Tribute of the Day: Disney Animator Drew a Stunning Homage to Cecil the Lion

By now, you've surely heard about Cecil, the Zimbabwean lion illegally killed by Minnesotan dentist Walter Palmer.

It has brought outrage, protest and sadness from people like Arnold Schwarzenegger to Jimmy Kimmel.

Artist Aaron Blaise, who worked as a Disney animator on The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and more, wanted to find a way to express his feelings about the death of Cecil.

Like many people around the world, I was extremely moved by the recent tragedy surrounding the hunting and killing of the beloved lion know as Cecil... As you may be able to tell I am a HUGE animal lover an it drives me crazy when I see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason. 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.

As some of you may also know I was one of the animators on "The Lion King" – 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.

Blaise has documented much of his life as a conservationist, filling his website not only with his art, but also with pictures enjoying the animals of the world.

If you want to see how Blaise made this work of art, he compiled a video to show the process.