About Annie Atkins

Graphic Props Designer for Film & Television

Growing up in a small village in the North of Wales, in Dolwyddelan, Annie was surrounded by creativity from a young age. Her mother was an illustrator who drew detailed observations of nature and wildlife, and her parents ran a design business together making signage and artwork for parks, historical locations, and scenic tourist spots. Atkins has said that because both of her parents were artists, "there seemed no question that she would also go that route."

Atkins pursued a bachelor's degree in visual communications in 2003 from Ravensbourne University in London. After graduating, she worked as an art director at McCann-Erickson in Reykjavík, creating commercial design and advertising. While the experience helped her enter the world of professional design, she found the work creatively limiting and repetitive.

Looking to change direction, in 2007 Annie pursued a masters in Film from University College Dublin in Ireland, where she discovered prop and historical graphic design for film. This newfound field highly interested Atkins, as it offered a space to be incredibly creative while helping make a special world come to life.

After getting her masters, Annie was hired as a graphic designer on the TV series The Tudors in 2008. She worked hands-on making historical props like scrolls, signage, and other documents. She went on to work on productions such as Camelot, Vikings, and Penny Dreadful, developing expertise in period-accurate design. During this time, she developed a guiding principle: if something was made by hand at the time, she makes it by hand now.

Beyond her film work, Atkins published Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking in 2020, as well as a children's book, Letters from the North Pole: With Five Letters from Santa Claus to Pull Out and Read.