The Alphaplanet by
Kevin and Vicky McLaughlin
Hello, I’m Kevin McLaughlin. I’m the writer and illustrator of The Alphaplanet. I’ve worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for 40 years, and taught Graphic Communications for over 28 years at South Central College in North Mankato, Minnesota.
As a baby boomer, I grew up watching many “cheesy” sci-fi B-movies. From the time I was a young boy, I’ve always loved monsters, ghosts and alien creatures! You’ll see that influence in my illustrations.
I’m Vicky McLaughlin, and helped with the writing and editing of our book. I have worked as a Special Ed. para-educator for 28 years with preschool and elementary age students.
Collecting input from children, teachers and graphic design professionals was a high priority when planning and producing our book.
Contact Vicky and Kevin McLaughlin at
About the Book
The Alphaplanet is a copyrighted, full color, hardcover 36 page alphabet adventure book. It was printed by Corporate Graphics in North Mankato, Minnesota. They are an international
printing company that has printed many children's picture books. We handled the pre-press and press proofing on site.
Early Planning Stages
Here's a few sketches from the early concepts of the creatures that live on The Alphaplanet. I did hundreds of sketches in the process of illustrating this book.
Book Rework
Many years ago I started illustrating this book in color pencil. I was well into this process when my digital illustration skills were rapidly advancing. At that point, I had to make a decision as to whether I wanted to continue with the color pencil
illustrations, or start over using Photoshop as my illustration medium. I decided to start the illustrations over and go digital. It was well worth the additional time.
To view other projects that Kevin has completed, click on the link below.