If you want to prepare food in the shape of characters, Mameshiba is the way to go. Mameshiba are a hybrid of beans and dogs and very popular characters in Japan. Their bean shape is quite easy and can be made with different food. We found a couple of great examples on different blogs:
Super cute Mameshiba bento by Hana Mama Obento
By coloring rice balls you can easily make different Mameshiba characters like Cooking Gallery did
Super cute Mameshiba Curry rice dish by naohaha’s obento
We found these adoarable Mameshiba macarons on the blog kawaii eats
Mameshiba Dango pudding posted by hirorin0120 on SnapDish
Pretty elaborate: Mameshiba coffee art by Nowtoo on onotakumode.com
Mameshiba pancakes uploaded by rirunon on SnapDish
Super kawaii Mameshiba cake spotted on the blog Purapea