So today I decided to throw together a Pokemon coloring activity for my nephew’s playdate. Kids been obsessed with Charmander lately, right? Figured I’d test it out before the rugrats showed up.
Finding the Right Charmander Pic
First thing, I just typed “simple Charmander outline” into my search thingy. Scrolled past like twenty crappy fanarts till I found one with clear, thick lines – little kids ain’t Picasso, y’know? Grabbed the simplest fire lizard pose where his tail flame wasn’t too complicated.
Printing Nightmare
Our stupid printer jammed halfway through, naturally. Had to smack the tray three times before it spit out six copies. Made sure to use that cheap printer paper – not wasting cardstock when preschoolers gonna scribble outside the lines anyway.
Crayon Box Chaos
- Dug through the art bin for any orange crayons that weren’t nubs
- Tossed in some reds and yellows for the fire tail
- Found half a broken green one for background trees
- Stashed the black crayons away – kids always overdo the outlining
Letting the Wildfire Loose
Handed the sheets to the kids with basic instructions: “Charmander’s orange, fire’s red and yellow, go nuts.” The four-year-old went full Jackson Pollock with scribbles while his older sister actually tried coloring between the lines. Whole time they’re arguing about whether Charmander’s belly stripe is yellow or cream-colored. Who cares? It’s scribbles!
The Aftermath
Took pictures of their masterpieces while they proudly waved ’em around. One kid even pretended his drawing “spit fire” at me. Gotta admit – way more entertaining than just plopping ’em in front of cartoons. Messy as hell though – found orange crayon smudges on my couch later. Totally worth it when my nephew hugged his wrinkled Charmander paper like a trophy. Might do Bulbasaur next week.