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The heritage club asked sculptor Tanya Russell to create the inspiring sculpture for the club’s anniversary.
Hugo, who passed away last month, was chosen as the inspiration for the sculpture.
The farm park fed the lionesses in front of Ms Russell so she could photograph claws, paws, and teeth up close whilst Hugo was sleeping in the sun.
He did let the cameras give him the VIP treatment by patrolling the boundary.
The Villa Lion – sculpted in clay by had and cast in molten bronze – was unveiled in May by club legends Brian Little and Dennis Mortimer.
Ms Russell said: “With 300 million fans around the world, and playing in the top leagues, being asked to create a commemorative sculpture for Aston Villa was thrilling and also a brilliant challenge.
“They envisaged something powerful, fierce and proud, that included both the crest’s early roots in the Scottish rampant royal lion, but also that energy and pride of walking through the gates today to see the team play.”
Mr Mortimer said he preferred to let a sculpture of him wait, but that he was open to having a photo of him taken on the lion’s back.
The club’s logo is a royal Scottish lion, dating to the time it helped found the Football League, and the granite, which came from Africa, was shipped to Scotland where it was shaped and then carved with the lion rampant.
Ms Russell said she was privileged to work with The Structure Workshop to create the plans, ‘particularly with such a lot of weight concentrated in the massive head and mane so far away from the back feet.’
She added: “Our expert team including the brilliant bronze casting work of Milwyn Foundry, and the expert mould-making of Al Maddocks, and the beautifully precise granite carving of Leiths Natural Stone, all brought together on the day with the help of the brilliant Birmingham Crane Hire.”
150 smaller commemorative lions were also made out of moulds of the small reference maquette, which will be presented to players and visitors by the club.
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