Alana McCarthy

Alana McCarthy - Designer

Toronto, ON, Canada

Award winning illustrator, letterer and designer with 20 years experience who's eye-catching imagery will capture your unique visual story.

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Overview

I love capturing the worlds written within books. I'm extremely versatile and can go from elegant illustrated covers to animated children's book characters. I'm also well versed at hand lettering and can make your title completely unique.

I've worked with Scholastic, Penguin Books, Disney/Pixar, Adobe and many other top tier brands over the years. I'm super professional, easy to work with, respect deadlines and your time.

I'm also a magical unicorn of an illustrator who LOVES being art directed and bringing YOUR idea to life. Let's chat about your project!
Languages
English
Fiction
Action & Adventure
Chick Lit
Coming of Age
Humor & Comedy
Mystery & Crime
Picture Books
Non-Fiction
Nature

Awards

  • Communication Arts Award
  • Gemini Award
  • American Illustration - Chosen
  • HOW Magazine Design Award
  • Applied Arts Award
  • OCAD Illustration - AOCAD with Honours
  • Royal Dragonfly Book Award

Work experience

Illustrator

Self-employed
April, 2002 – Present (almost 21 years)

I make beautiful custom illustrations, murals, design and lettering to help brands and businesses stand out. I've worked with book publishers, editorial, advertising, marketing and design clients.

With almost 20 years of professional creative experience, and a bunch of awards, I'm an expert visual problem solver. I'm based in Toronto, but work with clients worldwide.

Some of my clients include:

• Adobe
• Taco Bell,
• Absolut Vodka
• Penguin
• Scholastic
• Berkley
• Owlkids
• Crayola
• Disney/Pixar
• Nickelodeon
• Oxford Press
• The Wall Street Journal

Portfolio (8 selected works)

ANIMAL DEFENDER

Casner, Chip

We Move Together

Fritsch, Kelly, McGuire, Anne, Trejos, Eduardo

Strum and the Wild Turkeys

Daniel, Noa, McCarthy, Alana

Nobody's Business

Duddridge, Linda

Hummingbird

Grant, Fran

A Firefly's Journey

D'Ambola, Kat Rees

I’m Going to Be a Hockey Star

L. Wegwerth, A., McCarthy, Alana

There's No Such Thing As Happy Endings

Long, Aaron, McCarthy, Alana

Alana has 5 reviews

Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality

Aaron Long
I promise you when I say this…Alana is the best person I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. My book cover resembles everything I’ve ever messaged her. Also, her timelines in regards to communication is unmatched—I honestly thank her so much for bringing my vision to life. It means the world to me that she genuinely cares about my story and it shows in my final cover. Alana, you are an a...
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Aaron Long, May 2022

Alana McCarthy
Aaron was a joy to work for. He was a clear communicator, set me up with all the printing templates I needed and made my job easy. He was so in tune with describing his characters and their persona...
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Reply from Alana McCarthy


Linda Duddridge
This was my second time having Alana do design work on my cover, and she did a fantastic job. She was easy to work with and was very professional all the way through the process. Highly recommend. :)

Linda Duddridge, March 2022

Alana McCarthy
Thanks so much for the kind words Linda! Always a pleasure to work with you. Love that you have such a vision for your covers. Makes my job easy!

Reply from Alana McCarthy


Kat D’Ambola
Alana was an absolute delight to work with. She brought my story to life with her stunning artwork! She was always responsive to questions/requests and even offered some guidance for a clumsy new author. :) I now have one of the most beautiful picture books I’ve ever seen (yes I’m biased but it’s true!) thanks to Alana. Highly recommend!

Kat D’Ambola, July 2021


Fran Grant
Alana blew me away with her initial sketch for my book, and I knew immediately she was going to create something above and beyond what I'd hoped for - and she did! The cover for my book 'Hummingbird' is incredible, and feedback from a huge number of readers/bloggers during this pre-launch stage confirms they all think it's stunning, too! Alana has been amazing to work with - incredibly knowledg...
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Fran Grant, June 2021


Linda Duddridge
Working with Alana was great! She was very professional and did fantastic work. She was great at taking my notes and incorporating the changes I asked for. She even managed to finish the project ahead of schedule. Highly recommend.

Linda Duddridge, February 2021

Alana McCarthy
Thank you Linda! It was wonderful working with you too. The clarity of your notes and communication made the job much easier! I'm excited to see your printed book! Thanks again for a fun project.

Reply from Alana McCarthy

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