This Is Background Art So I Don't Know How To Tag This Lol - Blog Posts

Amazing background art by the incredibly talented @cutekoala1001. I commissioned her to draw The Salty Simiano, which is the restaurant from my Sing fanfic. I could not be happier with how it turned out!!! The colors, the lighting, the decorations, the angles, the way she fit so many features into one shot, just...all-around mind-blowing 🤯 

As you all know by now, I am kind of obsessed with the anthro primate characters from the Sing movies. For my Sing universe I made up a Latin American-style cantina that welcomes all animals obviously but panders to primates; it is known as a monkey hangout in Red Shore City. It also features sugar skull-type art, except the skulls are of anthro animals 😂 In the picture, the larger skulls on the wall, window and floor are chimpanzee skulls. In the bar area, the two skulls behind the chairs are a deer and a crocodile, and the one by the menu is a dog. The one in the corner by the enclosed seating area is a koala. The area on the floor covered by the skull is a dance floor. 

What I love about this piece is that, like all good art, it tells so many stories. I didn’t really flesh the restaurant out very much in my fic, and seeing it here really helps inspire me to create ideas for it:

• That little enclosed seating area by the tree is very cozy, so I can see it being a popular romantic place for  couples. But it’s also large enough to seat more than two, so I can also see it as a meeting place for friends. 

• The restaurant has live music from time to time. Most of the bands are local Latino musicians, but since this is Red Shore City, you can also find visiting musician stars performing here from time to time. 

• The band plays in front of the Salty Simiano logo. This allows for many photo ops, especially with the dance floor nearby. 

• If the band knows that there is a romantic couple sitting somewhere, they will walk over to the couple and serenade them. They will also play music loudly in front of shy-looking patrons seated at the tables, insisting that they go out and dance. 

• There’s one band that’s really sassy and heckles the crowd all night, in Spanish and English. The singer will butt into a dance and “steal” the guy’s partner from him and tell the girl that she could do better in terms of mates. He says this into his microphone so that everyone can hear him. 

• The art in the restaurant is featured in numerous cultural publications in Red Shore City (magazines, etc.). The restaurant has also published a pamphlet that explains the history and meaning of the sugar skulls. Art students also come here for studies. 

• The tree was already on the land before the building was constructed, and the tree was special to the restaurant owners (being monkeys). They didn’t want to cut the tree down, so they just constructed the building around the tree and made a skylight so that natural light could filter into the room. As the tree gets bigger, they will remove the tiles that surround it. They hired a professional landscaper to prune the tree in such a way that it will eventually grow through the roof, and they will renovate the building to accommodate the tree. I know this would never happen irl, but I’m kind of a hippy and would love to see this. 

Thanks so much for doing such an amazing job on this, @cutekoala1001!