Alana McCarthy

Alana McCarthy – Designer

Award-winning illustrator with 20+ yrs experience. Specializing in custom illustration, lettering + design for book covers + picture books.

Overview

Take the stress out of bringing your book to life. I provide my clients with hand-drawn illustration and layout design for children’s picture books and novel covers. I also specialize in hand lettering for your book title as well as interior kid’s book pages.

When you work with me there's no need to hire a separate designer - I'm a one stop shop. All my images are digitally hand painted.

I do not use any AI, creating completely unique images to ensure your books stand out from the rest.

I love helping independent authors bring their dreams to reality. I'm extremely versatile and can go from elegant illustrated covers to animated children's book characters to capturing the non-fiction natural world.

I've worked with Scholastic, Penguin Books, Disney/Pixar, Adobe, Owlkids 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!

Services
Non-Fiction
Children’s Non-Fiction Nature
Fiction
Middle Grade Picture Books
Languages
English
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

Self-employed

Apr, 2002 — Present
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

Nelvana Animation

Sep, 2010 — May, 2018 (over 7 years)
Style guide creation for licensing of animated shows. Included branding, characters, layout, art direction, patterns, graphics, colour palettes, trend research and mood board creation. Design of trade show booths and marketing material for shows such as MIPTV, MIPCOM, NY Toy Fair, and Las Vegas Licensing Show. Brands include Little Charmers, Franklin and Friends, Babar, Trucktown, Ranger Rob and more.

Portfolio

Made with Reedsy
Rosie's Backpack

Albright, Jess

Jess Albright, LLC

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Lucy and Her Unicorn Get a Sparkle Puppy

Wall, Ashley

Mamabear Books

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Hummingbird

Grant, Fran

Cover Design Illustration Typography
Made with Reedsy
Daddy, Can I Be a Marine?

Olbon, Ben

Ben Olbon

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
There's No Such Thing As Happy Endings

Long, Aaron

Cover Design Illustration Typography
Cover Design Illustration Typography
Made with Reedsy
Shorts, Book 1: From a Tiny Acorn, A Giant Tale

Hughes, Thomas

Walnut Run Books

Cover Design Illustration Typography
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Go to the Park

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Go to the Arcade

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Go to the Arcade (Coloring Book)

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Go to the Park (Coloring Book)

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Sing a Song (Coloring Book)

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Made with Reedsy
Little Big Girl and Daddy Sing a Song

Barnes, Reginald Q.

Reginald Q. Barnes

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
A Firefly's Journey

D'Ambola, Kat Rees

Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
Cover Design Illustration Typography Book Interior Design
ANIMAL DEFENDER

Casner, Chip

Cover Design Illustration Typography

Alana has 16 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Ben O.

Ben O.

Nov, 2025

Pinned
Working with Alana was nothing short of Amazing. This was my first book project, and Alana was patient and kind. She accepted all feedback and suggestions and quickly answered my questions. I was very satisfied with the final product. I would 100% recommend collaborating with Alana on your next p...
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Alana M.
Thanks so much for your kind review Ben! It was so great to work with you and bring your book to life. I'm always happy to guide new authors through the process, as I know it well - and I know how ...
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Jess A.

Jess A.

Sep, 2023

Pinned
I can't say enough amazing things about Alana! From the very beginning I truly felt that I was seen and heard. She understood the pieces of my vision, and magically brought my book to life. It's better than I ever imagined it would be! As a first time author, I had NO idea what I was doing and w...
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Alana M.
Jess was so fantastic to work with! Even though this was her first book she approached it with professionalism and grace and was open to taking suggestions. She was supportive and appreciative of m...
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Kat D.

Kat D.

Jul, 2021

Pinned
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...
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Robin W.

Robin W.

May, 2025

I liked working with Alana. I marvel at her tremendous creativity. She took my already-perfect ideas and made them even better, if you can imagine. She offered alternatives, and each was an improvement over the previous ones. I plan to ask her to work on my next book.
Alana M.
It was great to work with Robin. He had a strong vision from the start, but he was still open to seeing new ideas. Getting to the final took a little bit of tweaking but I think we're both really h...
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Trudi W.

Trudi W.

Oct, 2024

I've had the pleasure of working with Alana on two projects, and both have exceeded my expectations. Her creativity knows no bounds, and she has an uncanny ability to translate the essence of a story into a visually stunning cover. Her attention to detail and commitment to quality are evident in...
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Alana M.
Trudi you are too kind! Your clarity of direction and quality of writing make for projects that run smoothly. So happy to have worked with you on two books now. Good luck with your launch and I can...
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