Sand Elephant

Intermediate - Half a day -

Keywords :

Sand - Summer - Animal patterns - Soft packing - Sand sculptures

The sun is out, summer is here, grab your bucket and spade and head to the beach! This sand elephant is a fun summer activity and will impress all fellow beach-goers. It's easy to make and can be adjusted to whatever size you like. Once you've mastered the art, why not make a whole herd of sand elephants? This particular sand sculpture uses the soft packing technique, so remember to keep the sand as moist as you can to hold it all together.

Supplies

Tools

Spade (or shovel)
Basic carving tools (a kitchen knife, trowel)
Smaller knife for carving details
Bucket

Materials

Water
Sand
- Beach sand or river sand (river sand works best, as it contains silt and clay.)
- Shop-bought sand is too 'clean' and won't hold together well.
Decorations (shells, seaweed, etc...)

Directions

Prepare the sand for the sand elephant

Make a big pile of sand, which will be the head of your elephant.
Take a bucket and pour water into the pile.
Repeat several times, making holes in the pile to ensure the water permeates right through.
Compact the sand, using your hands.

Shape the sand elephant

Roughly shape and smooth the structure with your hands.
Add a handful of sand onto the face to be the start of the trunk.
Add 3 smaller piles of wet sand on the front of the face, to be the rest of the trunk and the tusks.

NB: Keep your sand moist. The dryer it becomes, the more likely it is to crumble, so keep adding water as you go.

For the ears
- build up wet sand on either side of the head and compact as you go.
- be sure not to make them too thin.
- use a fine knife or similar scuplting tool to add detail.
Shape the trunk and tusks with a sculpting tool.

Use a carving tool (eg. a knife) to carve details, such as the eyes and lines on the trunk.
Once you are happy with your basic structure, decorate it however you like (here, we have left it undecorated, but feel free to add shells, seaweed, etc.).