Sand sculptures are pretty incredible. The fact that something so delicate and detailed can be made entirely out of sand is mind-blowing. The best we’ve ever managed is a sandcastle – but there are creators out there who have become experts in the art of sand-sculpting.

Here are 12 of the most impressive sand sculptures that truly make sand come alive.

This majestic sculpture is based on the centuries-old tale of 1001 Nights, or Arabian Nights. It’s an amazing representation of the story, and was built in the Netherlands.

For many of us, Mickey Mouse evokes childhood feelings of safety and happiness – and this sculpture, built at Summer Sand Sculpture festival in Belgium, truly captures the magic!

There’s nothing better than when a TV show is brought to life in art form, and this sand-based representation of Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon is particularly exceptional.

There are some examples of art that are recognisable around the world, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is one of them. Look how impressive it is sculpted by sand!

If you’ve ever seen the small-scale model of the Hogwarts castle in London’s Harry Potter Studio Tour, you’ll liken it to this majestic sand sculpture. The details are exceptional.

Of all the unique ways to propose, this has to be one of the most creative! We hoped that the answer was “yes” when this artist popped the question.

Whether this sculpture in question has a headache, or he’s deep in thought, we’ll never know – but it was one of the more popular features at the Sanding Ovations festival either way!

For some sand artists, creating a single sculpture isn’t enough. The builder of this work of art used colorful sand to create an entire village!

Here’s another beautiful example of movie-inspired artwork. This sand sculpture is based on the popular Avatar franchise.

Sand sculptures always look so delicate, but one artist let strangers take a seat on their particular creation – a life-size Donald Trump sitting on a sofa! The sculpture was built by an artist known as Mr. Drewp.

Animals are one of the hardest things to create accurately out of sand, but one artist fashioned a sculpture of these two chimpanzees showing their affection for each other with perfection. If this doesn’t show the unbreakable bond between a parent and a child, we don’t know what does.

Who said the most majestic of sand sculptures need to be the largest? This tiny castle is small enough to fit into the palm of a person’s hand, but the detail is still incredible. We don’t know who we admire more – the artist or the tolerant hand model!

We’re completely blown away by the patience and dedication it must have taken to produce all of these works of sand art. It’s clearly a skill that not all of us are blessed with, but we think we’d probably prefer to enjoy the finished result than labor for hours on a sculpture ourselves. Good work to everyone involved!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.