Today I sand sculpt primarily with my family on vacation days and random Sundays during the summer. Sand sculpting for us is still just a hobby even though we teach it, but how hard can it really be teaching on vacation. I said once before that the inspiration for these sand sculptures comes from anywhere at any time all year. Most recently, I started playing a video game called ”Human Fall Flat,” which is a puzzle-based game that has sloppy control and dough-boy looking characters with soft features. My dad and I had the idea at the same time to sculpt them next summer, especially because they have smooth features and the game is semi-popular, and sometimes people just wanna see something cute.
The target audience for our sculptures varies, but we generally try to create something for everyone. If there’s something I’ve learned being a communication arts student, it is that you want to narrow your target audience as much as possible, but most of the time that doesn’t apply when it comes to sand sculpting. We’ve found that our target audience is often everyone. For example, when we sculpted Snoopy the beagle, all kinds of different people came down to the beach to see our work, take pictures, and talk about how glad they were that we had sculpted him. Who doesn’t love Snoopy? I think people of all ages and demographics will continue to enjoy our creations as long as we continue with a lighthearted approach and create things that are fun.
Even so, just because we have a good idea, it doesn’t mean everyone is going to love the finished work. Execution of the sand sculpture is the deciding factor as to whether or not people like it, because when we pick a subject familiar to everyone it means we have a greater responsibility or pressure to execute it as well as we possibly can. When something is off about it, people notice right away, which detracts from the sculpture and its appeal to the public. My family isn’t the all time best sculptors, but we try our hardest with every sculpture to do justice to the thing it’s based on.
Other sculptures, like dinosaurs, are far easier to sculpt. There is an artistic freedom because no one has ever actually seen one, so if the proportions are off on our raptor, no one will know the difference, except maybe a random kid who is obsessed with them. The same concept can be applied to mythical creatures such as griffons and dragons. There is an artistic license we can take with them to create our version/vision of how we think they should look. For years, I have been trying to get my family to sculpt a dragon, but we can’t seem to decide how the wings would lay, which leads to my next point.
Size matters: size and form determine the limits of our creativity with sculpting. A giraffe simply can’t be sculpted unless we lay it down sideways. But that never happens to real giraffes unless they’ve dropped dead! So if we did make one, people would assume it was dead, and that wouldn’t exactly be G-rated. As I said, a dragon has massive wings, so how would they lay with a dragon?
You have these massive pieces, and if done poorly, they will look odd. Laying the wings on the ground will make the sculpture look flat and odd because it’s leaning towards 2D art rather than 3D.
A good idea with bad execution marks the slow death of an artist. Taking your time, planning it out, and executing as close to perfectly as possible with intention and confidence are the keys to becoming a great artist. Look for problems before they arise, and strive to perfect your skills moving forward.
Dust to Dust 