After the savage murder of Cecil the Lion, former Disney animator, Aaron Blaise, was so upset he decided to pay tribute. “When I heard the news about Cecil, I got inspired to create an image,” Blaise wrote on his website. Blaise has a special relationship with lions being that he worked on The Lion King and hosts an 11-hour series on “How to Draw Big Cats.” His credits also include the Disney classics Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and Aladdin. “I am a HUGE animal lover and it drives me crazy to see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason,” Blaise said.
In this time-lapse video, Blaise gives a behind-the-scenes look at how the piece was created and, in the end, reveals the finished piece.
(H/T Creature Art Teacher)