Once you have carved your figure and you think you are done; be sure to step back and look at from different angles. You may find you need to make some more adjustments to get the right look and perspective.
Next, you need to use the large shovel to build up a sand wall around the sculpture. This is less about protecting it from waves, as it is to stop toddlers from being able to quickly and easily attack your sculpture. It is almost irresistible to a young child, who invariably want to touch the sand sculpture. And it will help to create a visual boundary to keep onlookers from getting too close. The uninitiated don’t realize that the tremors of walking too close to a sand sculpture may cause it to collapse.
Finally, step back again and see what needs to be removed from the background. Clutter in the background, like beach umbrellas, carts, shovels, buckets, etc and really detract from the photos of the finished sculpture.
Next: Protecting the sculpture