We had the pleasure of attending this year’s Fantasy Basel! It is Switzerland’s biggest pop culture convention, attracting nearly 100’000 fans of game, film, comic and cosplay. We showcased our work and offered visitors hands-on experiences across 2D, CGI and Stop-Motion Animation in a dedicated booth in the movie and cinema area. The booth attracted many curious visitors and created engaging moments of exchange and experimentation.

It was the first time BA Ani participated! I was there as a part of the attendants’ team helping visitors actively explore animation. The booth was structured around three central stations, representing the core techniques we teach: 2D-Animation, CGI and Stop-Motion. Most of my time was spent moving between the stations, talking to people and help them try animation for themselves. Some visitors were hesitant at first, but soon most became curious enough to ask questions and interact with the different stations. Especially at the Stop-Motion table people focused very quickly. It was exciting to witness their surprisingly funny clips on Dragonframe. I didn’t expect to see our Sticky Bones Animation Puppet being animated into doing “6-7” but honestly, maybe I should have…

The international convention offered a diverse programme that spans multiple creative communities. Cosplayers presented elaborate costumes at dedicated areas such as the cosplay village. Comic artists and authors showed their works at the book & comic club. They also sold their work, often engaging directly with the audience through accepting commissions, a few of those being fellow animation students at HSLU and Alumn*! The event also hosted stage panels featuring industry professionals and celebrities, including voice actors and actors. This year, for example, the German voice actor of Spongebob SquarePants appeared as part of the programme.

What surprised me the most was how many people already had a bit of experience. Some visitors went straight to the CGI table and started asking detailed questions about Blender that I, as a mostly 2D girlie, wasn’t able to answer. Others were interested in knowing how much technical knowledge you actually need in order to study animation. I spent a lot of time explaining our degree, the different specialisations and what studying at HSLU actually feels like in practice. These questions sparked really enriching conversations rather than feeling like a formal Q&A.

There were also a few small chaotic moments which made the whole experience more memorable. Our booth was situated across from an exhibition that had their loudspeakers going off irregularly every couple of minutes. At one point, I was mid-conversation with a visitor when a speaker made an awfully loud noise and completely drowned out everything I was saying. We both paused and laughed because there was no point continuing until it was over.

Another funny recurring moment was people reacting to my (lazy) cosplay. I was dressed as Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time for my shifts on Friday and Saturday. Several conversations about animation started with something like “Omg, I love Adventure Time!!!!!” before actually getting into more serious questions about the programme. It ended up functioning as a great ice breaker.

The afternoons became busy very quickly. During these periods all stations were actively used. It was intense at times but also the most rewarding and thrilling part, seeing so many different people actually engage with animation. Not only did fans of animated media and people interested in studying animation drop by but of course also many actual students, familiar faces and alumn*. Seeing so many friends come by during my shift was definitely one of my personal highlights.

Overall, being part of this year’s Fantasy Basel felt less like “presenting a programme” and more like creating a small open workspace inside a huge convention. People didn’t just get information about Animation Lucerne, they tried things out, were playful and asked real questions while staying present. That made the whole experience feel very direct and unexpectedly personal, even within such a massive and loud environment.