The seventh annual LightBox Expo brought thousands of eager attendees to the Pasadena Convention Center in Southern California, and this year marked my first attendance at LBX. As a three-day event, LBX had a lot to offer its 2025 attendees. In two days, I explored its assorted Artist Alley, connected with vendors and other attendees with diverse creative backgrounds, interviewed top-tier creators, and sat in on insightful panels. Keep reading to learn more about what I did for my first time at LightBox, and how YOU can approach attending LBX in 2026!
It’s Friday, Opening Day of LBX 25, and despite it being my first time driving up to downtown Pasadena, I was confident I had arrived at the right spot when I approached the convention center and saw its front flooded with attendees who seemed to range from Millennials to Gen Z, waiting for the doors to open. The line to get in was massive, but once the doors opened, attendees maneuvered inside surprisingly smoothly with the help of the paid “Firefly” crew members who work the event. According to the Fireflies I encountered, anyone over the age of eighteen can apply to work LBX, and approved applicants earn a free badge and T-shirt for their help.
One of the Fireflies pointed me to Press Registration and, after acquiring my weekend pass, I made the LBX Artist Alley my first stop since LightBox was brand-new to me and I wanted to experience something more familiar first. I will admit, I was initially intimidated by the scene in front of me. Contrary to conventions I have attended in the past, LBX gave more of the impression of a conference with job and career-building opportunities and a certain level of professionalism in the air. Cosplayers were also nowhere to be seen, but as I navigated more of the expo, I noted that a good portion of attendees were practicing character bounding, a fun fashion trend in which fans wear everyday clothes and accessories that nod to their favorite fictional characters. Since cosplay and costume detail are among my key favorite components of conventions, I greatly enjoyed recognizing pop culture characters among the crowd.
In the LBX Artist Alley, dozens of artists of all kinds sold and promoted their products, designs, and creative projects. Among the artists stationed at booths, vendors included storyboard artists, 2D and 3D animators, cartoonists, illustrators, comic creators, graphic designers, and concept artists who sold a wide range of merchandise, including art books, flip books, graphic novels, pins, prints, stickers, sculptures, and more. For example, comic creators evidently sold anthologies composed of short comics from their social media channels, and animators showcased their skills by relaying footage of their indie animations.
While exploring AA, I recognized the art styles of the individual creators behind the Sun House Slice of Life series on WEBTOON CANVAS, the WEBTOON Originals Cuffing Cupid Romance series, and the Fictional Skin Drama series. Fans of the WEBTOON storytelling platform may know that Cuffing Cupid launched as part of the WEBTOON Originals collection in late September, exploring what it really means to fall in love, and Fictional Skin, a series exploring what happens when fiction and reality collide, has been on hiatus since December 2024. Connecting with creators is a huge part of what I love about the Artist Alley aspect of pop culture conventions, gatherings, and events, and seeing WEBTOON creators sell their wares and connect with their fans in person was a great way to begin my LightBox exploration.
Readers who read my original LBX promo, found here, may recall that WEBTOON Entertainment announced that its platform would be debuting at LightBox Expo 2025, with top-tier Originals creators and editors in tow as panelists. As a longtime fan of the platform and its creators, I was extremely excited that WEBTOON would be on-site on Friday and Sunday, and I arranged in-person interviews with the WEBTOON Originals creators behind the endearing romance series Not So Silent, the supernatural smash hit I’m the Grim Reaper, and the wildly hilarious comedy series Vibe Check! The creator behind the epic romantasy series Suitor Armor was also among the creators on-site as panelists, but was unavailable for an interview. To learn about Purpah as a creator, click here for a link to my most recent interview with her, and stay tuned to learn more about the three individual creators I interviewed at LightBox!
After the Friday interviews, WEBTOON hosted its first official LBX panel, Creator to CEO: The Rise of Webcomic Entrepreneurs, in which the previously named creators answered questions from Josh Cain, host of the What’s Up, Fandom podcast. During the panel, the panelists discussed how their individual series launched as Originals on WEBTOON and how they’ve learned to practice work-life balance and engage with their readers. The panel room was jam-packed with excited attendees who brought a wonderfully supportive energy, and the panelists offered excellent advice and insight into the highlights of their comic-creator careers. It was nice to be surrounded by fellow webcomic fans and aspiring comic creators. Overall, it was a good example of what LBX was about: creating a supportive space for creative minds together and giving them the chance to learn, network, and build the skills to help secure careers in the entertainment industry. After the panel, I said goodbye to the WEBTOON team and panelists, thanked them for their time to answer my questions, and promptly left Pasadena.
On Sunday, I returned to the Pasadena Convention Center and made the same timely effort to arrive on-site when the main doors opened. Compared to Friday, Sunday possessed an arguably slower pace. The convention center was still jam-packed with attendees, but the energy was less fast-paced and overwhelming. Inside and outside the convention center, I noticed attendees clustered together, exchanging business cards, making conversation, sketching together, and painting scenes onto tiny canvases. Up to the last day, LightBox was clearly providing an ideal environment for artists, animators, and more to meet up and support each other’s creative journeys. I loved the supportive, encouraging nature that many attendees showed towards each other, and it reminded me of why I love fandom. Common interests bring people together to make lifelong memories and friendships.
Like Friday, I explored the LBX Artist Alley, and I took another tour of the room next door, where attendees could participate in speed networking with recruiters from Bento Box Entertainment, Disney Imagineering, DreamWorks, Skydance Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Lonely Bros Animation, and other relevant animation studios. From what I understood, alongside insightful panels and creative workshops, LBX provided attendees the opportunity to sit down with recruiters, ask questions, and showcase their portfolios for feedback. It makes sense for attendees to come prepared with business cards and updated examples of their resumes and art styles, since constructive feedback can do wonders for a portfolio.
After another walkthrough of Artist Alley, I sat down for the Ron Clements & John Musker: The Art of Story Masterclass panel hosted by animation screenwriter, producer, and Write for Animation creator Pietro Schito. As a writer and Disney fan, it was a wonderful experience to learn directly from the legendary Disney duo behind The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Moana. During the panel, they discussed the importance of thorough research when worldbuilding and exploring histories and cultures. They said that genuinely memorable characters can be created by reflecting real-life friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers. Clements and Musker also insisted that writers can greatly benefit from being open to feedback from their intended audience and from orchestrating collaborations with other writers, so afterward I took the time to talk with other attendees who sat through the panel and exchanged information with the people I clicked with best.
Then, I sat down for the second and last WEBTOON panel of the weekend, Telling Stories That Stick: What Makes a Comic Stand out. Among the panelists were editors behind WEBTOON Originals such as Lore Olympus, The Kiss Bet, Down To Earth, Nevermore, and Osora. During the panel, the panelists discussed how webcomics can stand out among the many others flooding the Internet. For example, consistency and distinct art styles can immensely help comics stand out among the rest. And WEBTOON editors, for instance, are constantly browsing WEBTOON CANVAS for comics with original outlooks and concepts that could be launched as Originals. Like me, many of the attendees sitting through the panel were furiously taking notes, and it would be an easy guess to assume many of them were current or aspiring comic creators. When the panel ended, I said another goodbye to the WEBTOON team and panelists, made small talk with other lingering attendees, did one last tour of the convention center, and then hit the road back home.
To be honest, I was intimidated and overwhelmed at the start. As a journalist and member of the press, it was wonderful to be on-site for LightBox, experience it for the first time, and showcase how the annual event brings so many wonderfully talented people together to learn, network, and connect. But beyond that, I was also a writer who still struggled occasionally with Imposter Syndrome, something that sadly still plagues many aspiring and established artists and authors. For a few brief moments, my mind raced with insecurities as I initially stepped through the doors of LightBox on Day One. Immediately, I was surrounded by wonderfully talented artists and storytellers, and I briefly worried I did not belong among them. But after a few deep breaths and some positive self-talk, I dived deep into what LightBox Expo had to offer, learned from industry professionals, and connected with incredibly kind, supportive individuals with tons of stories to tell.
Overall, attending LightBox as a first-timer came with challenges, but as I gained my footing and further explored, I saw how and why LBX had become such a highly anticipated event in less than a decade. LBX and its Fireflies have built a welcoming environment for creative thinkers to gather, learn new skills, and construct genuine connections. Seven years after its debut, LBX has become an annual celebration of human ingenuity and artistry that will, undoubtedly, help shape a brighter future for the entertainment industry. As an expo, LightBox may not be for everyone, but if you’re an artist, writer, or simple enthusiast of the arts looking to learn and make memories, LightBox Expo may be for you!
Did reading my review and recap of LightBox Expo 2025 intrigue or encourage you to attend in 2026? First-time and returning LBX attendees can look forward to the return of LightBox in Pasadena, CA, on October 23-25, 2026!
