Dine and Draw: Teen Titans Go

Every night my kids and I sit and draw/craft/create our favorite things. While I’ve lost the older kid to Minecraft, the 7-year-old and I both like to be creative through drawing. Our art sessions are always inspired by our favorite comic books or animated shows. He likes to draw while I come up with corresponding ideas for geeky recipes.

Currently, DC‘s Teen Titans Go on Cartoon Network reigns supreme in our house. The witty humor and adorable characters make this show a hit for both of us. My son decided to draw me the characters while I set to work on creating a recipe inspired by the show.

I always suggest getting ready to draw just as you would in an art class:

1. Set Up:

• Find a clean, flat place to draw.
• Google Teen Titans Go (parents, screen the images carefully!) and find the characters and poses that you want.
• Gather your tools: pencil, eraser, black pen, crayons/colored pencils/colored markers

2. Sketch:

• Start with basic shapes and forms.
• Then sketch out features.
• Check back and forth with the image for character attributes.
• Fill in character details.

3. Ink:

• Outline the pencil sketch with a black pen.
• Lightly erase leftover pencil lines.

Note:  Sharpies are great because of their smoothness and varying points but Sign Pens are also good for smaller hands.

 4. Color:

• Fill in the lines with colored pencils, crayons or pens.

Note: Even though I’ve provided the kids with my top of the line artist tools they still always go back to good ol’ Crayola Crayons. I don’t blame them; they’re comfortable to use and come in a dizzying array of colors now. (Yes, Macaroni and Cheese is a real color.)

There you have it – all the Titans in a row! Little ones can sometimes get frustrated when it comes to drawing but mistakes happen. You can always start over and try again. That’s why this pencil to ink to color process is a good method to follow. Sketching before the drawing becomes permanent makes life a lot easier.

With inspiration from his drawings, my edible work of art became dinner: Beast Boy Veggie Burritos!

Drawing is an entertaining, creative exercise and your favorite geeky characters make it a fun way to spend time together!