World of Warcraft and many more. You can view the 2021 Finalists here: https://www.conceptartassociation.com/

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Craig Mullins, a renowned Concept Designer, whom many call “The Godfather of Digital Painting” (Armageddon, Bioshock 2, Halo) and legendary prolific artist and Renaissance Man, Iain McCaig (Star Wars: Episode 1, 2 & 3, Avengers: Endgame). These Pioneers have not only pushed the concept art world forward, but are still actively working in the industry and mentoring the next generation of artists. The LBX Concept Art Luminary Award, celebrating a person from the concept art community who has made an impact with their artwork in the past year, will be presented to Andy Park for his beautiful work on WandaVision and Black Widow. 

Bringing the world to one place is key for LBXO, so utilizing browser-based technology, attendees can navigate a 3D virtual show floor featuring over 300 artists from across the globe. Participants hail from Belgium, Chile, Ireland, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Germany, Poland, Japan, Australia, Iran, Peru, Russia, Kuwait, France, Taiwan, New Zealand, Jamaica, the United States and many other countries.

Registration for LightBox Expo Online begins on August 16^th and is open to anyone with an internet connection worldwide! There are four tiers for attendees to choose from. As little as $2 gets you access to the whole weekend, while the highest tier, $45, gets you a t-shirt from award winning animator Eliza Ivanova, as well as a one-of-a-kind enamel pin, plus a digital goodie bag and much more!

The Concept Art Association was founded by Creative Recruiter Rachel Meinerding and Producer and Co-Founder of the BRIC Foundation, Nicole Hendrix. Sponsors for the 2021 Concept Art Awards Presented by LightBox Expo include Artstation, Adobe, Wacom, Legacy Effects, Costume Designers Guild Local 892, The Animation Guild Local 839, Art Directors Guild Local 800, the College for Creative Studies, ImagineFX Magazine, Gnomon School of VFX + Animation, Schoolism, ArtCenter College of Design, and more.