LightBox Expo Online To Feature Panel on The Art of Shang-Chi (Exclusive)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel Studios' newest film, is coming to LightBox Expo Online, as a handful of Marvel's developmental artists get together to break down the process of designing for the film, ComicBook has learned. LightBox Expo Online will take place from Tuesday, September 7 through Sunday, September 12, and features 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. The event will be one of the earliest opportunities to see people involved with the production of Shang-Chi able to address some of the movie's spoilers, since it releases on Friday.

On Saturday, September 11th 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.

"LightBox Expo Online 2020 was an amazing weekend of art and artistry during a challenging year," said LightBox Expo creative director Bobby Chiu. "We've come back this year with an event that is even bigger, better and broader in scope, encompassing almost a full week's worth of programming and activities."

You can see the official description of the Shang-Chi panel, which is tentatively schedule for Friday, September 10th at 8 p.m. PT, below:

Marvel Studios Visual Development: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Join Marvel Studios Visual Development artists Andy Park, Jackson Sze, Anthony Francisco, Jana Schirmer, and Adam Ross as they discuss their experience creating designs for the latest MCU film installment, Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Registration for LightBox Expo Online begins on August 16th 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.

You can check out some more panel descriptions for the event below.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines: Inventing a Visual Style

Join visual effects supervisor Mike Lasker and head of character animation Alan Hawkins as they discuss the challenges and successes of developing an all-original visual style for the latest release from Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks: The Mitchells vs. The Machines, streaming now on Netflix.

Walt Disney Animation Studios: Creating Kumandra through Collaboration

Join Production Designer Paul Felix, Environment Modeling Supervisor Eric Provan and Environment Look Development Supervisor Benjamin Min Huang in a panel discussion about creating the land of Talon for Raya and the Last Dragon from visual development through asset production.

The Collaboration Between Art & Animation on LUCA

Go behind the scenes with Animator, Jennifer Migita and Art Director, Deanna Marsigliese as they give a behind the scenes look at the collaboration between the Art and Animation departments on Pixar's LUCA.

Inside the Art of Baobab Studios

Go behind the scenes with 8-time Emmy® winners Baobab Studios, the leading interactive animation studio, as they share never-before-seen concept art, character explorations, and stories from their award-winning films including Crow: The Legend, Baba Yaga, and Namoo.

Forging Your Artistic Journey

Join Master Storyteller, Concept Artist, and Filmmakers: Iain McCaig (Lucasfilm/Marvel Studios), Armand Baltazar (Pixar/Disney/DreamWorks) and Paul Tobin (Weta Workshop) as they share their advice and insights from a career spent in the entertainment industry and reflect on how those experiences shaped and inspired their own creative projects.

Character Design Cage Match

Join twin Disney animators and podcasters, Tom and Tony Bancroft as they host the exciting LIVE "Character Design Cage Match" game show. YOU will suggest what 3 LEGENDARY CHARACTER DESIGNERS have to draw and help the Bancrofts decide who is the ULTIMATE WINNER! Prizes will also be awarded to the "crowd" for correct guesses from trivia contests throughout the challenge. Are you ready to RUMBLE..?

Directors Round Table

Directors Domee Shi (Bao), Maggie Kang (K-Pop: Demon Hunters), Jill Culton (Abominable), Dice Tsutsumi (The Dam Keeper), Erick Oh (ONI), Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and Shannon Tindle (Ultraman) join our first ever LIVE Directors round table discussion, moderated by Maureen Fan.

Costume Design Drawing Jam!

This group of artists certainly know how to dress to impress! Join artists, Phil Boutte Jr., Mike Uwandi, Griz Lemay, Karla Ortiz, Kei Acedera, & Imogene Chayes, for this costume design drawing jam!

Storytelling Round table with the Pros

Join this Story Artist Roundtable with Vaughn Ross (Supervising Director, Warner Bros), Stephanie Gonzaga (Director, Warner Bros), Alex Chiu (Director, Warner Bros), and Chad Pickrel (Freelance Story Artist), Spyros Tsiounis (Dreamworks, Lucasfilm). StoryboardArt host, Sergio Paez, leads the talk on the latest trends and ways to succeed in the film industry.

Krabby Patty Secret Formula

A history and look into the special sauce behind the Spongebob Squarepants franchise. Join Co-EPs Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller, and Jennie Monica as they explore the history and evolution of the iconic series, and look froward into the new stories being told in Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show.

Asian American Badass Animation Directors

"Kung Fu Panda" 2 and 3 and "Love, Death & Robots" director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, DWA director Stephanie Stine, Netflix's "Centaurworld" EP/creator Megan Nicole Dong discuss their career paths, what being Asian-American means to them, their parents' influence, how they learned to "take space" to turn their vision into a reality, and how recent anti-Asian sentiment has impacted them.

Design To Manufacture Ghost In The Shell

A deep dive into the thoughts and processes behind bringing Major's Thermoptic suit to life in Ruper Sanders' "Ghost in the Shell" featuring Adam Middleton, Rebekah Tisch and Flo Foxworthy.