Paras

Titles which will be coming soon, and I have to mention that I have done colour profiles for them, are a Martin Mariner booklet and a special issue about the Israeli-Arab wars. The Mariner is very interesting as I created the cover art, a classic painting you can see here.

What is coming next month is a lot of work on the Hawker Hunter, Bf109G/K as well as a  few smaller projects. These projects will include digital art, technical drawings and cover art.

See ya with the next project!

Srecko Bradic

Winter releases

First two books are salad type of work when you need to make as much as different subjects and in this way provide some visual insight on war machines used. I like much work like this as well it give nice rhythm of work where you have relatively short time to make much of work and even create brand new color profile layout. Few new layouts are made in standard average speed of two days from blank canvas to complete profile with all necessary layers. Last one was real relaxing as well it is designated for one type of airplane. From what I have hear, this book about Fokker D.XXI is best ever published about this airplane and I am pleasure that part of my work are inside.

What I am waiting right now is the another publications which is related to airborne operations in WW2 and where will be twelve of my color profiles. Best testimony is when I delivered last sample from this order:

Thanks for all and congratulations for your fabulous (and quick) work, friendly,

Subjects are new in many cases for me and almost all were two or three engined airplanes, many of them I never done before. There was no problem at all to make couple of them within a day (from blank canvas off course) so whole project was done in two weeks.

And we have nice evolution here- remember some time ago I mention that we started new digital magazine ‘Warplanes’? Very soon we will have printed publication ‘Warplane’ and with identical level of data included.

So stay tuned and see ya in next project!!!

Srecko Bradic

Aviation art

This all present great result as well whole aviation publishing world suffer from crisis and this result in reduced content, reduced orders, some people lost its contracts and one great magazine is even closed. Few professional artist has contact me and from their story I have realized how bad situation is in some fields. Excising magazines count decrease in sale and I will direct this more as result of their policy, then the direct influence of world problems. To keep on top you need to invest into the good authors, no matter are they modelers, researchers, draftsman or illustrators. Only good content could secure good sale and good content can be managed only by good authors. But this is not facts, most of content present various advertisement and in many cases articles are made in not desirable level,

Next year will be in the same style for me- full power ahead!! Must note one of the greatest series I have ever participated, this is ‘Cockade du Monde’, published in France. This series present color profiles of the aircrafts of the various country, arranged by Alphabetic order and in couple of years were published all operators which have air force units during 1938 to 1945. Now, when just two final set of profiles left to be published, I see that this series grown into large pile of profiles where you can see all national insignia used pre and during the WW2, various camouflages and various type of aircrafts. And from next year this will be continue into new series where subject will be Cold War period. As well world have much more countries after the WW2, we will have much more interesting subjects. Off course- more books are arranged, in this moment three new, which start next year, so this will give even better total output next year.

I am really satisfied with all of the result made this year and what will be next year. What to say but stay tunned, I will inform you of all what is going on.

See ya in next project!!!

Srecko Bradic

My personal archive give me enough of subjects to do

One of important change in work method is change of material and I switch from oil paintings to acrylic paintings. In summer last year I have buy my last pack of oil paints and it still stand almost intact as well I have very soon get new set of paints, this time acrylic. Very soon I have find many of benefit of new material and first at all was odor- oil is not so good for me, I am a bit more sensitive to it. Other thing is fast drying of the acrylic and as well I am impatient to see new art finished, this is so good feature for me.

[Show as slideshow]

I use various media as base but best at all proven were canvas paper. Easy to use, excellent sense during the painting, easy to maintain and offer more options for final display, this become my primary work material. Most of the art are 30×40 cm but there is also some larger sizes I have released in the moment.

No need to say that in relaxing atmosphere I enjoy more then ever and this is the way I will try to keep for a long time!

Srecko Bradic

Hellcat article for Eduard

There was no easy way to decide how to make article as well it need to be short but in other hand enough informative and attractive which could generate more interest in new kit as well old kit in larger scale. Article is made in my compact way with fusion of text, archive images and color profiles. After some polishing article is released by Eduard in their digital publication and it have top impressions. For me that was unique experience and in some way interesting way to relax.

Srecko Bradic

Warplanes cover

So there is our very first issue of the digital magazine Warplanes. Idea to have publications like this is not new but LetLetLet-Warplanes team simply did not have enough time to focus on such project. The same idea to run magazine right now was influenced by the world crisis and this give influence on the aviation hobby. Result is that some magazines changing its strategy and also due to the financial troubles there is present reduction in many aspects of the print publication. Magazines complain about sales falling down and this is find as great moment to do something.

Todays aviation modeling magazines are plagued with many problems and cost is one of them. When things are made digital the price could be much lower and best things is that you are not limited by the number of pages and also the quality remain the same, while in print publication we also have problem with graphic which loss quality in print process.

Warplanes is made as merging of the many ideas and interest present in the modelers life. Content is completely filled with primary content which is of most interest for reader. So you will find no commercial advertisements inside and they cover in most magazines even 60% of available space and the rest belong to the articles. So if you have magazine of 128 pages and average cost of 4€, you get some 60 pages of primary use. In our digital version we have 105 pages and of those 100 are directly useful and reader get this for 1.6€ only.

Reference material is always most valuable material you can see in publication so inside Warplanes you can find extracts from manuals, blueprints as well number of archive images. Joined with model build this give top content with almost all in one source for reader. Â Interesting things that publication is interactive so you can jump from content page on the desired page in publication. Authors are experienced and with reference work published in various publications before.

In this moment is in the preparation second issue of magazine and you view and get this sample here!

Srecko Bradic

C.V book coverÂ

Work on the C.V book was everything but easy. When I start work with author of the book, Edwin Hoogschagen,  for me that was something Dutch, classic Fokker design with fabric over the tubes. But to me big surprise, I have very soon realized that this machine is probably one of the very important aircraft in between the wars, made in some many samples and export in several countries with final destiny to take combat mission in WW2 and in many cases they was done with success! Definitely great career for the fabric covered biplane.

Any idea to make some overall design of the aircraft and use it for the all further color profiles was fall. Reason is that the Fokker C.V have seen large improvement during the service so this mean that almost every new profile mean additional upgrade of the basic layout. Result of this was that in total was developed 17 different variations of the C.V used in Dutch service and more samples will be presented in the new book in preparation, which will cover C.V in foreigner service. All of this variations in type had caused delay in the delivery time for profiles and definitely Edwin as well my self, was not satisfied with that but this is something we should live with. Work on such complex type is not easy at all and must say that Edwin did great work in research and analyze and from my point of view chosen subjects for the color profiles are excellent.

Edwin Hoogschagen during the book presentation

I did not miss the chance to visit museum at Leylstad and take several images of the preserved Fokker C.V in museum. The rest of the museum exhibit could be credit as top and I recommend to everybody to take time and visit this place.

See you friends again in next projects and on some of future meetings

Srecko Bradic

Firefly profiles

My great pleasure is that I have met again in the team work with Paul Bradley and Mark Gauntlet, the same people from the Hawker Hunter book project. Paul is great researcher and writer and Mark is also researcher and excellent drawings author. All work goes smooth, as usual we put some documentation on pile and share among the members of LetLetLet Warplanes and this assistance was of great help for all of us and especially for me as well some large resolution scans of the archive images was essential for the detail capture on the color profile.

Firefly wartime photo

Basic layout was done easy and fast but in the very start I was a little bit lazy on this project but do make some large work on other projects. Finally some stronger work was taken some two months before deadline and with the delivery rhythm of one to three profiles daily, whole job is completed in time and some before deadline. The same Firefly topic on our forum have over 5000 views in very short time.

This publication, packed with excellent selection of the archive images, text, model review, historic text, drawings… are expected to be out in summer this year. And I expect to finally met Paul and Mark and take some beer

See ya in next project

Srecko Bradic

My works was so regular in the late April days 2010. I have work on two books, one is about the reconnaissance Spitfires and the another one is about the Dutch well known pre war biplane Fokker C.V. Regular orders for the Aero Journal and SAMI are progressed or delivered. Then it started… my friend email me an ask me to participate in his book about the German camouflage and markings with color profiles. Total number of profiles is some above 80 and they have to be delivered by the end of June, start have to be in the April. All right, I said, lets go. But next email bring new info- the deadline is the end of May… Definitely hard task but what to do, I have already said that I will go.

Short view on the number of types included in the total list has almost shock me- from the eighty profiles, some thirty are very new types, I mean the types of airplanes I have never been illustrated before and they are required so descent time to be developed. If I consider that I have sixty days to work and thirty profiles, this simply mean that I should have to work on the regular profiles and every two days to complete one brand new from the new made layout. Sound weird, isn’t it?

Some of works...

We have start somehow and this goes in many aspect smooth as well I did not need much time to make new profile from available layout and things was easy in some level as well I have some twenty to thirty profiles made before, in many cases for my own need. But still I have been faced with problem of great number of the new profiles to be made from scratch. In the April, work is much progressed but also interrupted in some level. I get order for the magazines- one historic article for the MAM magazine in UK, technical drawings for SAMI, color profiles for SAMI. For French magazine Aero Journal I receive regular order for the new profiles for the back cover. Total score with this orders which need to be complete in less then ten days was six new layout, nothing available on my hard disc!!! This mean additional chaos in the already extra hard work on the Luftwaffe book.

My day begin every day in the early morning, in general some after 6 o clock and end some after the midnight. That was only way to manage to deliver few profiles and make any progress in new layouts. But troubles started. Simply all energy somehow expire from me and my vision become blurred. Tensions and stress become enormous, over any estimates. Concentration under any level and I need and possible power to complete works. What to do? Only Answer was- back to the roots!

Many years ago I have trained martial art and my hart still beat for the Wing Chun Kunf Fu, maybe one of the most dynamics and deadliest fighting style ever made. I remember story which I was learn in that time and story was about the way how the martial arts are made at all in old China. Most responsible for that is the man who has bring new philosophy and religion in China. Legend say that Ta Mo came to China from India around 520 A.D and began teaching of Buddhism in the Shaolin temple in Henan, China. But his monks could not follow him in the very long meditation as well they was weak. They couldn’t concentrate, they fell asleep during meditation, and emaciated themselves by fasting, so Ta Mo instituted a program of regular exercise in the monastery. The number of exercises that he has created, along with Chinese breathing and medical disciplines, became the fundamental of the combat art we now call Kung Fu. And this also help monks to keep them concentrate on the meditations.

That was solution for me- I start night running in the wood in my house neighbor. Night is very important as well air is more clean and best at all is the fact that running in the wood at night help mind to concentrate on the surrounding, and also eye become more sharpen when in the darkness. Result was immediately affected next day on my work- I work faster and more concentrate while still feel all of the pressure of the projects. Best at all is that I have developed couple of the layouts in only one day and some very complex in just two days (some multi engined bombers). I continued night run in wood, and this give me stable day work.

Hand punching training

May did not bring me anything but new orders for the magazines and also I deliver few drawings for the another book. Again new order for the British publishers and as you guess- all new layouts included. In all of this my PC mouse die. Well, you can get PC mouse everywhere, it is cheap even here in Serbia. I goes in my favorite PC shop and get new one ergonomically shaped mouse. It work perfect but I need some hours to adopt to the new device as well its extra sensitive capabilities. And then come bitter problem- the fact is that my work rhythm was extreme, little change in the device caused strong pain in the right arm. Pain did not stop for a day and even some method of massage did not help. Fact is that I work for a years on my PC and without any training and my muscles are in general weak so change in device make shock to them.

Cure was simple and the same way is used as in Shaolin monastery- new practice. I get new punching item and start new training- number of the strong punches into it and I used the method described in some kung fu methods of the development of the so called iron palm. As with the night run, this also have instant result- my hand become much stronger and I hold and use mouse now without any problem.

So- work on book about German airplanes completed at 21. May, ten days before deadline!!! While you read this I have deliver few new materials to the British publisher and few more will be deliver in following days. Total was that I have complete work on one book and six magazines articles and all of this in two months! End of May I will work nothing- enjoy in sun and drink cold beer. And yes- be sure that I will also run in the night and punch with my fist…

Srecko Bradic

Bolton Paul P.111

Reason is very simple- inside is also published one color profile of this machine and this profile is made from blank canvas to the final art in just 2.5 hours!!! Everybody who have any experience and info about the same method of the color profile work, know that for the basic development of the profile, illustrator need at least few days. This time I have even go beyond the limit as well my previously record was 1.5 days for the profile of the MiG-19, also from blank canvas! Maybe this could be interesting to note that I still use standard mouse for my work, still I have no digital tablet…. but one day..

Srecko Bradic