Dust Fondant Gumpaste

What's the difference between Gumpaste and Fondant?

I just started baking. Now I can make cakes and I want to cover them in fondant/gumpaste I really don't know which one is best. I haven't had any baking classes. I bought ready to use fondant and I just cut a small piece out, it's sticky so I dusted my workspace with powdered sugar but after kneading it a couple of times, it becam sticky again. I searched on the internet, they used cornstarch. So I did. Now I am confused. What's the difference between gumpaste and fondant? I'd like to practice making flowers I just don't know which one to use. I'm lost. Have any of you seen the tv show Ace of Cakes? I'd like to try making those little figurines. Please tell me what fondant is best used for and what gumpaste is best used for. Please help! If you have any tips on modelling fondant/gumpaste, they are much appreciated! =)
P.S. It's my birthday next week so I want to bake and decorate my own cake. Makes it much more special!
So I have to add a lot of powdered sugar to the fondant?

Using fondant and gumpaste is not something you learn over night. It takes lots and lots of practice to get it right.
Fondant is an icing, it is very sweet and is stretchy. It can be rolled out and laid over the cake. The result is a smooth surface for your cake. When covering a cake with fondant you need to first ice your cake with buttercream so the fondant will attach to the buttercream otherwise it will stay loose from the cake. Fondant is chewy to eat and rather unpleasant to eat with the cake. Most people remove it before eating the cake. It does make a nice surface for your decorations though.
Flowers and figures can be made from fondant. They take quite some time to dry, 3 or 4 days.
Gumpaste does not taste good, at all, however it is edible. It dries very quickly and you have to keep parts of it covered while working with it or they will dry too soon. A good medium to work with is a fondant with some gum paste added to it.
The fondant should not be sticky. I make my own fondant and just knead powdered sugar in until it is the right consistency to work with.
I would try to keep the cake pretty simple until you have more practice. A simple cake well done is much nicer than an extravagant cake poorly done.

Gumpaste / Fondant Tools