Hi,

I am wondering how I would do this kind of figures that can stand on a cake
http://www.flickr.com/photos/layersoflove/2263038387/
like Scooby on the picture.

I have been doing many candy melts transfers and they are easy because I can draw all the details because I can always see the picture when drawing it. I do it by printing out a picture and putting a clear envelope on top of it so I can draw all the lines through and then I fill it out, here is one I made.

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2382536/super-mario-bros-cake

I don't understand how people do it in fondant or gumpast as you would print out the image and put the fondant/gumpaste on top of it and cut the outlines but how do you do everything else?

Can anyone please help me

This is easy!

What you do is you find your Scooby picture, or whatever picture you want, then cut it out. Put the picture on your rolled out fondant or gumpaste, trace it with a knife (like you were cutting cookie dough). Then just let it dry! It helps if you roll it kind of thick before you cut it. The thinner it is, the more fragile it will be. Looking at that picture, Scooby is actually pressed into the icing of the top tier. He isn't just standing there with no support. But if you wanted to do that, you could turn your cutout over and "glue" a lollipop stick to the back of it with some sugar glue and then sandwich the stick with another piece of fondant. No one will be able to see it because it will be hidden. You could even do that with your chocolate transfers and it would work.

The trick is to use a fondant that dries. Something like FondX or the Duff brand won't work because they never get hard. But if you use gumpaste or a fondant that dries hard it will be easy to do.

I hope that makes sense!

Annie

How detailed of an image are you doing? There are different approaches depending on the image. Can you post it?

You can do it flat, or what I do is make it the curve of the cake.

Cut it out on of fondant on a flat surface and then I put wax paper on the outside of the cake pan that's the same size as the cake will be. Put a small book or something to hold cake pan in a tipped fashion. Let dry.

O.k I understand that I print out the image and trace the outline by butting the image on top of fondant or gumpaste but how do I fill in all the details in the picture then?

For example, here is a Ben 10 image, I understand how she or he gets the outline but how do you get all the details that well on the image itself, do they draw it freehand or?

What I do is cut out the features and trace them too. I didn't see the last picture you posted, but with the Scooby I would trace the eyes and the face, and use tools to make the imprint where the eyes and mouth are. For stuff like the collar which is pretty straight you don't have to worry about tracing it. So I get the main outline first, then cut out the smaller details from the original template and trace those too. Make sense?

Modeling chocolate works great for making flat figurines on the side of that cake. You dont have to worry about the drying problem that you do with fondant. At 1/8 thickness, rolled modeling chocolate will stay pliable enough to bend around a cake but sturdy enough to stand up beyond the edges like in your photo. It is trickier to work with than fondant due to it being more heat-sensitive but the advantage is that it tastes great and will not grow an elephant skin while you work so you can take your time perfecting details.
Attached is a photo of a cake I did that's similar to yours with plaques of rolled modeling chocolate including one that extends beyond the cake's boundaries.

Thanks to both of you, I am going to try this tonight and hopefully it will go well