A former Coleg Menai student who worked with directors Steven Spielberg and Wes Anderson has published a children's Christmas book.
Annie Atkins, who studied the Art Foundation course at Coleg Menai, has created the book titled 'Letters from the North Pole'.
Ms Atkins, from Dolwyddelan, is renowned for her career as a graphic prop designer for the film industry, having been the lead graphic designer on Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', which won the Oscar for Best Production Design in 2015.
She has also worked with Mr Anderson on 'Isle of Dogs' and 'The French Dispatch', as well as on Mr Spielberg's thriller 'Bridge of Spies' and BBC costume drama 'The Tudors'.
Her new book has an interactive element, featuring letters from Father Christmas that children can pull out and read.
Ms Atkins, a mother of two, wanted to create a book that captures the magic and mystery of Christmas while making it an interactive experience for children.
She said: "The children write letters to Santa Claus with ideas for inventions for toys, hoping he’ll put them into production in his workshop.
"Santa writes back to the kids with replies to their questions and also technical drawings of the children’s inventions drawn by his elves, and the idea is you can pull out the letters and read them."
The book reveals the hidden world of the North Pole through Santa's letters, answering questions about how reindeer sleep standing up, what snacks Santa would prefer on Christmas Eve, and how he manages to travel the world so quickly.
Ms Atkins added: "Each of the children adds a PS to the end of their letters to Santa, questioning his frankly ambitious Christmas Eve logistics.
"In his replies, Santa deftly bats away all their enquiries, just as your mother or father did for you when you were six years old."
Letters from the North Pole is Ms Atkins' second book, following 'Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps', which provided an insight into her creative process of designing graphic props for films.
Ms Atkins credits the Art Foundation course at Coleg Menai as a major influence on her career.
She said: "I was taught by Peter Prendergast, and he was one of my biggest inspirations.
"He really taught me to draw, but he also taught me to look at the world, and taught me that trick of ‘stop looking at your pencil and your paper’.
"I’ve carried that with me all my career."
You can buy the festive book which has been illustrated by Fia Tobing online and in bookshops now.
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