I've seen many cakes on CC decorated with fondant/gumpaste figures that are in what I call "2-1/2D", that is they are not full, stand-alone figures, but rather lie on the cake but "pop out" into the third dimension. I tried one yesterday -- a very simple one -- and I realized that I have no idea how to do this. There are some very spectacular cakes on here using this technique, and I have lots of ideas of my own, but not a clue as to how to do them. My first question is does this technique have a name and the second one is can anyone give me some tips or direct me to some tutorials on how to do this? I'd be really grateful for any help I can get here. Thanks!

Thanks for responding. I'm sorry to say I've never done this before. I want to add a photo or two from here to illustrate what I mean, but I'm having trouble figuring it out. Could you give me a clue about how to do this?

you can copy and paste a link to another photo online


Or if you want to add it directly to your post, make sure it's smaller than 800x800 first.....then click "post reply" below the last post in this thread, it will give you a screen, type your message, then click "add attachment", it will reload....

scroll down and click "browse", then find the photo on your computer, double click it and then click "submit" at the bottom of the page and you're done!

To Post a link, open up the picture in your browser, and then you highlight it then right click your mouse, and click where it says copy, then come back to your post click edit, and then press enter then right click your mouse again, and then click paste and then hit submit, and we will see a link to the picture of the cakes you are talking about.

I don't know how to do it, but since a picture was asked for, I believe this is what you are talking about. I love these, but don't know that I have the talent for it.
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1574594

I believe what you are talking about is a technique called bas relief. I took a class on it, look in my photos at the love birds. If this is what you are talking about it was easier than you would think. Break down a picture into many different parts (actually cut it apart). Then start applying to surface of cake bottom layers first. In order to get the puffed out look, we simply took rolls of fondant & layered them under the pieces that we wanted to stick out. Hope this helps.

I believe that is color flow. Its where the design is copied on a piece of paper and a piece of wax paper is over the top. Then you outline it with icing and fill in with the icing. Then the image is set to dry a few days and then carefully peeled off the wax paper and set on the cake. Then you can go back and add borders, etc. to it to make it pop more.
You can also do it with fondant cut outs. You can cut the pieces and fit them like a puzzle and like say for the nose on Tigger, you would add a piece that was rounded on the top to make it look like its popping out more.

Yes, tab_stout, that's exactly what I mean! And following the instructions so kindly provided by KHalstead and Uniqueask, here's another one:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_1160562.html
For some reason, I've never seen a discussion of this kind of work on here, but I'm dying to try it (and make it work).

I am self taught and have only been doing this for family stuff for a couple of years. I have done a few things like this, you can see them in my gallery. I call them my 2D/3D figures. Usually I just mould them like any other figure but flat on the back. I often do them on a pan lined with parchment or wax paper and them apply them to the cake so that I can do them ahead and in case I don't like how it turned out. I usually use MMF so them stay soft enough to conform to the shape of the cake. I am just figuring this out one cake at a time. Hope this helps you a little

Weirkd, although the Tigger cake looks like it might be color (a technique I find equally challenging, btw), what I was referring to was the sort of 3D aspect of it.
Kellie0406, I think that's what I'm looking for. Thanks for the description! I was writing this post I when I realized that I needed to look at your photo, but I'm pretty sure that's it. Going to look at your photo now.

Kellie0406, that cake is very lovely and that's the technique I'm looking for. I'm going to start practicing the art of breaking down shapes and, layering and filling the shapes out! Jennylynner, thanks for the post and the link to your pictures. I was afraid that it was going to be a question of experimenting and working it out on my own, and apparently to a good extent it is. Unfortunately, my technique for making 3D figures is mostly rolling pieces of fondant in my hands into balls, cylinders, teardrops. The "flat back" concept is kind of foreign to me. I've tried cutting down 3D shapes into flat-backed pieces, but they always get distorted. I suppose there's some real sculpting involved here, which I've actually never done much of, but now's the time to start.

Glad I could help. Sorry to make you go back into my pics, I just always have such a hard time attaching a picture to these comments. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

I didn't mind looking at your pictures at all, but the instructions uniqueask gave above solved my own problem: this method didn't add the picture, but it added a link. I read these directions wrong and copied the URL instead of the actual photo, but it worked just as well. KHalstead's instructions are for attaching a photo that's somewhere on your computer, but not on an internet site.

Do you layer with the same shape many times?