Why are character cakes looked down on? I have noticed that on this site that most people won't even make a comment on a character cake. I realize that it's just a bunch of stars, but they take a lot of time and it is still possible to mess them up. Why don't you all like them?
I don't think people look down upon them as you said. The debate of making comments on cakes was brought up not too long ago. Unfortunately I think people make more comments on the cakes that stand out or look different.
I never made them b/c I don't want to buy a pan just for that particular character that I may never make again! 
You just have to remember that the # of comments on a cake aren't a sign of whether it's good or not. 
A character cake is pretty "safe", the whole concept, design and final look is pre-determined for you, although you do get to learn a bit about piping, icing consistency and so on. Your first stacked cake or gumpaste flowers or attempt at fondant is the next step or two up. This is where YOU show your concept, design and skill.
It's like taking the training wheels off your bike. From there you can just bike down the local streets and never wander too far but you could eventually follow wild trails through new country and explore new areas.
But you need to take off the training wheels and build up your skills.
I've done lots of character cakes! They're fun and alot of work. I personally admire ALL the cakes here on CC b/c I know how much time, effort and skill goes into each and every one.
Paul...love your analogy! That's a great way to look at it.
I don't look down on the character cakes at all. I think most people start with those. I know I did. I did two and prefer not to do more, LOL. My hand hurts after making all those stars. (or room for all those pans)
It certainly takes time that's for sure. 
I don't have much time to look at the galleries but when I do I usually look for something different or unusual that catches my eye. Or if I am going to be doing a sponge bob cake I might look at all the SB cakes... etc.
My work schedule has been such lately that I have had NO time to look. I have three days off in a row now and today in between cooking the turkey and mashing my garlic mashed potatoes and parsnip I am here, LOL.
As you can see by looking at my photos, I do alot of character cakes and they can be time consuming as any other cake.
As for the training wheel remark, I found it to be very offensive.
I may not have the wedding, anniversary, etc. cakes like alot of the decorators here but I take pride in my work just as they do.
I don't look down upon character cakes. I personally think they are a lot of work. My hand kills me when I am done with one.
I agree with Stephanie. I personally think that the character cakes take the same amount of talent, it is just in a different form. I think that we all need to remember that we are all different.... we don't all don't enjoy working with fondant or gumpaste. Some of us don't want to move anywhere from there. We feel like we have accomplished everything that we need too, to make ourselves proud.
Ultimately... that is what it is all about.
Hugs & Kisses!!!
I agree with Stephanie, too. The character pan does NOT determine the final outcome, just the shape. I own 65 character pans at the moment. The fun comes in looking at the pan and finding another use for it. Example: my son is in the Navy and for his last birthday I used the Superheroes pan, baked a big sugar cookie in it, then used royal icing to make it into Super Sailor. He loved it.
I agree with Katiesmom, I own many character pans and find them to be a great creative tool. I have yet to make what the pan is as I have never been good at coloring in the lines or sticking to directions, but I love using the shape of the pan to create. My dolphin cake was made using a number of character pans, the tail was a bunny head, the body was made from a smurf pan and the head was shaped and widened by adding bell pan cakes to each side, the fins were cut from mini heart pans. The wolf cake was made from the 3-D bear pan. The nostrils of my baby dragon was made from a small bat pan. I always am finding different uses for these pans. I also admire those that can make the character the pan is meant for as I have never been able to get mine to look like the picture at all, which is why I no longer try, it takes more skill than credited. I think to replicate anothers design and yet make it your own can be extremely difficult like making a recipe from a cookbook and trying to make it look just like the picture in the book (which I have yet to be able to do).
I think we all have different ways to express our creativity and that is what makes this site so wonderful. For some the hills and mountains are a challenge there for them to climb and discover the beauty not yet attained! For others the challenge is to enjoy and discover the beauty in the valleys, plateaus, and the beauty at hand surrounding them. Then there are ones who just enjoy the moments of the familiar ! All are beautiful and equally breathtaking no matter which path you take, I think cake decorating is the same, no matter what outlet the end results are wonderful !!!
Rainbowz for you character cakes were a great stepping stone, and Stephanie214 for you they are a wonderful outlet, you are both creative and making great cakes, you should both be proud as both of your cakes impress me !!!
Now I will quit babblig.....
I have found that sometimes a cake I really love does not get as many comments as others...probably just because the day I posted it there happened to not be too many people online. Usually the most comments come the first day or so you post so if its a slow day, you won't get as many comments. So I wouldn't take it as a personal thing at all.
Also as cute as character cakes are, they are "a dime a dozen" compared to the unique "one of a kind" designs that alot of people are looking for on this site. Alot of people are on here looking for new ideas to try out and the character pans really don't fit that description. Its not to say people don't like them or use them, its just if someone is looking for a new idea for a wedding cake they probably won't stop to look at a shaped character cake. Just one of those facts of life that is there I guess!
I also own quite a few character pans. My MIL gave me 13 new ones for Christmas. So it looks like I'll be doing a few in the near future.
As you can see from my photos, I like doing more unique cakes. But, character pan cakes are fun too!
Maybe there should be a Character Pan Cake category added to the galleries here on CC??
I do alot of character cakes and I'm so sick and tired of people putting them down 
3D cakes are character cakes also...so maybe people that do 3D cakes and then knock the flat character cakes should think long and hard on this 
As the cat says "whatever" 
When you made that statement that character cakes "are a dime a dozen", it really got to me.
I'm sorry but there have been several posts where people have put down character cakes.
I guess I am too sensitive on the subject because of this.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean it personally. If you look on my website, I have several Wilton character cakes as well. They make very cute kids birthday cakes, kids love them! I guess I just meant it from other people's point of view...I mean technically any housewife can go to the craft store and buy a pan and try her hand at doing the stars...it might not be as professional as we could do it but its not as complex as gumpaste or fondant, etc. Its not a slam to people (like myself) who make character cakes or who like them, its just fact that the character cakes are more accessible and sometimes more common than the other more complex ideas.
Its not a slam or a criticism or even anything negative, its just a fact that there is a difference. I am really sorry if I offended you. 
I don't mean to add fuel to the fire but I love doing character cakes - 2D or 3D - and I don't believe they are "a dime a dozen". No matter what anyone says, it takes more than just buying the pan and picking up an icing bag to make these cakes. It does take talent! People also need to remember that just because it is a 2D character cake doesn't mean the person that made it used a character pan. My Papa Smurf cake was handcut from two square cakes with a template I made myself. I spent a lot of time on that cake and put a lot of effort into it. The only cakes that are "a dime a dozen" are all the supermarket cakes we hate. No cake anyone displays on here should be catagorized that way. No matter what we make or how we make it, it takes talent and lots of it! Everyone on here has talent and shouldn't be thought of as having anything less just because they make character cakes.
Okay, that is my thought on the subject. I hope no one's feeling were hurt because that is just my opinion and how I feel.
Everyone have a great new year!
Heather
I love making and collecting the character cake pans...I just like them. But by doing them which takes skill and gave me something to go by...I have used those skills and the confidence to try to do other types of cakes. God knows I have lots to learn and miles for improvement. I enjoy all types of cake making....and I love my character pans!
I enjoy and learn by looking at everyone's cakes...no matter what kind.
Debbie
Unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to work with gumpaste, fondant etc. since my clientele (sp) is 98% children...oops, I guess I should say mothers 
Yeah I do alot of kids too...I try to sneak in a little fondant here and there, or do the occasional fondant one for an adult, but my problem is since I have such a large "kiddie" portfolio, I rarely get wedding orders. (Which is where the money is!!!)
I think character cakes can be a lot of fun, but they don't take as much creativity and aren't as interesting to look at because they are from a predetermined image which the decorator follows... so to see one design is enough. With that said, I've seen some decorators use character pans and completely redesign them. Taking a pan that was intended to be a superhero and turning it into a nursery them with little animals on it for example. This takes a lot of imagination and skill.
Overall I see nothing wrong with character pans, but they aren't going to get a lot of comments from other decorators unless they are unique.
Just out of curiousity, what do you all charge for character cakes? Assuming you already have the pan. I've never sold one, but have about a dozen pans, so my guess is I'll eventually use them as part of my business. Never really knew how to charge though.
I love character cakes. I have LOTS of character pans and alot of them are retired. They are great tools to create other designs from and when someone wants a particular character or hobby. You can usually use a character cake as a base to accomplish what you want. As far is being a stepping stone or easy, that is a matter of opinion. It takes some skill to draw those outlines and make them look like the Wilton pictures. It also takes a lot of patience to color the frosting, make the stars, and to make the outlines and stars look consistent and filled in correctly. The portraits (people) are sometimes very challenging to make the faces look right. (Harry Potter, Cinderella, are a couple of examples. Not everyone wants to pay for a 3D cake which alot of times take more cake that adds to the expense. Also fondant isn't always wanted by customers. It just hasn't caught on here . I am anxious to try MM fondant. It sounds like a solution for the people who don't like the taste.
Anyway Hats off to character cakes and the skill to do them right.
Wendysue I charge from 20 which is low to 30.00 depending on what I do. It can run more depending on how I decorate and what I use to do it such as fondant, etc. There is a lot of creativity that can be done w/them. as I said in my previous post. Sorry I didn't catch your question before I posted last.
Hhmn, this is a bit of a controversial topic, actually it is the first time I have seen it come up.
I sort of went yikes when I saw it!
Well, I think it is true that many people start off with a decorating tube and a star tip and learn how to use the tips and icing bags and how to cover a cake by doing some form of character cake.
And I think it is true that anyone can make some form of a character cake, though it most certainly is not true that the skill levels and results are all the same, because they indeed are not.
Anyone can take a hunk of fondant, roll it out and cover a cake but hey, the results are not all going to be the same either. Some of us have learned to hide imperfections behind decorations and borders and such while some people can cover a cake perfectly smooth, no wrinkles or need to hide anything and I say those people should be shot, haha, well with a water gun anyway.
I think when you do cakes for children and when you have children, you are more likely to purchase these pans. Personally I have always rented most of them, mainly because of the cost factor.
I am not familar with a lot of people's work with these offhand other than with Kiddiekakes. So I will use her for an example. She does these cakes with a skill level and perfection that many folks do not, way more perfect than decorators that have been decorating for many, many more years than she has. I think that perhaps people see things differently but I tend to examine the uniform quality, the extras, the little border touches, the little fondant or candy decorations, the uniqueness of her work and the work of others. She has her own take on these and her skill level is amazing.
Jeanne G on the Wilton site can take any character pan and turn it into just about anything else, she also has a million and one ideas and unique touches and again, does the cakes to perfection.
I don't get to do a lot of these anymore, but I still enjoy them. Some you can do quickly, others take a long time. Some people show their skill in the way they mix their colours or the other flourishes or the way they can exactly duplicate the picture. When I do one of these, my cakes are not nearly at the skill level of those of Jeanne G or Kiddiekakes.
I don't think character cakes are only about starring because they are not.
Funny, but I don't honestly see one skill as showing more skill than another decorating form does. Mainly because as you learn to do something well, well, it will always come easier and you will do a better job with practice.
Personally I hate making buttercream roses, always did, love making fondant and gumpaste and actually find them much easier to do if a bit more time consuming. I think it takes great skill to do a really good buttercream rose and some people just are naturals.
Some people make amazing borders, very uniform, perfect shells, another thing I was never fond of doing. I just love to see some folk's borders and their little signature touches.
Some people make the most amazingly perfectly smoothly iced cakes. Others have an amazing ability to make a perfectly level cake. Some bake a perfect looking cake. Others are pros at fondant covering or rolled buttercream. Some make such amazing sculptured cakes. Others make amazing figurines or decorations out of gumpaste and such.
Some people make wonderful edible images, others amazing buttercream transfers, well, you get the idea because the list goes on and on.
Personally, I find that everyone has some unique talent that they display, whether it is decorating skills or creativity of design or an off the wall idea, it is all so wonderful to see.
And I think people tend to do what they like to do, they might experiment, try different things but most often people have an area that they feel comfortable in and enjoy. So I don't personally think that one form is more elite than another.
What I would like to see is people having enough confidence in themselves to experiment because often it is fear that stops us from trying new things. So never be afraid, no big hand is going to reach down from the sky if you should be less than pleased with your results. Everything takes practice but also, you have to like what you are doing. So sure try things that are new to you, but stick with doing what you enjoy.
I think for some reason that it is a popular misconception that character cakes are for beginners and maybe they are to begin to learn, but most definitely not to do a skilled character cake at all. I say, hats off to anyone doing these, they are hard on your hands, you do have to spend a lot of time mixing up colours and changing icing bags and being uniform and making different decorations. And they are not all done to the same degree of skill, some folks just have the knack for perfect coverage.
I don't go into the galleries much unless someone makes a post to point out a picture. But boy, I surely do enjoy seeing a well-done character cake. I also enjoy seeing a first character cake decorated by a beginner because they often take such great care to do a wonderful job that sometimes it puts the rest of us more experienced decorators to shame. And I think when we see one, it brings us back in time to when we did our very first one and we tend to realize just how much effort it took and appreciate that effort.
I am sorry to see people offended by this topic. I must say it took me many, many years to be brave enough to try doing different things so I think people will try things if and when they are ready. We don't all have the money for the tools or the courses or the books either. Or have the time or space. Or the access to information.
My daughter took a baker's course and part of the course was learning to decorate. Well, she can make amazing roses and leaves, royal icing delicate decorations, cover a cake perfectly with fondant, but they never did character cakes. To this day, she struggles to do these uniformly. I had to show her how and often she just turns over the icing bag to me. So I really do think that not everyone does these as well as other folks.
Never, never feel that the work you do does not deserve as much credit as the work someone else does. Always realize that some people have been decorating for many years, done hundreds and thousands of cakes, had many courses at their disposal and so on. Be happy with yourself and your work!
Hugs Squirrelly
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