A man who quit his mechanical engineering job and is now earning thousands of dollars by creating stunning sand art portraits.
James Sun was going through a difficult breakup in Toronto, Canada, when he began looking to make a new start that could reduce the stress.
“I was heartbroken. I needed something to heal my heart, so I looked online, and when I saw sand art it really made me calm.”
He searched online for people who made the type of art he envisioned, and spent $30,000 to travel to China and Japan to learn from the masters.
The 36-year-old said he “just kept practicing”, and because he is a really big sports fan and passionate about pop culture, he started making celebrity portraits of sportsmen like Ronaldo and Messi, and TV characters like Wednesday Addams.
“When I made the change everyone thought I was crazy,” he told SWNS news. “But, looking back, it was the best decision that I ever made.”
James now has five employees and is also making sponsored sand art logos and character portraits for companies like BMW, F.C Barcelona, and Nickelodeon.
After five years, his custom pieces now sell for $1,500, while his work for brand promotion costs upwards of $4,500.
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“I get the chance to work with all these great brands, and I make way more money than I used to.”
It was 2018 when he started posting on TikTok. “That was when it really changed.”
He amassed more than 3.4 million followers and now creates between 10 and 15 pieces a month, spending around 10 hours per day on his craft.
He uses a small spoon to sprinkle colored sand into the container and a custom needle to pack it into the shape he needs. (See the process in the video below…)
The pieces can take anywhere between a few hours, for the simpler logos, to three days for the more complex portraits.
“I just do it one grain at a time,” Mr. Sun said. “I take breaks when I’m doing it, because I really need to focus, but I really enjoy it—it really relieves my stress so much.”
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“Mentally, it has healed me. It mended my broken heart.
The doubters in his life have now turned into supporters—and James has become the master, fielding requests from others who want to learn how to do it.
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