My New Tablet

My birthday happened recently. Usually (for years) I have been clueless of what I want for my birthday. So the last couple of years, my birthday presents have been surprises (with my ride on a plane in 2013 been the most impressive).

But this year has been different. Since January I had invested a lot of thought on the subject on how I could use my birthday as an excuse to buy something expensive. I am no big spender (I haven't got the cash for that.... let), but I do like to occasionally buy things, like books and DVDs. Cultural things like that. I rarely spend money on clothes. I occasionally spend above £25 on Amazon. You get he picture.
Recently I have noted the usefulness of small tablet computers. My family has been a bit crazy for them in the past few years, buying (probably) half a dozen of them. The very first one they bought (a big Yarvik Android model the size of a notebook) ended up in my procession, because I got addicted to The Simpsons: Tapped Out game. However, I have lost the use of this tablet in March 2014 because the socket you plug in the charger into it got broken. So for over a year I had rarely touched a tablet's screen.
In fact, I had only occasionally did so in spats of activity over the years, as I didn't find them very useful to me... let. This was mostly because their size was an inconvenience and the fact that I'm not that into games and the only reason I was really using them was to play games.

But this year I had a change of heart. By now tablets can come in many sizes and their spec have improved greatly. Also you can now find a good tablet for less than £100 (and I'm not talking about second-hand stuff here.) But the main reason for my change of heart is because I finally worked out uses for one in my life.

So my birthday comes. I get money from relatives. I browse Amazon for a good deal. I found one I liked at a great price. But before I clicked the "buy" button I find that that second-hand tablet had a scratch on the screen. I may have been a minor thing, but I knew my parents would be disappointed in my buying such an damaged device. So instead, last week I went to Currys. I was lucky... it was a bank holiday and they had a sale on. As son as I entered I went tot he tablets and found a device that met my criteria....
For around £130 I bought (along with a leather case, a stylus, a screen protector, anti-virus software and 200GB of cloud storage) this....

My new Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

A black, 7-in screen Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. I have used this device every day since I bought it. I have used it to revisit my Springfield that I have abandoned back in March 2014, watch YouTube videos, listen to music and draw a few pictures, like the one above. And I made sure it was very portable. I choose a 7-in model because it was small enough to fit inside the knee pockets of my several pairs of cargo trousers. 

My new tablet (plus case) in pocket

You have to agree that this is very convenient (but it can be a tiny bit awkward while walking). 

But it is also big enough for the task of drawing with ease. It's the perfect size.

With this device I can quickly note or draw things down while on the move without the hassle of getting out an A4 sketchpad from a bag or briefcase. 

I could have posted this earlier, but its only today that I got a stylus specialized for drawing (which I used to redraw my profile picture in the photo above). 

Best (self-bought) present ever...

Hey, no one else knows my needs for a tablet (like the cargo trouser pocket dimensions). They could have bought me something that was too big for my needs or something rubbish made in China.

You know what I mean....

A PowerPoint for school: Pokémon by Joshua Wallace (With some assistance from Uncle Gordon) (May 2015)

Recently my nephew was given the task to do a 3-minute talk on any subject he liked for school. 

The topic he chose to do was Pokémon. 

Yes, everyone over-20, Pokémon is still alive and kicking.

A week before the day of the talk, I was approached by my mother and him to help with his research and make a presentation for him. I made a list of facts he could talk about, had it proof-read and edited to make it easier for him to read and say and made the following PowerPoint presentation...

A simple title card to start off with.

One fact we thought the kids should know is that Pokémon has a creator and 

his childhood hobby was his inspiration for the franchise.

The choice to use bug-types for decoration is obvious.

That console is a NES on purpose. 

Porygon is just there to fill in some space.

My nephew really liked my idea of the drawing on this slide.

This is where most of my background knowledge on Pokémon's history was put in.

I chose to use an image from the first series on purpose.

(explanation below next slide)

I'm most proud of this slide. 

Most kids in his class would only know of Pokémon from Black & White onwards. 

But my nephew has been exposed to some of the earlier stuff,

so he knows a few things about Ash's Kanto adventures. 

My nephew insisted in including the mega-evolved forms of Charizard on this slide,

plus the mega stones. And yes (everyone over-20) they are now 720 of them.

I originally intended to have an explanation of what Pokémon is at the start of the presentation.

But I was overruled on the ground that everyone in his class already knew that.

I was thinking about the teachers when I thought of it, not the kids.

A final statement to end on.

Along with this presentation he bought with him to show to the class a number of relics, including...

• The box for a original Game Boy and the box for Pokémon Red
• The box for a Game Boy Color and the box for Pokémon Crystal
• The box for my special edition DSi and a copy of Pokémon Black (both a birthday present) 
• Plus a few books, including my original tattered copy of The Official Pokémon Handbook 

My original copy of The Official Pokémon Handbook (1999)

That is my original copy, and here's proof (and proof of transfer of ownership in 2011)

And here's further proof of ownership.

(brightness/contrast altered for easier legibility)

I have since bought a more mint-condition copy for my archive.

My "mint" copy of The Official Pokémon Handbook (1999)

Sorry I've gone off topic there. It's a habit.

So, how did it go for him? 

He said he got "Top Marks". 10 out of 10!
They loved it!

NEW: Works by Category Page

Just recently, I created a few pages that you can access on you left.

I have felt that I have posted enough material that I thought you may need help finding stuff. Also, I thoguht I could really use this blog as a showcase of my talents in various mediums. That is why (and the fact I just worked out what "pages" are on Blogger) I have made a number of pages listing my various posts by its contents, i.e. Photos, comics strips, posts about ads, fictional book covers, etc. They are all (technically) "works in progress" as in they will change as I post more material.

Look at it anyway, it includes stylish banners I made in Photoshop. Here's one of them (as a taster) which is used to decorate the page dedicated to scientific content.

They also contain a brief intro that explains a bit about my history concerning the particular aspect of my work.

Also, fell free to look at the other links as well, including the recently made "My Drawing Past" page, featuring a selection of drawings I made in the past.

Come on, even the best and greatest of artists had to start somewhere.