Feng Shui
How to make your cartoons feel good
Feng Shui was a concept introduced to me, an American girl in the 90s, by Nora Ephron via Meg Ryan over a dinner table with Tom Hanks. I didn’t really know what it meant (“that caviar is a garnish”, nothing to do with feng shui), just that it was something discussed at dinner parties in the Upper East Side after everyone first learned what a quiche was, that there’s this new thing called the Atkins diet, and that yes, Paul is cheating on Sarah.
Wikipedia has promised me this is what it is:
Feng shui, also known as Chinese geomancy, is a pseudoscientific traditional practice originating from ancient China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment.
Honestly that’s basically what I said, no?
This new idea that the rug really did tie the room together. That spaces hold energy. That your apartment is the scene of the crime, but the crime is your entire life, so you’re constantly having to rearrange furniture because you can’t afford to move again. Remember in Frasier when Marty buys Frasier that piece of art he thinks he’ll love, but turns out Niles and Frasier totally hate it, and it throws off the vibe of the entire apartment? See, I get it. Or do I?
I think I furnished half of my apartment from the sidewalks of Manhattan (thank you, NYU students going back home.) I’d say I move my studio and home furniture around about 8 to 12 times a year. I’m a nightmare to live with. My wife will take the dog out, come back in and think she’s entered the wrong apartment. More like… Fun Shui!
So here’s the thing - drawing interior spaces is not my strong suit. Or exterior spaces for that matter. Or cars, but let’s stay on the subject here. I assure you I try to put my characters in a convincing space buttressed by believable details. But sometimes what you get is this, a shitshow of a room that earned *justifiable* dings on Facebook. Do you know how hard it is for me to admit some rando on Facebook was right? Anyway, here we are. The least I could have done is give these poor mopes a coffee table.
In the movie Taxi Driver, Robert de Niro’s character Travis Binkle says:
“I gotta get organized. Little things, like my apartment, possessions. I should get one of those signs: ‘One of these days I’m gonna get organizized.’”
Travis Binkle is a war vet and a hard working, respected taxi driver, the type of guy who knows what’s going on. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, you know–gives good advice. Now, I’ve only seen the first 15 minutes of the movie, but most of what I know about interior design (and life), I’ve learned from Travis Binkle.
Once I order these coat hooks, I’m gonna be organizized.
What my apartment currently looks like.
When I texted this to a group thread Ellis said JASON NOOOOOOO. And I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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