How to Make a Gum Paste Guy

In this video tutorial, I will show you how to make a gum paste man.

Creating gum paste figures is such a fun way to personalize a cake. You can easily take what you learn in this video and change up details like hair, clothing, etc. to fit the theme or the person being celebrated.

In this video tutorial, I'm going to demonstrate how to model a man from gum paste!

Basics of Modeling Gum Paste Figures

There's more than one way to build a figure. You can build an entire body on a long lollipop stick or skewer, especially if you are in a hurry and need the extra support. Some decorators create armatures from wire or foil, etc. to cover with fondant or gum paste. However, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible.

You can also create your figures in sections, and allow them to dry before piecing them together like a puzzle. This is the method that I used in this video, and when time allows, it's my preferred method for standing figures because it is simple, and there are no worries of settling or sagging.

A Quick Rundown of Steps

In this video, I build a man by creating his body in three main sections. I made the pants, put an anchor (lollipop stick) in the bottom of one leg, and another anchor (spaghetti) at the waist.

Then I made the torso & neck as the second section, making a hole in the bottom of the torso & an anchor (spaghetti) coming out of the top of the neck.

Then, I made a head that dried on a toothpick so that it would be round on all sides. I dried the pants & torso on fiberfill (pillow stuffing) and the next day I pieced everything together & added arms, shoes, hair, etc.

While it only took one day for me to assemble the gum paste man, I would recommend allowing at least a few days to be on the safe side--especially if you are working with fondant instead of gum paste.

If you are working with fondant, adding CMC or Tylose powder will help to strengthen your fondant and speed up the drying time.

Enjoy the video!

*You will be able to tell from the video that this one's an oldie! However, the information that I go over is still exactly how I would make a gum paste figure today. We hope that you find it helpful!