August 06, 2015

'Lion King' animator creates Cecil artwork for charity

Artist Aaron Blaise said 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit conservation efforts

By Elisa Lala
PhillyVoice Contributor

Aaron Blaise/Twitter

Aaron Blaise, an animator who worked on "The Lion King," created an image of Cecil the lion in the clouds, an image that is fairly similar to when Mufasa comes to speak to Simba in the classic Disney film.

An animator who worked on Disney's "The Lion King" has created a masterpiece in homage to Cecil the lion to raise funds and awareness for wildlife conservation.

Artists Aaron Blaise, who, according to BuzzFeed, has worked on Disney films like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin," posted a photo of the artwork and a timelapse video of its creation process on his Twitter account.

According to Blaise, 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the art will benefit the World Conservation Research Unit in honor of Cecil, a 13-year-old rare black-maned lion whose death sparked international outrage last month after the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said he was killed by an American hunter.