Our vacations at the seashore with a bucket and shovel in hand, making castles in the sand are child’s play compared to what can be seen at sand sculpting events! These huge, inventive, intricate artworks go far beyond “sand castles.” See them once and you’ll never look at sand and water the same way again.

Bright Side has chosen the best sand sculptures from around the world that have already all been washed away by the sea. Luckily for us, photographers didn’t let them sink into obscurity!

1. This artwork is from a galaxy far, far away.

2. An unbelievable Batman and Joker sand sculpture

3. Delilah cutting Samson’s hair

4. This playful sculpture was made for the kid in all of us.

5. Native American Heritage

6. This impeccable sandcastle is straight out of a fairy tale.

7. An extremely realistic mechanical mega-rhino

8. Crouching leopard

9. Futuristic sand architecture

10. An homage to Disney villains

11. An exquisitely detailed sculpture

12. You literally can feel his pain.

13. When characters come to life:

14. Family time

15. This sand woman has a radiating inner peace.

16. When you bite into a lemon:

17. When you hear something ridiculous:

18. This sculpture came directly from hell!

19. An incredible perspective

20. An elephant playing chess with a mouse

21. Pan and Syrinx

22. An impressive display of Marvel superheroes

23. This homage to two of the most fabulous Disney retirees

24. Oh, these woeful eyes…

Which sculpture amazed you the most? Have you ever created something out of sand? Feel free to share it with us in the comments!

Preview photo credit @Arteide/facebook