17 Wonderfully Sweet Watermelon Carvings

Watermelon is delicious—and a great material for food artists. In fact, watermelon carving is a traditional Japanese art form known as Mukimono. Here are a few amazing sculptures made with nothing more than watermelon and perhaps a few other fruits as well.

1. An Introductory Flower

Here is a beautiful, albeit rather traditional, watermelon carving to provide a context for what Mukimono designs tend to look like. Image courtesy of David Sim.

2. Every Rose Has Its Rind

There are a lot of watermelon roses out there, but these fruit flowers covered in rind vines present a whole new level of intricate beauty to the craft. Photograph courtesy of Andre Pan.

3. Ssssseriously Skilled

If you have a fear of snakes, you’d probably want to stay away from the decoration Restaurant Jalisco on the Mexican Rivera put up for their Asian-themed buffet night. Fortunately, Leonora Enking was brave enough to take this picture anyway.

4. Green Elephants On Parade

This elephant carving is particularly impressive because the detail is carved in so shallowly and subtly. Flickr user Caroline spotted this masterpiece at the 2009 Thai Festival in Greenwich.

5. Green Gorillas Go!

This gorilla’s carving is similarly shallow, but the use of the white flesh to create a silhouette of his facial details gives him an impressive and incredible level of detail. Putting him on a plate filled with foods a gorilla would actually eat seems like a final fitting touch. Image courtesy of Michael Fienen.

6. Birds Of A Flavor

This is one example of what can be achieved with watermelon peels and another fruit—in this case, daikon radish. Pairing the two creates an impressive combination of colors, shapes, and textures. This impressive creation was made by Flickr user wtimm9.

7. Turning Trash Into Tasty Treasure

Why use floral bouquets to spruce up your dining room when you can instead add a little flair with food scraps such as watermelon rinds and pineapple crowns? Let this photo by Greg McComsey serve as inspiration for your next dinner centerpiece.

8. Chief Pineapple Leaf

Pineapple tops and carved radishes provide a perfect accent to this carving of a Native American complete with a sweet headdress. Flickr user Jim H. spotted this fantastic creation on a 2011 Carnival Cruise.

9. Why So Serious?

If you prefer to have a centerpiece that will make your guests smile—out of discomfort—then this goblin-esque watermelon man discovered by Flickr user MC would be a delightfully jarring centerpiece for any dinner party.

10. Gorton’s Watermelon Sticks?

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help but see the mascot from Gorton’s Fish Sticks when I look at this watermelon carving Quinn Dombrowski spotted on a cruise.

11. Yarr Me Matey

Bob Cotter spotted this fantastic pirate watermelon portrait while eating at a buffet.

12. Sing A Sweet Siren Song

Every pirate needs a mermaid to tempt him. Here’s one in fruit form spotted by Flickr user Patty on a tour of a Crown Princess cruise ship.

13. A Bumpkin Not On A Pumpkin

Apparently, country bumpkins are even well known in Turkey, where Matt Shalvatis spotted this watermelon, which was carved as part of a Halloween festival. Why watermelon instead of pumpkins? Well, why not?

15. Dancing In The Rind

While the majority of watermelon carvings feature one specific subject, this beautiful design, photographed by Brandi Korte at a friend’s wedding, stands out because it actually depicts a whole romantic scene.

16. Screaming For More

Most watermelon carvings are fairly serene, but this whimsical Sweet Street Preacher, photographed by Flickr user nodigio, is anything but.

17. Holy Scrapped Fruit Batman!

When it’s a geek watermelon you need, the Denver Comic Con has you covered. Or, at least, they did at the most recent convention, as evidenced by Flickr user M A Lurig.

18. Just In Time For Football Season

This glorious gator was carved by Adam Potash in support of the famous Florida Gators. Image courtesy Christopher Haugh.

As long as this warm weather lasts, you should keep seeing affordable watermelons in the stores. So if you ever want to try your hand at a new art form, just buy a melon, start to carve your masterpiece, and don’t be too disappointed with any failures—after all, that just means you get to eat the tasty fruit inside!