RCAD finalists head to Pasadena for the Concept Art Awards

By Elie Harmon ’26, Visual Studies

This weekend, a group of Ringling College faculty and students will have the honor of traveling to Pasadena, California, to participate as finalists in the annual Concept Art Awards. Those finalists are Ringling College Computer Animation faculty member Joseph Pepe and Illustration students Paige Hardee ’26 and Diego DeLaRosa ’27.

The Concept Art Awards are presented every year by the Concept Art Association as part of the programming for LightBox Expo, an annual entertainment industry convention that brings thousands of artists from across the world to Pasadena every October.

The awards show celebrates the work of entertainment concept artists who help bring the media we enjoy to life. A panel of professionals from industries such as animation, live action film, video games, and tabletop games will judge finalist entries.

Those attending Lightbox Expo can witness the Concept Art Awards live at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium from 6:30–8:30 pm (PST) on October 24, 2026. The event will also be livestreamed on the Concept Art Association YouTube channel.

Still from the Avatar series featuring work by Computer Animation faculty member Joseph Pepe.

Joseph Pepe is a concept artist who teaches Visual Development at Ringling College of Art and Design as part of the Computer Animation Department. He is a finalist in the Live Action Feature Film Character category for concept art that he produced as a Lead Character Designer at Lightstorm Entertainment, designing the character Var’ang for the film Avatar: Fire and Ash. He has worked alongside James Cameron for nine years as a concept artist developing the world of the Na’vi for the Avatar films. Other credits include Alita: Battle Angel, Alien vs. Predator, Iron Man, and many more.

Entry work by finalist and recent Illustration grad Paige Hardee.

Paige Hardee is a visual development artist who graduated from Ringling College in 2026 with a BFA in Illustration and a minor in Fine Arts. She is nominated in the Student Environment category for the concept piece Stairwell, created as part of her senior thesis, Daedalus, about a young girl’s journey through an endless museum. She is currently a Junior Designer at Mary Meyer Stuffed Toys.

concept art — CAA finalist and Ringling Illustration student Diego DeLaRosa’s entry work.

Diego DeLaRosa is a current Illustration student studying Visual Development. He is nominated in the Student Environment category for the concept artwork Hunkered Down, depicting a ruined desert gas station in the post-apocalypse.

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About Ringling College of Art and Design

Since 1931, Ringling College of Art and Design has prepared artists and designers for creative careers across disciplines including animation and film, design, fine arts, illustration, game art, digital media, as well as business, production management, and entrepreneurship. Its programs are consistently ranked among the best in the world by The Rookies Global School Rankings. Ringling’s Center for Career Services brings recruiters from nearly 100 companies—including Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, Sony, and Hallmark—to campus each year, with 97% of recent graduates employed or continuing their education within one year of graduation, per the College’s institutional effectiveness reporting.

Ringling College was the first among art and design colleges to launch an Undergraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence, and its faculty co-developed the 4D Framework for AI Fluency, which now underpins Anthropic’s free public AI Fluency courses and is used by multiple businesses and universities worldwide. Ringling College is an official member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), and is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

Computer Animation at Ringling College

Ringling College of Art and Design’s Computer Animation program has produced more Student Academy Award-winning films in the animation category than any other college in the country, with a current total of 17 wins since 1998, along with recognitions including Student Emmy and Student BAFTA wins and dozens of selections for SIGGRAPH’s Electronic Theater. The program’s animated films have over a billion combined views on YouTube. With degrees offered in both 2D and 3D Character Animation, graduates go on to write, direct, design, create, animate, and lead productions at Pixar, DreamWorks, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, Netflix, Blizzard, and Glitch Productions, such as Disney/Pixar’s Win or Lose and Netflix’s Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld. Sixty-six alumni contributed to five 2026 Oscar-nominated animated films, including KPop Demon Hunters, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, and Elio. The program’s full-time faculty are notable industry professionals, working directors, story artists, and animators with decades of experience at major studios. Industry leaders as well as distinguished alumni from studios such as Marvel and Disney are invited as mentors to critique student thesis films each year. Ringling’s animation programs are consistently ranked among the best in the world by The Rookies Global School Rankings, The Hollywood Reporter, Animation Magazine, and Animation Career Review.

Illustration at Ringling College

Ringling College of Art and Design's Illustration program prepares students for careers in publishing, entertainment, editorial art, concept art, surface design, and children's book and comic illustration, for studios and companies including Disney, Hallmark, Carter’s, Bath and Body Works, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister. The curriculum is grounded in drawing, painting, design, and visual storytelling across traditional and digital media, and students can choose an emphasis in Visual Development. Ringling College students consistently win awards from the prestigious Society of Illustrators' Student Scholarship Competition, outpacing many competitor institutions, and the program is ranked Number One in the South by Animation Career Review. Students can extend their training through the Author/Illustrator Undergraduate Certificate, which prepares them to pitch and publish children’s books, comics, and graphic novels. The program is supported by Ringling's Center for Career Services, the Center for the Creative Economy, industry experience initiatives, and in-house Design Center, and benefits from the same institutional accreditation as the College overall, including SACSCOC and NASAD. Ringling’s Illustration program is one of several majors that permits a student to complete an internship in lieu of a senior thesis, helping students turn their passion into profession.

RCAD finalists head to Pasadena for the Concept Art Awards

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