I am fairly new to cake decorating and have only done buttercream frosting and decorations. I would like to try and make a special cake for my husband for his birthday and am considering one of the special shaped pans....possibly a guitar or airplane. I would like to try using fondant and am looking for some help on how to go about it. I have read some of the information on using fondant, but it always seems to talk about round cakes. Is the process the same? Cover first with buttercream and then fondant? What type of fondant should I start with? Am I biting off more than I should? Help!
Hi, you will be fine with the fondant stuff, really! 
I have only done fondant, never BC (we don't use that over here) and it is not that difficult. Covering the cake in a different shape is the same process as a round one, maybe just look at a video of Youtube how to do this
About the brand, I don't know, I have read here that other ppl suggest that you use the Wilton because that is really easy to work with (although they say it doesn't taste good). Another brand that pops up a lot here is SatinIce.
Good luck with your cake!
Lara
Awesome link! I think that is the most detailed video I have seen about covering cakes with fondant. Added that to my favorites!! Jen
Thanks for the input and the link to the video...it looks great, but I don't have speakers on my computer here at work, so I'll have to wait until I get home to try it.
Hi- I just finished my first all fondant cake, and had a blast doing it!!! Don't be worried, just give yourself a bit of time to play with it. I used Rhonda's MMF recipe, found here; it was a dream to work with, and really has a pleasant taste. Depending on humidity and temp. you may need to add more sugar, or knead in more shortening ( i used wal-mart brand... crisco had switched to a no trans fat product and I've read bad things about what it will do to your BC and fondant). Just make sure you grease EVERYTHING when you are mixing and kneading it. I also modified a bit... melted the marshmallows, and water w/ 2 T of shortening...then added the rest of the ingerdients as the recipe says (used lemon juice..yum) and instead of sifting the powdered sugar into that mixture... I sifted the sugar into a bowl and made a well in the center to pour the marshmallow mixture into. It will be sticky, but it works. I haven't tried to use my mixer yet, but that is my next project. I kind of like kneading by hand... time consuming, but satisfying.
Covering a shape that doesn't need to be perfectly straight, or round will be easier than you think.
Before rolling it out...CORNSTARCH-CORNSTARCH-CORNSTARCH!!!! otherwise it will stick to the counter and make you sad 
My biggest fear was creating perfect rounds... a guitar sounds like a great idea, you could have alot of fun with the details. good luck!!!
Sugarbird
I like working with the fondant also. I've only really used the MMF to cover a cak with. I rolled it out on a large piece of vinyl that I purchased at Walmart and used a very small amout of shortening to coat the vinyl with. No problems with it sticking! I started out using powdered sugar and my counter top. The vinyl worked so much better!
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