The Lion King Animator Paints Tribute To Cecil The Lion

Aaron Blaise has a soft spot for lions.

As the animator behind Disney's classic The Lion King, (along with Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and others) Blaise helped catapult the majestic creatures into the public's imagination. So when Cecil The Lion was tragically poached by a hunter last month, he had to do something to commemorate the lion's life.

In honor of Cecil, Blaise made a digital painting of the lion and shared its creation on YouTube. As the painting shows, Cecil may be gone, but he still exists somewhere in the circle of life, just like Mufasa.

"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 explained on his website. In fact, I've decided to get personally involved and hopefully our efforts can help educate people and prevent these horrible things from happening in the future."

You can check out the entire painting's creation in the video below.

What do you think of this touching tribute? Be sure to let us know in the comments.