Tim Mercer June 18th, 2010

40 Unbelievable Sand Sculptures

We've all made our own sandcastles at the beach but they were nothing like the masterpieces some of the worlds best can produce. These masters of sand sculpt astounding works of art from nothing more than sand and water. Some of these sand sculptures can takes days to complete using tons of sand. Today we present 40 Unbelievable Sand Sculptures that will blow your mind. So put down your plastic bucket and shovel and check out the real deal.

40 Unbelievable Sand Sculptures

Vampire Girl1 Detailed Aztec pyramid. 4233237894_399162331f This huge triceratops is amazingly textured. 4079325553_b5c177367e Stunning sculpture depicting the Crusades. 4232588945_b3804494f4 The elegant Cleopatra with two cheetahs. 4233160430_941e6a91e4 Sandtastic Commission for the Democratic debates featuring Obama's likeness. Democratic-Debate-Sand Stunning sandcastle in epic proportions. WDL-blank Batman and Spiderman make an appearance at a surf expo. SURFEXPO-01 Tine Verheyden Sculpture of a wizard. 46452473.106 mermaid and dolphins playing. 46452523.17 Sultan of sand Awesome Jack and the Beanstalk sculpture. ccondamon5 Ornate budha sculpture. jap09_xzahng01 Mary and Joseph looking for a room at the inn. _07_vk50 This sculpture has a peaceful quality about it. jap09_xrz02 Jacques Daigneault A huge sandcastle. 2809055417_4b7d791763 Ferencseitz The lion and the mouse. 2849962757_f83420ddf1_b Shamus O'Reily Hades and his helpers. 198848079_6948ed88a3 Stewie D Jason and the Argonauts. 203697484_2db5446da6 Skeleton warriors. 203697485_7c955e8b84 Sandsation Taj Mahal in astounding detail. 771600114_57da2ebf72 Large Buddha and skyline. 3698512815_0861cc36e5 Unique sculpture. 3698512407_d0068046be Fab Life-like hippo sand sculpture. 392044219_43d138543e Sanssational 2433987834_18f033acdc Dan Belcher The Presidential Seal. PhPresSeal_a Beethoven in sand. Beethoven_a Amazing Jack and the Beanstalk sculpture. CO_StFr_Jack_a An angel looks over Marry and Joseph seeking a room at the inn. ItalyInn_a Kingsand This sculpture is full of expression. Travbaron05 Egyptian sculpture on a large scale. portugalday05 Huge Little Mermaid sculpture. bigmelbourne04mermaid Pancinha The Simpsons on their famous couch. 2568342671_7d53affa65 This black and white really shows the great forms the artist rendered in sand. 2611843962_55a1a6e223 Very detailed sculpture of a man and a dragon. 2127811096_e61cabe98e This sculpture is full of Egyptian symbols. 2169781001_a7dbed8bb7 Radovan Zivny A very large Buddha made to look as if it were constructed out of bricks. budha Giant sculpture of Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels. guliver This photo gives you a real sense of the large size of this sculpture. stage3 This classic sculpture looks amazing in sand. mojzis Caesar's head over Roman soldiers. imperator1 Michaelangelo's famous Creation of Adam in sand. stvoreni

Further Resources

CarverComunity is a great Flickr group full of sand sculpture pictures. SandCastleCentral has lots of tips and techniques for sculpting sand. CuttingEdgeSandCarving forums on all things sand carving.

Tim Mercer

Tim Mercer is a photography enthusiast, graphic designer, artist and blogger. His blog offers free resources for the digital artist and graphic designer, as well as tutorials, artist interviews, inspiration and more.

30 comments

  1. Lovely sculptures! One slight error though: one of the images has the caption “This sculpture is full of Egyptian symbols”, but judging on the step pyramid in the background I’d say it was Aztec not Egyptian :)

    1. Or possibly Incan… They are very similar tbh, I guess it depends on the symbolism in the foreground as to whether it’s Aztec or Incan. I’m far from an expert :s

  2. Amazing! We have a sand sculpting festival here in November. Looking at these got me all jazzed up for it! Thanks!

  3. Very nice. Thanks.

    As a sand sculptor myself, I would be very interested to see which of these were constructed with only water and sand.

    Some contests allow underlying structures, the use of hairspray to retain the intricate carving, etc. Also, the use of refined sand vs beach sand makes a big difference in what kind of detail can be maintained in the sun.

  4. Should be made with something more long term than sand. Its crazy to think of all the work that goes into them for them to only exsist for a short time.

  5. they are so beautifully crafted art truly magnificient,i salute these artist,who make life so worthwhile

  6. Awesome work..love it. The one titled”This classic sculpture looks amazing in sand” Is actually, Moses.

    The Moses (c. 1513–1515) is a masterpiece of High Renaissance sculpture by the renowned artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The sculpture was commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II for his tomb. This famous work of art depicts the Biblical figure Moses with horns on his head, symbolic of wisdom and enlightenment.

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