Fondant Figure
Modeling for
Beginners
Ruth Rickey
5229 NW 111th Terrace
OKC, OK 73162
www.RuthRickey.com [email protected]
Products: www.sugargypsy.com
Blog: www.sugarzen.wordpress.com
Rolled Fondant Basics:
When working with rolled fondant, powder colors work best. Liquigel or paste colors
can fade over time, especially under florescent lights. Keep all fondant wrapped tightly
in saran wrap and store in an air proof container. If you use toothpicks in a figure, you
must warn anyone you give this to, as someone may mistakenly try to eat it. If you know
the figure will be consumed, you must use spaghetti. If you allow the figures to dry, they
will last indefinitely.
You only need a few tools to work with rolled fondant doing characters…toothpicks or
spaghetti, a spatula, a paintbrush, small scissors and powder colors. I generally paint
using powdered colors and water. You can also use non-toxic markers to add features to
your figures, but they will have to be completely dry for them to work.
You can attach wet fondant to wet fondant without any “glue”. Generally, you can attach
wet fondant to dry with no glue or just with a dab of water. If you are attaching dry to
dry, you will need to use a glue to make them stick. The best glue is made by taking a
small piece of fondant and adding water until it becomes a thick paste. This “gunk” will
hold dry pieces together.
Polymer clay books can be excellent guides and inspirations. These figures are intended
to be cute and comical….not realistic. Have fun!
Baby – For the crouching baby, you will cover the baby’s head with paste to look like a
hood. Then mold a sausage of paste into a long rectangle shape. Cut into about 1/3 of
the way up to ½ of the way up. This will form the legs of the baby. Smooth the rough
edges and taper the legs longer and thinner, pulling out feet at the end if the baby will
have on a footed outfit. Fold the legs under as shown in class to form the baby’s torso.
Insert the head into the body and smooth the join, turning the head to face front. Model 2
arms from more colored paste and attach as shown in class. Add flesh colored hands and
feet.
Bride –Start with a tapered cone. Taper in a waist. Add a ball head. Add the arms
and hands. Add hair and veil.
Graduate –Same as bride, but add graduation hat on top.
Pumpkin –Roll a ball, then taper into desired shape.
With toothpick, mark the vein
lines. Add a small green stem and green curlie q vine.
Ghost –Model a teardrop shape. Curve bottom portion to give attitude. Make another
smaller teardrop, place on top as head. Add two tapered teardrop arms.
Santa – Model two small black feet. Roll red fondant into an oblong and cut 2/3 up,
softening the edges of the cuts, to form legs. Attach to feet; insert toothpicks. Allow to
dry. Add red torso. Add white trim and black belt, with gold buckle. Add arms in red,
with white trim and green gloves. Allow to dry. Complete white trim on coat, then add a
small flesh ball for the head. Add flesh colored cheeks, nose and ears. Add red hat,
drooping down over Santa’s face. Add white trim.
Cat – Roll a large yellow ball of fondant until smooth, then shape into a bell or cone
shape. Pull the top of the bell slightly forward to simulate the chest of the cat. Add a
toothpick or uncooked spaghetti coming straight up for the head. Roll two sausages of
yellow into an elongated teardrop so that the sausage is thicker on one end. This will
form the hip and sitting leg. Curve into a “c” type shape and attach on either side of the
lion. Mark the toes. Take two smaller sausages of yellow fondant and taper so that you
have a thicker end. The thicker end will become the front paw. Attach the front legs to
the front center of the body. Roll a tiny, thin snake of yellow fondant and attach to the
back to form the cat’s tail. Roll a medium ball of fondant to form the head. Add two
small yellow “cheeks” onto the bottom front of the head. Prick the cheeks with a
toothpick to mark the whisker locations. Form a long teardrop shape. The thicker portion
of the teardrop will be the base of the nose and will attach at the top edge of the cheeks.
Add a black nose for definition. Roll two small balls of white fondant and attach to the
head for eyes. Roll two mini balls of black fondant and attach to the eyes for pupils.
Roll a small ball of yellow fondant into a teardrop. Flatten so that it forms a slight
triangle shape. Attach the widest part of the triangle to the head to be ears.
Dog – Roll a long, slender brown sausage of fondant. Insert a toothpick to support the
head. Form front and back legs just like the poodle, only much shorter. Roll a medium
ball of fondant and taper out a longer nose shape from it. Attach as the head. Roll a
small ball of white fondant and attach on the lower part of the face for the nose. Add a
black nose at the tip of the nose section. Add two small white balls to be eyes, with
pupils as usual. Add a small tail at the back of the dachshund. Attach two floppy ears.
Lion – Roll a large yellow ball of fondant until smooth, then shape into a bell or cone
shape. Pull the top of the bell slightly forward to simulate the chest of the lion. Add a
toothpick or uncooked spaghetti coming straight up for the head. Roll two sausages of
yellow into an elongated teardrop so that the sausage is thicker on one end. This will
form the hip and sitting leg. Curve into a “c” type shape and attach on either side of the
lion. Mark the toes. Take two smaller sausages of yellow fondant and taper so that you
have a thicker end. The thicker end will become the front paw. Attach the front legs to
the front center of the body. Roll a tiny, thin snake of yellow fondant and attach to the
back to form the lion’s tail. Roll a medium ball of fondant to form the head. Add two
small yellow “cheeks” onto the bottom front of the head. Prick the cheeks with a
toothpick to mark the whisker locations. Form a long teardrop shape. The thicker portion
of the teardrop will be the base of the nose and will attach at the top edge of the cheeks.
Add a black nose for definition. Roll two small balls of white fondant and attach to the
head for eyes. Roll two mini balls of black fondant and attach to the eyes for pupils.
Roll a small ball of yellow fondant into a teardrop. Flatten so that it forms a slight
triangle shape. Attach the widest part of the triangle to the head to be ears. Using a clay
gun, extrude orange fondant from the grass tip. Attach short sections of orange “grass” to
the head to form the mane. Add a small section of orange grass to the tip of the tail.
Tiger – Roll a large ball of orange fondant into a slight oval shape. This is the body.
Add a short toothpick from the front of the body to hold the head. Roll two sausages of
orange fondant, keeping one end much thicker than the other. Bend into a slight “c” and
attach to the back sides of the tiger to serve as his back legs. Roll two smaller sausages
of orange fondant, keeping one end slightly thicker. Attach to the front of the body of the
tiger to represent his front legs. Mark his toes on all feet. Roll a medium ball of orange
fondant and form a slightly tapered egg shape. The top of the head is slightly less wide
than the mouth area. Attach onto the toothpick. Add white cheeks and nose as you did
with the lion. Mark the whisker holes with a toothpick. Add a small black ball nose.
Make two eyes and pupils just like you did with the lion. Make two orange ears just like
with the lion. Make an orange tail from a thin snake of orange fondant. Paint black tiger
stripes onto your figure with food color or roll out a thin layer of black fondant and cut
stripes. Attach the stripes to the body, using water if necessary.
Elephant –Roll a medium size ball of fondant into a sausage. Cut into four equal
pieces. These will form the legs. Place the legs on your board and insert short
toothpicks. Allow to set up for an hour or so to support the weight of the body. Wet the
top of the legs and attach a large oval shape of gray fondant onto the legs to form the
body. Attach a short toothpick at the front of the body to support the head. Take a
medium size ball of gray fondant and taper one end into a long sausage while taking care
to leave a round shape at the other end. Open a hole at the end of the sausage to serve as
a trunk and bend it as desired after placing the head on the toothpick. Roll two small
balls of gray fondant into ovals and flatten with your fingers, leaving one edge slightly
thicker. Attach the thinner edge to the elephant to serve as his ears. Roll two small white
teardrops and attach at the base of the trunk mouth to serve as tusks. Add eyes, pupils
and a tail as on other animals. Paint eyebrows with food color, if desired.
Zebra – Model a large white ball of fondant into a long egg shape. Add four white
legs and the black hooves. Model a small white long egg shape for the zebra’s head.
With your paintbrush end, open up nostrils. Add two triangle ears. Form long strings of
fondant and cut to size to be the mane of the zebra and the zebra’s tail. You can also use
a clay gun if you wish. Add eye and pupils. Paint on stripes with black food color or
attach stripes of black fondant, as with the tiger. For a standing zebra: follow the
directions for the standing elephant above.
Giraffe –The giraffe lower body is made just like the elephant from a yellowish tan
fondant. For the neck, roll a long sausage, leaving one end much thicker. The thicker
portion will be bent to be the head. Insert a toothpick up the neck of the giraffe and insert
into the body. You will need to have something to prop this in place while it dries. Once
dry, add two small flattened circle ears and two small teardrop “horns” in between the
ears. Add eyes and tail as usual. Flatten small tan balls of fondant and randomly attach
to the giraffe to be its spots.
Monkey – Roll a ball of darker brown fondant and attach to the side of the cake. Roll
a small ball of tan fondant and flatten. Attach to the body to be the belly. Roll a small
brown ball of fondant to be the face, flatten slightly and attach above the body. Roll a
small ball of tan fondant into an oval and attach on the lower portion of the monkey’s
face. Add two small eyes and pupils right above this tan section. Paint a smile on the
monkey’s face. Add two round ears on either side of the monkey’s face, directly across
from its eyes. The ears must be on the side of the head, not on the top. Roll long
sausages of brown fondant, leaving one end slightly thicker. Attach arms and legs. Roll
a thin snake of brown and attach as a tail. See my picture of ideas on positioning the
monkeys.
Fish – Form a large teardrop shape and extend the skinnier part long, then pull into two
sections. Flatten the two sections with a rolling pin or your fingers to represent the tail.
Using a straw cut to form a “c” shape, mark the scales on the fish. Flatten 3 more
teardrop shapes with your rolling pin and mark lines to be the two side fins and the top
fin. Roll out two short snakes and attach as lips. Add white eyeballs and black pupils.
Add a small eyelid on top. For waves, form teardrops in blue or white and flatten the
skinnier end, then curve it under to represent the look of the splashing water.
Panda – Roll a black sausage of fondant and encircle the upper portion of a large white
ball of fondant. Roll in your hands until joined and smooth. Form into a bell or cone
shape with white at the tapered top, black beneath it and a lot of white below it. (See the
picture if you have questions). Insert a toothpick to support the head. Form front and
back legs just like the lion from black fondant. Roll a medium white ball of fondant.
Attach as the head. Roll a small ball of white fondant and attach on the lower part of the
face for the nose. Add a tiny ball of white fondant below it for the bottom lip. Add a
black nose at the top of the white nose section. Roll an oval of black fondant and flatten
with your fingers. Attach just above the nose section. Add two small white balls to be
eyes, with pupils as usual. Add a small black ball tail at the back of the panda. Roll two
balls of black fondant and flatten. Roll two smaller white balls of fondant and flatten
onto the black balls, leaving a black ring showing. Curve and attach as ears.
Birds – Form a small teardrop of red fondant and bend up the narrowest part to form
the tail feathers. Add a tiny ball of yellow fondant on the thicker part of the body to be
the beak. Add two small blue triangle shape wings on each side. Paint eyes. Roll a thin
sausage of yellow fondant and bend into a “v” shape. Two of these will form the feet.
Giraffe –The giraffe lower body is made just like the elephant from a yellowish tan
fondant. For the neck, roll a long sausage, leaving one end much thicker. The thicker
portion will be bent to be the head. Insert a toothpick up the neck of the giraffe and insert
into the body. You will need to have something to prop this in place while it dries. Once
dry, add two small flattened circle ears and two small teardrop “horns” in between the
ears. Add eyes and tail as usual. Flatten small tan balls of fondant and randomly attach
to the giraffe to be its spots.
Alligator – He is made in 3 sections.
You need to have fondant water for him to peek
out of. His head is made from an oval that is thicker on one side and flatten lower on the
front side. Poke nostril holes with your paintbrush end. Add eyes and pupils on the head.
With a tiny amount of green fondant, add eyelids over the eyes. For his middle section,
mold a small hill of green fondant and place in position. The tail is a teardrop, with the
tiny end curling up out of the water. Add mini small balls of green fondant on the 3
sections to simulate the alligator bumpy skin.
Snakes – Take two distinctly different colors of fondant, and barely mix them
together. Roll into a thin long sausage with a wider end. The wide end forms the head.
Paint eyes after positioning the snake into position on your cake.
Sy Clops -Roll an egg shape. Add a large white ball near the top. Add a blue pupil
and black dot. Roll two tapered pieces and attach as eyelids. Roll teardrops and attach as
arms/legs. Add tiny blue dots and flatten with the small ball tool.
Grouch E. Gus -Roll an egg shape. Roll two small balls for the feet. Roll two
tapered teardrops and pinch two gripper/claws. Attach as arms. Roll small balls and
attach as spots on belly. Roll a tapered cone. Add tiny teardrop fangs and roll a small
sausage for the bottom lip. Add white ball eyes with black centers. Roll tapered
teardrops for the eyebrows. Roll two sausages, one smaller than the other and attach
around the crown of the head to represent hair.
Other questions I am always asked:
Where do I get the wire? www.creativecutters.com
Where do I get my flower paste? Platinum Paste from www.avenueschoices.com
What paste do I use for commercial flowers & face molds? Gumpaste from Choco Pan,
www.choco-pan.com
What modeling chocolate do you use? Choco Pan’s, www.choco-pan.com.
What fondant do you use? I use and love the new Dream Fondant from www.choco-pan.com.
If not available, my back up is FondX from www.caljavaonline.com
Where are my brushes from? I sell specialty ones at www.sugargypsy.com
Where did I get my steamers? WalMart or Target – by the irons or in the travel department
Will you come teach where I live? Yes, I travel and teach a lot! Email me at
[email protected] for a list of my current class offerings and to find out my schedule
availability.
Where do you get the glaze? I sell it at www.sugargypsy.com.
Where do you get your chef coats? www.crookedbrook.com They custom make chef coats to
fit YOU, not an average size number. Even better, they have hundreds of color options. I go a
step further and send in my fabrics and buttons and it reduces my price and I have a one of a
kind jacket. I have a link from my site to theirs and get a discount for that, also. Ask for your
link discount and tell them you saw me!