10 Sept, 12:00 · Pranas Domšaitis Gallery
During this session, we will use fun and playful exercises to create our own character, invent and illustrate their story, and make a small comic book.
10 Sept, 14:00
Animation is a cinematic medium. This means that animation creators can employ a wide range of cinematic techniques to convey ideas, emotions, and meaning, ultimately creating works that resonate with audiences. The aim of this presentation is to present the findings of a literature review and case study analysis that address the following research question: how can stylized cinematic lighting be effectively applied in CGI animation? The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 14:30
This presentation features a case study of the VR 360 animated film “Eglė žalčių karalienė”. Special emphasis goes to the film’s visual stylistics – the decision to adapt the wood carving aesthetic, once widely used in fairy tale illustrations in Lithuania, to VR animation. As well as the creative, production and technological challenges that this choice has introduced. The presentation is intended for creators, students and anyone interested in or planning to create VR 360 animation projects. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 15:00
This presentation will present the findings of a practice-based research project addressing the following question: how can the rotoscoping technique be applied effectively in animation? This question is particularly relevant today because, although rotoscoping has been used successfully in animation production for more than a century, it continues to have a controversial reputation within the international animation community and is often met with criticism. The presentation will discuss the key findings of the study, offering practical insights into how rotoscoping can be used effectively while avoiding the most common pitfalls associated with the technique. It is intended for both emerging animators and experienced animation professionals who are considering incorporating rotoscoping into their creative practice. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 16:00
Each animation technique has its own distinct strengths and challenges. This presentation will therefore explore not only which production challenges can be overcome by combining traditional and digital 2D animation techniques, but also how the production pipelines of these different approaches can be most effectively integrated. In addition, the presentation will examine a range of case studies from both animated television and feature film productions. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 16:45
The aim of this presentation is to examine the ongoing developments surrounding generative artificial intelligence in the global animation industry and to explore how these changes may affect the European animation community. It is important to emphasize that the presentation will not focus on how to use specific AI models in the animation production process. Instead, it will discuss how the opportunities offered by this technology can be adopted ethically and responsibly while avoiding its major risks. Finally, the presentation will examine the ongoing legal developments in the United States and Europe and discuss how they may shape the future of the animation industry. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 17:30 · Herkus Kantas
10 Sept, 17:30
The purpose of this presentation is to introduce and review the challenges and insights gained while preparing young technical artists over the past 15 years of Vilnius Tech Multimedia and Computer Design study program, while managing to remain one of the most popular study programs in Lithuania. The presentation will discuss not only important challenges such as changing industry priorities, technological needs and constantly changing student and employer expectations, but will also invite participants to discuss how to remove boundaries between university and industry. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.
10 Sept, 22:00 · Herkus Kantas
11 Sept, 09:30 · Džonis ir citrinos
Start your morning with a cosy, informal chat featuring filmmakers from the competition programme. Hear about their work, creative process, and the stories behind their work, while gaining insight into the world of animation. Come meet the artists, ask questions, and leave inspired. The event will be held in English, without translation.
11 Sept, 11:00
The presentation will provide a brief overview of the current state of the Lithuanian animation industry, based on surveys of Lithuanian animation producers and animation professionals conducted in 2026. Drawing on the collected data, it will examine how industry stakeholders assess the current state of the sector, career opportunities, the quality of professional training, and the major challenges facing the Lithuanian animation industry today. The presentation will be held in Lithuanian. The research is financed by the Swedish Institute.
11 Sept, 12:00 · Pranas Domšaitis Gallery
Collaborative NPC Design to Build Immersive Playable Worlds. This hands-on workshop explores collaborative world-building through NPC (Non-Player Character) design. Using stickers, crayons, templates, and cards, participants collectively create character appearances and personalities, regardless of technical skill. A custom local algorithm digitizes each NPC into a Godot Packed Scene, allowing the group to assemble them into a shared playable game world.
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11 Sept, 14:30
For more than a century, television and cinema have been the natural home of animation. Bored Panda Group challenged this model by creating Spike – a character conceived, developed, and launched exclusively on YouTube. In just three years, Spike has generated more than one billion views and reached audiences worldwide. This talk explores how Bored Panda Group combined storytelling, over a decade of YouTube-first experience, and audience data to build a global animation franchise – proving that YouTube can be more than a distribution channel: it can be the home of original animated storytelling.
11 Sept, 15:30 · Culture Factory, Studio 2A
Atuel is an award-winning surrealist documentary videogame about a river that flows across Argentina's Cuyo Desert and how the global climate crisis is threatening its historical ecosystem. It was made in collaboration with documentarians and features real-world interviews with experts. Come listen to one of its creators speak about the game's production process, its approach to the documentary genre, and the art and design philosophies that made such a hyperlocal Latin American story stand out globally.
11 Sept, 16:30 · Culture Factory, Studio 2A
We created a tool that enabled game designers to take ownership of game logic implementation, allowing programmers to step away from this part of the development process.
11 Sept, 17:30
Lithuanian American artist, cartoonist and writer, Kaz Prapuolenis, shares his creative journey from studying comics in art school with Art Spiegelman (Maus) to writing and drawing comics (Raw Magazine, The New Yorker, Spin) to creating his weekly alternative comic strip (Underworld) to storyboarding for animated television series (Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Cartoon Network’s Camp Lazlo, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb) and finally writing for feature animation (Saving Bikini Bottom, The Plankton Movie, and Search for SquarePants). “You don’t have to be crazy to make cartoons – but it helps!” - Kaz.
11 Sept, 21:00 · Herkus Kantas
Come, chill, chat & train your brain with an informal quiz featuring animation and game-related questions.
11 Sept, 22:15 · Herkus Kantas
Oscar the Carelian channels big emotions and raw power in a form of quirky synth pop designed for dancing. The Helsinki based performer is known for high energy performances and sincere approach to groove.
12 Sept, 09:30 · Džonis ir citrinos
Start your morning with a cosy, informal chat featuring filmmakers from the competition programme. Hear about their work, creative process, and the stories behind their work, while gaining insight into the world of animation. Come meet the artists, ask questions, and leave inspired. The event will be held in English, without translation.
12 Sept, 10:00
Visual novels are a unique genre of video games that blend storytelling with interactivity, occupying a space between literature, comics, and games. But how do they differ from traditional comics? What themes do they explore, and what kinds of players are drawn to them? Are visual novels a natural evolution of comics as a medium, or are they a response to changing reading habits and shorter attention spans? I will present some of my favorite examples and invite the audience to join the discussion.
12 Sept, 10:00 · Pranas Domšaitis Gallery
During the workshop, we'll explore and recreate the visual styles of several renowned comics artists - creators who tell complex stories through deceptively simple illustrations.
12 Sept, 11:00
I would like to present our latest feature-length animated film, Tales From the Magic Garden, tracing its ten-year development process and highlighting the various aspects of this broad and unconventional European co-production.
12 Sept, 12:00
Lithuanian American artist, cartoonist and writer Kaz Prapuolenis (Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Cartoon Network’s Camp Lazlo, and Disney’s Phineas and Ferb), takes you through the process of writing a SpongeBob episode from the springboard pitch, through the outline, script, and animatic process. He will also go over early aspects of show creation as far as the 3-act structure in short-form cartoon storytelling and how one assembles a dynamic cast of characters. And finally, he’ll cover the difference between storyboard-driven shows and script-driven shows in commercial television (and touch on feature animation writing as well).
12 Sept, 13:30
Robertas Nevecka is a film director, animator, and occasional illustrator from Klaipėda, Lithuania. His drawings of the people working on film sets have spread around the world in unexpected ways - from playing cards to tattoos in South America. In this lecture, he'll talk about observing everyday life, drawing without knowing how to draw, and unconventional ways of sharing illustrations with the world.
12 Sept, 13:30 · Pranas Domšaitis Gallery
Whether you're curious about accelerator programs, passionate about building indie communities, or eager to know what the Italian game dev scene is like, this session is for you. Come hang out, ask questions, and connect with a game developer from abroad!
12 Sept, 14:00 · Klaipėda Puppet Theatre
BLON Animation and Games Festival invites you to a stop-motion puppet animation exhibition at Klaipėda Puppet Theatre! Stop-motion puppet animation is a filmmaking technique in which physical puppets or figures are photographed after each small movement, creating the illusion that they move on their own. The exhibition features original characters and sets used in the production of four animated films: Tales from the Magic Garden (producer Martin Vandas), Please (producer Johan Edström), INVASIVE! (director Sonata Vilkė), and Penguin & Pigeon (director Gertrūda Nemčauskaitė). We invite you to visit the exhibition and meet the filmmakers! Exhibition opening hours during BLON Festival: September 11, 12:00–18:30 September 12, 14:00–19:00 September 12, 14:00 – Meet the filmmakers (in English, with Lithuanian interpretation). The exhibition is open to all visitors with a ticket to any BLON Festival event or with a symbolic donation in support of the festival.
12 Sept, 14:15 · Culture Factory, Seminar Hall A
I will tell you how I sank from illustrating newspapers and magazines and writing books to creating countless drawings for social media. (The presentation will be held in Lithuanian.)
12 Sept, 15:00 · Culture Factory, Studio 2A
In the presentation Menghui Huang will explore how abstract visual language can be used to create immersive environments, emotional narratives, and new forms of worldbuilding in virtual reality.
12 Sept, 16:00 · Culture Factory, Studio 2A
"Machinima" blends "machine," "cinema," and "animation" — films made from video game captures. Artist Isabelle Arvers presents this underrecognized medium reshaping animated cinema. With Futurs Ancestraux, she develops Benin game-films weaving 3D scans of sacred sites, Vodún artifacts, and documentary footage into ancestral-digital hybrid spaces. With Lívia Diniz, she leads Beyond Green Games immersions, co-creating films from recordings of the living world.
12 Sept, 17:00
A talk about how experimental comics can act as a space where different languages, media, and narrative forms meet, opening the door to projects that move across diverse creative territories. It is also a personal journey through key milestones and projects, both solo and as a member of the Shaman Garage studio.
12 Sept, 20:30 · Herkus Kantas
13 Sept, 10:00
Start your morning with a cosy, informal chat featuring game creators from the AWARE Games Programme. Come meet the artists, ask questions, and leave inspired. The event will be held in English, without translation.
13 Sept, 11:00
In this talk, we're going to discuss all the ins-and-outs about running a gaming accelerator from someone who was accelerated and now is helping to accelerate others. We'll be talking about what exactly is an accelerator, how the Quickload was established, why should someone take part in an acceleration program, the success stories of the various studios who took part in it and how the local community and gaming scene was empowered and grew thanks to it.
13 Sept, 12:00
What started as a casual game idea while chatting by the campfire turned into leaving a job, founding a game studio, forming a team, and working on a game. It sounds like a dream, but it’s also an easy horror story - well, a cozy one. So it’s fitting that our game is also a cozy horror. A short talk exploring the creative and emotional process behind turning a concept into the living world of Vale’s Echo.
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