I just started playing with my mmf/gumpaste clay.... just to get the feel of it, I just took an uncolored ball to try a head. First it was too "real" looking. Not the look I want. Then I tried more simple. Then it looked like a clown. Now I'm getting worried. lol! This is going to be more challenging than I thought! I want more of a simple cartoony look, but still recognizable as a young woman.... hmmmmm. Off to study some tutorials!

Yep, there's a trick to it, all right. But you'll eventually find your "groove" and the look you're going for will start coming with almost no effort. Hope it happens for you soon! I've found that making gumpaste figures is my favorite part of decorating, but it took me a while to get there!

Have the legs and torso done - now the arms and dreaded head! Like it so far though, but I think I've done the easy part.

I wound up using toothpicks - I'm afraid the weight of the fondant/gp will squish what's below. There are already some wrinkle marks in the legs, but it actually looks good where it is (jean slouch marks! lol!)

I find it easier to do figures in various stages, doing the head, body and legs separately and then joining them together when they are firmer, otherwise you get the slouching (which in your case is ok!). You can get some great tutorials for figures from http://www.extraicing.co.uk/ and she also has some free stuff. Also look for her on youtube under "aine2" - and she is a member on cc with the same name. Her tutorials are sent in a pdf document to your email and are password protected. They are very thorough and her heads/faces one is great!