By putting the pancake batter into a squeeze bottle, you can create any shape you like.
There are products made for this purpose but you can also use any old empty squeeze bottle you have lying around, like so: This method lets you draw cool stuff .
Though I imagine line-art pancakes like those would be pretty hard to flip.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/64/hairboat
I have a lot of old 60ml syringes lying around.
These make great water guns, but you can also use them to make pancakes.
Just be sure you either get all the lumps out of the batter, or cut part of the end off so it can handle some lumps.
Simply stick the end into the batter, pull the desired amount into the syringe, and push it into the pan.
This is great because: You can make them any shape you want
You have measurements on the sides, you can make them all the same size if you want
It's not messy at all, hardly any cleanup needed, and it doesn't drip
You don't end up with a lot of batter stuck to the edges, like you do with a squeeze bottle And others.
The picture below shows a smaller syringe than I usually use.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/25/J. Musser
Lisa Douglas (played by Eva Gabor) on Green Acres made perfectly round "hotcakes" by pouring all of the batter into a griddle and then using the coffee pot (I think) as a mold to cut out circles.
The remaining batter was used as a head gasket for the tractor.
See
http://www.tvacres.com/food_menus_lisa.htm .
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/1517/Bruce James
The most inexpensive way to make round pancakes is to pour the batter from a height of at least 12" from the pan.
Perfect, round, pancakes every time.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/15893/dsmikasa
These things that work for me: Heating up the pan.
If the pan is heated up appropriately the pancakes will cook before they can spill out of order.
Use biscuit tins or a cup or bowl .
This solution keeps them circular and in sizes.
Using a cup, cut the top off and lay the cup or biscuit tin in the pan and pour the batter in.
This keeps the pancakes circular.
Additional Info sheknows.com
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/188/Pobrecita
I make my perfectly round pancakes by simply using a smaller pan, so the edge of the pan creates the shape of the pancake = round.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17858/KMGehweiler
Pour the batter into metal cookie cutters on the pan.
You can pull them off after it's cooked one side and ready to flip, will give you a much cleaner outline and clearer shape of whatever you're aiming for (provided you buy a cookie cutter in that shape), just be careful that they're metal
and you don't burn yourself with them.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/14/Jimmy Hoffa
My wife loves pancakes.
I had to learn how to make them like her grandmother.
Sounds like your skillet isn't level.
Find a level place and pour in the middle.
Also if you like rings around the edge melt some butter on medium high temp.
Pour into the butter.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17814/Planterguy
In addition to the other answers: make sure the pan is not warped.
If the pan doesn't have a flat bottom, the batter will always flow to the lowest part of the pan instead of filling the pan evenly.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/5307/Hobbes
If you have a really big pan, and you don't want to make a messy pancake, use the pan's lid to stop the pancake from going all over the place.
It also might cook both sides.
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/20154/Bilal
Whenever I make pancakes, I can never make them very circular. My pancakes always end up looking deformed and barely like a circle.   I've tried just pouring the batter (which didn't work) and using a funnel, which worked better but still didn't give me the result I wanted.   Is there any way to make perfectly (or near perfectly) circular pancakes?
How to make neat, round pancakes
lifehacks.stackexchange.com
<food><kitchen>
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/1815
lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/20/michaelpri
There are many different methods that can be used to create perfectly round pancakes. One is to use a squeeze bottle and squeeze from a sufficient height, making sure that there are no lumps in the batter and that the pan is hot. Other methods include using cookie cutters or a biscuit tin as a mould, or using a small enough pan so that the pan creates the shape of the pancake. As a side note, it is a good idea to make sure that your pan is not warped. The options include squirting the batter in with a squeeze bottle or a syringe, cutting out round shapes after the batter has cooked, pouring the batter from a height of at least 12 inches, ensuring the pan is hot enough, using a biscuit tin with the base removed as a mould inside the pan, using a smaller pan, using cookie cutters to fry the pancake in and making sure your pan is level and not warped.
Put the batter into the pan using a squeeze bottle. Put the mixture into the pan using a 60ml syringe. Cut out the round shapes after the batter has cooked using the base of a coffee pot. Pour the batter from a height of at least 12 inches. Make sure the pan is hot enough for the pancakes to cook and solidify before they can spill out into non-round shapes, or place a circular object such as an old biscuit tin with the base removed into the frying pan and pour the pancakes into that. Use a smaller pan so that the pan's edges create the round shape. Pour the batter into metal cookie cutters in the pan - remove them when ready to flip. Make sure your skillet is level. Make sure the pan is not warped. Use the pan's lid to stop the mixture from going all over the place.