We used some location photographs of the mountain slopes to get an idea what we could use for reference. Afterwards we used some 3D rock scans and photogrammetry to build out the foreground rock mass. 

This was a quick job so we sourced a pre-existing 3D lion model which we augmented. We repainted the textures and created some fur control maps. Using Maya, Ornatrix and Redshift we were able to quickly setup short body fur as well as the heroic mane. The winds were simple 3D posable rigs with feathers mapped to simplified geometry. 

We worked to build our shaders and render look so as to have a more illustrative feeling, which we augmented in post by doing some matte painting over the renders. The background was a loose matte painting of the actual mountains in that area. 

This was a fun job where we were able to play it loose and fast, delivering early and exceeded client expectations.