Aaron Blaise was so moved by Cecil’s death that he created Lion King-esque tribute art

Aaron Blaise knows the majesty of lions. A former Disney animator, Blaise worked on The Lion King, serving as the supervising animator for the younger version of Nala. And it’s his profound respect for the species that comes through in digital art he made in tribute to Cecil, the Zimbabwean lion killed by an American hunter last month.

“As you may be able to tell, I am a HUGE animal lover, and it drives me crazy when I see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason,” Blaise wrote on his website. “When I heard the news about Cecil, I got inspired to create a tribute image. It s not much, but hopefully it will make people think.”

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

In the painting, Blaise portrays Cecil’s face as appearing in rolling clouds, similar to how Mufasa’s face appeared to Simba in The Lion King.

Watch Blindfolded People’s Reactions to Petting Exotic Animals

Blaise also posted a time-lapse video showing how he made the artwork in Photoshop.

