feature / alumni / illustration / entertainment-design
October 09, 2024
By Solvej Schou
Work images courtesy of LightBox Expo

Concept Art to Game Design: Meet ArtCenter alumni artists and designers at LightBox Expo

Animation director. Art director. 2D/3D character animator. Character designer. Concept artist. Creature designer. Game designer. Storyboard artist. Toy Designer. Visual development artist. These are just some of the entertainment careers that ArtCenter alumni go into, and many alumni are showcasing their vibrant work at this year’s LightBox Expo of artists in the industry.  

From creating colorful environments to designing visionary creatures to developing imagination-shattering games that gain worldwide attention, these alumni—including Entertainment Design and Illustration department alums—are the glue that make movies, animation, games, television shows and illustrations come alive.  

This year’s LightBox Expo, from October 25 to October 27 at the Pasadena Convention Center, features more than 300 exhibiting artists, including ArtCenter alumni, and exhibitors from top studios, including Marvel Studios, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Riot Games and Nickelodeon. ArtCenter, a Bronze Sponsor, has a booth at LightBox. The expo offers hundreds of demos, panels, portfolio reviews and programs, and hosts the annual Concept Art Awards.  

The College is also excited to host two expo panels this year. “Entertainment Landscape: Visions, Transformation, Re-Invention,” on October 25, is about creating visually striking campaigns and compelling narratives across films, series, consumer products, themed and immersive experiences, children’s books and games. Moderated by Illustration Chair Ann Field, it features panelists Nikita Chan (BS 16 Entertainment Design), Joey Chou (BFA 06 Illustration), Julie Koerner, Dan Santat (BFA 01 Illustration) and Sona Sargsyan (BFA 12 Illustration).   

The panel “Concept Art: Career Pathways,” on October 26, explores diverse career pathways— including working in film, animation and video games—for concept artists. Moderated by Damn Yamazi, the assistant chair of Illustration’s Entertainment Arts track, it features panelists Shae Shatz (BS 07 Product Design), Eilis Russell, Robh Ruppel and Benjamin Dai. .

Here are 15 ArtCenter alumni—among many—who will be at the 2024 LightBox Expo with their brilliant work.

LightBox Expo’s participants include Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development and Illustration alum Andy Park, an Illustration alum. Park began his career as a comic book artist, worked as a video game concept artist, then joined Marvel Studios as a visual development artist. He has led his department on films including Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Captain Marvel. Park and Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding, who studied in Illustration at ArtCenter, are on the LightBox Expo panel “Marvel Studios Visual Development,” on October 25, and will discuss the recent Marvel Studios movie Deadpool & Wolverine.

A Vietnamese visual development artist and illustrator based in Los Angeles, Chi Ngo (BFA 18 Illustration) works with clients including Wild Canary, Warner Bros., Bento Box Entertainment, Netflix, Scholastic, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Hasbro, as well as on various illustration projects. She loves to tell stories and illustrate character moments. Her credits include the animated television series Victor and Valentino.

Lucasfilm Concept Design Supervisor Christian Alzmann (BFA 98 Illustration) has worked as a concept artist and art director in the film industry—at companies from Industrial Light & Magic to Lucasfilm—for more than 25 years. Currently creating concept art for the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and other Star Wars projects, he is known for designing the characters BB-8 and Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). His film credits include Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Rogue One and Star Wars Episode II, VII and IX. At this year’s LightBox, he is on the panel “The Art of Star Wars,” on October 27, with panelists including Lucasfilm Concept Design Supervisor Ryan Church (BS 97 Transportation Design). 

A visual development artist, illustrator and designer based in L.A., Illustration alum Derek Ortega has worked for an array of companies, including Laika Studios, Netflix Animation, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Animation, Sony Pictures Animation and Cartoon Network. He recently finished writing and illustrating two picture books: Pirro and Karma’s a Bug. In his spare time, he likes to carve wooden sculptures of his drawings. His credits include the TV series Primos, Ghee Happy and Looney Tunes Cartoons, and the film Merry Little Batman..

Elsa Chang (BFA 10 Illustration), an L.A. based illustrator, children’s book illustrator and animation character designer, has worked at studios including Sony, Paramount, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Disney Television Animation and Titmouse. Her TV series credits include The Ghost and Molly McGee, DuckTales, Frog and Toad and The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. Besides drawing, she enjoys playing the ukulele and video games, and taking care of her many pets. Chang is a panelist on the expo panels “Children’s Books to Animation—and Back Again!” and “The Art of Character Design,” on October 27.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Southern California, L.A.-based Netflix Visual Development Artist Joey Chou (BFA 06 Illustration) has worked with studios such as Nickelodeon, Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Amazon Studios, Paramount Animation and Sony Animation. Inspired by ‘60s illustrators, he has worked on a variety of Disney Parks projects, including Tokyo Disneyland’s It’s a Small World ride, and has done illustrations for children’s books such as the B. Bear and Lolly series. His credits include Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Chou is a panelist on the LightBox Expo ArtCenter panel “Entertainment Landscape: Visions, Transformation, Re-Invention,” on October 25, with alumni panelists Nikita Chan, Dan Santat and Sona Sargsyan.

Mark “Crash” McCreery  (BFA 89 Illustration) has worked in entertainment for 35 years, and his character designs have been in such films as Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean and Terminator 2. He has designed for directors including Steven Spielberg and James Cameron and was the production designer for director Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger and Rango. He is currently working as lead designer of Dark Universe, one of the five worlds in the 2025 theme park Universal Epic Universe. McCreery is a panelist on the expo panels “Creature Designers of Film and TV,” on October 25, along with alumni Neville Page (BS 90 Product Design), Zachary Berger (BS 12 Entertainment Design) and Constantine Sekeris (BFA 97 Illustration); “The Journey to Overcoming Creative Staleness,” on October 26; and “Pirates of the Caribbean Celebrates 21st Birthday,” on October 27.

The son of circus performers, Emmy-winning creature and concept designer Neville Page (BS 90 Product Design) started out acting before diving into designing detailed monsters, aliens and other creatures. Page has worked on such films as Avatar, Star Trek (2009), Tron: Legacy and Watchmen, and TV shows including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and Falling Skies. He is a panelist on the LightBox Expo panel “Creature Designers of Film and TV,” and will interview Oscar-winning Lucasfilm Senior Vice President and Executive Design Director Doug Chiang—who oversees designs for the Star Wars franchise—at the expo event “In Conversation with Doug Chiang: Fireside Chat and Q&A.”

L.A.-based Sony Pictures Animation Visual Development Artist Nikita Chan (BS 16 Entertainment Design) has worked as a visual development artist and background artist in television, feature films, music videos and theme parks, and at companies including Nickelodeon Animation, Spire Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. She believes that an artist should always maintain an unwavering curiosity. Her credits include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and SpongeBob SquarePants. Chan is a panelist on the LightBox Expo ArtCenter panel “Entertainment Landscape: Visions, Transformation, Re-Invention,” on October 25, with alumni panelists Joey Chou, Dan Santat and Sona Sargsyan.

Oriana Menendez (BS 15 Entertainment Design) is a freelance concept artist and illustrator with experience designing for animation and games—from digital painting to 3D sculpting. Her previous positions include having worked as a visual development artist at Netflix, and as a freelance concept artist on the Wizards of the Coast games Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. Her personal creative projects focus on creatures, dark fantasy and horror. As she writes in her Instagram bio: “I love making monsters!”

Paul Lam (BS 22 Entertainment Design) works as a senior character concept artist at Thought Pennies, a fully remote role-playing game studio that creates games with social storytelling and takes a people-first approach to game development. Previously an associate character concept artist at Blizzard Entertainment, working on World of Warcraft, he loves worldbuilding and finding creative throughlines in storytelling.

Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding, who studied Illustration at ArtCenter, has been integral to the visual development of projects including The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, the Iron Man trilogy, Captain America trilogy, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His work, including nearly 500 illustrations, is showcased in the new book Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding by authors Tara Bennett and Paul Terry. Meinerding is on the LightBox Expo panel “Marvel Studios Visual Development,” with alum Andy Park, on October 25.

Snowy Zhang (BS 22 Entertainment Design) is an L.A.-based concept artist at the Oscar-winning game development studio Respawn Entertainment, which was founded in 2010. She works on the team behind the multi-platform game Apex Legends, a free-to-play hero shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment, published by Electronic Arts and released for PlayStation, Windows, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. An animal lover, Zhang enthusiastically likes cats, capybaras and opossums.

Vicky Xie (BS 21 Entertainment Design) is an animation background painter and designer who enjoys being part of animation productions, making films and telling stories through beautiful colors and designs. She has created work for companies including Titmouse, Inc. As she writes on her website, she also loves cats, especially orange ones, even though she never gets a chance to own one.

Zachary Berger (BS 12 Entertainment Design), lead creature designer on the films Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire and Ash and other Avatar sequels, was raised on the small Pacific island of Saipan, and moved to Southern California to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. He has worked as a concept artist and creature designer for major studios, and for directors such as Jon Favreau, Ron Howard and James Mangold. Berger is a panelist on the expo panels “Creature Designers of Film and TV,” on October 25, with fellow alumni Crash McCreery, Neville Page and Constantine Sekeris ; “Concept Art for Live Action Films,” on October 26, with Sekeris; and “The State of the Industry,” on October 27.