We recently connected with Alana McCarthy and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes! I very happily earn a full time living from my creative work – illustration, design and lettering. Being able to survive off something I absolutely love is so rewarding!

My journey started super early. I knew I wanted to be in the visual arts since kindergarten. I followed this path by going to a specialized art high school and then Ontario College of Art and Design – OCAD. I graduated with honours from both. Majoring in Illustration in College.

At OCAD I attended a portfolio review by one of our instructor’s illustration representatives (artist agent.) A few weeks later they contacted me. They wanted to represent me and give me a free year of promotion in an initiative to support recent illustration grads! My first job out of the gate was an ad for Absolut Vodka! Getting to see my artwork on posters all over Toronto was such a rush.

I stayed with my agent for 8 years, working for major clients like Scholastic, Loblaws, The Wall Street Journal, Crayola, Coca-Cola and more.

Then the recession of 2009 hit. I had just had my first son and illustration work had really dried up. I got offered a full time job in Creative Services at an animation company here in Toronto. I took it and moved away from freelance. That job was a perfect fit for me. I got to play in Photoshop all day, designing style guides, marketing materials, trade show booths and other fun things for any show that got turned into a brand. I also got to see the other side of the client freelancer relationship. This experience also gave me great insight into how I work with clients and I’m able to uniquely empathize with their situation.

I ended up staying there for eight years, which was probably a bit too long. With any corporate job, the longer you stay, the higher up the ladder you go. My job got less and less about being creative, more about emails, spreadsheets and telling others how to be creative. Not my jam. I fell into a depression I didn’t even know I was in. I hit a breaking point and then decided it was time to make a move for my happiness and mental health.

I ended up leaving that job and decided to restart my illustration business. I went into it without an agent, hoping that social media would allow me to promote myself enough to start getting work. I took a course called Passion to Paid by Lauren Hom. It helped me create a passion project called Drawn to Toronto where I hand lettered my favorite places around the city. It helped me freshen up my portfolio and learn hand lettering. It all worked out great and I actually earned more than I was making at my full time office job by the second year!

With the internet, talent, the right mindset and drive I think there’s no excuse to be a starving artist. There are so many opportunities for artists and illustrators out there. Especially in our content driven world. I’m a big believer in diversifying your income streams. That way if one dries up, you have another to fall back on.

I’m five years into running Alana McCarthy Creative and I have a whole bunch of different things I do. The main chunk is freelance work for clients. I do illustration work for magazines, advertising agencies, book publishers, children’s book writers, packaging, marketing campaigns and more. I also do the odd painted mural as well as chalk board work for businesses and weddings.

I’ve added hand lettering to my arsenal of offerings. I now get quite a bit of work in the animation industry doing hand lettered logos for kids shows as well as pitch decks.

On the side I also have a small fun business – Geeky Pet – where I paint cats and dogs as pop culture characters. I use it as an excuse to travel around to comic conventions across North America and also do custom pet portraits for people.

My latest income stream is teaching Paint Nites around Toronto. I bring my supplies to local bars and people come out to drink and paint with me. Its so much fun and a welcome social night after all the pandemic lockdowns.

I’ve recently hired a business coach to help me level up my income even more. After being in business for 20 years I have a lot of knowledge that I want to turn into educational offerings to help out young artists make a successful living from their creativity. I especially want to guide them through some of the pitfalls I experienced so they can learn from my mistakes and hopefully avoid them.

Alana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Alana McCarthy a Toronto-based artist who loves to create eye-catching and colourful illustrations, designs, and murals. With over 20 years of experience in the creative industry, I’ve developed a unique skill set to help businesses and brands stand out from the crowd.

I’m not just an artist, I’m also an expert visual problem solver! I’m super easy to work with and always up for a collaboration! I have the unique perspective of being a Senior Graphic Designer for an animation company, so I’ve seen the other side and can empathize with my client’s challenges and work extra hard to make the process smooth for them.

Some of the services I offer:

– Illustration – publishing, editorial, advertising, marketing campaigns
– Packaging design for food, drink and product
– Content creation
– Hand lettering
– Painted and Chalk Murals
– Graphic design
– Local in-person Paint Nite classes in Toronto
– Imaginative creative projects (if you can dream it, I can create it!)

I’m very proud of my work ethic. I take the stress out of deadlines for my clients. I’m a clear communicator and help to solve visual problems for them. I’m also super proud of how far I’ve come and how much I can offer after two decades of being a professional creative. I’m excited to start passing on my knowledge to a younger generation of artists wanting to create a business they’re passionate about and a life they love.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was in my job as a Senior Graphic Designer for an animation company. I had been there eight years and the job had really changed. At first it was such a blast – creating style guides and marketing support materials for any kids show they turned into a brand. I was helping design costumes, parade floats, toys, books and so much more.

As the years went on I climbed the corporate ladder. I soon found myself in charge of a team and doing more managing, email and spreadsheets than actual creative work. I kept telling myself it was fine. I was bringing in a good paycheque and supporting my family.

One day my youngest son said to me “Mommy, why don’t you ever smile?” I was shocked. I suddenly started to realize how unhappy I actually was. I noticed even the clothing in my closet had all shifted to black. I realized the only thing I enjoyed about my job was the people and the lunchtime exercise classes – which really isn’t enough. It had been so easy to lie to myself. Being the main breadwinner also added pressure to stay in a job that I was starting to realize wasn’t a good fit.

Then in a meeting at work I hit a breaking point. On the way home I had a panic attack and almost threw up. I told my husband I wasn’t ok and something had to change. I couldn’t keep lying to myself for the sake of a paycheque. I took a leave of absense, sought out therapy and took some time to reassess my life.

I made the terrifying decision to quit my job and pivot back into the entrepreneurial path of running my own creative business. My wonderful husband picked up the breadwinner role and got himself a full time job so I could concentrate on building my portfolio and building my business. We basically swapped roles.

Five years later it’s the best decision we’ve ever made. It was such a difficult and scary thing to quit my job but I am so glad I did.

I’m also so happy that I sought out therapy and treatment for my anxiety and depression. It’s amazing the difference that can happen when you asses and fix a chemical imbalance and negative thoughts. I’m a huge advocate of mental health care – especially cognitive behavioural therapy and medication. It has absolutely changed my life and the only thing I regret is suffering through so many years without it. I was afraid it would effect my personality or creativity but all it did was clear the panic fog that was getting in the way of me being the best person I could be.

I know that a lot of creatives struggle with mental health challenges so I’m always happy to share my journey. If it helps even one person take that first step towards seeking help it’s worth it.

Push through the fear and take chances. Uncomfortable situations offer levels of growth that you couldn’t have even imagined. Our lives are short and it’s not worth staying somewhere you’re unhappy – whether at a job or in your personal relationships.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Yes! There are so many online resources I use to stay organized in my business.

Trello.com – For tracking my projects and creating to-do lists

Toggl.com – For time tracking every bit of my business. Tracking the time I spend on different stages of a project helps me estimate and quote similar jobs more accurately. I also love having the charts at the end of the year to see where my time went.

Mailtrack.io – Takes the anxiety out of writing emails and throwing them into a void. It’s my secret spy system where I can see if someone opened my email, how many times, and if they clicked any of the links. Take the fear out of quoting and email outreach.

Contract template – https://www.alanamccarthy.com/creative-contract-template – I offer a contract for creatives that is based on the one my illustration agent used to send out. I use it myself. This template breaks down every term so you understand the reasoning behind it. It gets you upfront deposits, states how many rounds of changes the client is allowed, and lets them know about the hourly rate if they go beyond those limits. I think it’s a great resource for artists to set their terms and most importantly, get paid!

Later.com – Social media scheduler. I use this to plan out my posts in advance so I can take a break from endlessly promoting myself on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

Graphic Artists Guild Guide to Pricing and Ethical Guidelines – This book is so valuable. It tells you how to ethically navigate the commercial art industry and has pricing ranges for so many different projects. It’s a great starting point for when you have to figure out a quote.

Google Slides – I find this is a great way to share children’s book layouts and marketing decks with my clients. Everything is a simple link away and they can comment directly on the slide deck. It’s so much easier than having to make and attach PDFs to emails and track every change.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.AlanaMcCarthy.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/alanamccarthycreative
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alanamccarthycreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanamccarthyart/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanaMc
• Other: TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@alanamccarthyart