Clay forming

This page was last verified for Vintage Story version 1.20.7.

Clay forming is a crafting method that allows the player to place tiny cubes (voxels) of clay in layers that form a shaped container, which is then fired in a pit kiln to finish the item. The forming mechanic is similar to knapping stone tools, where voxels must be added or removed to create the desired object.

Required Materials

To form clay items a player needs red clay, blue clay or fire clay , as well as dry grass, sticks, and firewood , peat or coal for a pit kiln .

Left: Blue Clay. Right: Fire Clay

Acquiring Clay

There are three different types of clay in the world, red clay, blue clay and fire clay. Clay can be harvested with bare hands, but using a shovel is much faster, and typically drops 4-5 pieces of clay per block.

• Red clay deposits are commonly found in thick layers of soil, in temperate or hotter climates with Uncommon or higher rainfall.
• Blue clay is found where red clay would have generated below sea level.
• Fire clay is found in areas with bauxite sand/gravel, and underneath anthracite and black coal deposits, and can also be made using red or blue clay and powdered calcined flint . For tool molds and items like bowls and pots, any kind of clay may be used, but the clay oven , fire clay bricks used for making the bloomery , and refractory bricks used in steel making all must be made out of fire clay.

Shaping Molds and Items

Clay mold recipe dialog box.

1. Select clay in the active hand.
2. Aim the white crosshairs on a solid surface and open the clay forming menu and select the item to be crafted.
3. The clay forming grid will appear on the selected surface. To craft the chosen mold or item, the 'green' colored voxels must be filled and clay removed from any 'orange' colored voxels to create each layer of the form. As each layer of the clay item is completed, the next layer will appear above the last. It's helpful to sit on the ground (press G) while shaping clay.
4. When all layers of the item or mold are completed, the dialog box will disappear and the formed items will jump into the inventory of the player who placed or removed the last voxel of clay. Formed items can be placed on a surface before firing and picked up . Breaking will not destroy an item.

First clay layer.

Clay Tool Modes

To change the number of clay voxels added or removed (1x1, 2x2 and 3x3), press F and select the 'brush size' as indicated by the first three menu options. The last tool menu option,'Copy' allows a player to duplicate identical layers of clay voxels. When this menu option is selected, the added "layer" of clay will match the pattern of voxels directly underneath the current layer "under construction". You can open the inventory or press alt to move the mouse more freely.

Protip: It's often faster to work in the 3x3 mode, and then removing voxels as necessary; for example, the second layer of the bowl template can be completed in 5 clicks using the 3x3 mode to fill in the second layer and then removing the middle instead of using the 1x1 mode 16 times. You can also remove the pre-placed clay completely in 3x3 instead of using the 1x1 to separate the clay; this is useful in the 4 of a kind recipes and the shingles recipe.

Pit Kiln

Once the form is complete, the clay items must be baked in a pit kiln , as well as requiring dry grass, sticks, and firewood, peat or coal. The one exception to this is the clay oven.

Pit kilns generally take 10 to 20 hours to complete, depending on which fuel type is used. Once fired, pottery items can then be used.

Using Finished Pottery Items and Molds

Many of the items made with clay are containers used in other types of crafting. Most baked items can be placed on the ground, and many pottery items can be picked up again with an empty hand.

Using Items

The cooking pot and bowl are used in cooking, while the watering can has a use in farming. Crocks and Storage Vessels are containers used in food preservation. Shingles can be used to construct clay shingles blocks , Flowerpots and Planters are containers used in decorating. Lamellae are used as components in crafting armor .

The clay oven can only be formed with fire clay, and requires a hefty 69 of it. It can be used without firing afterwards, and is necessary for cooking bread and pies .

Using Molds

For more information and instructions when using molds to cast metal ingots, tools and weapons, see separate pages on: crucible , molds and casting .

Clay Required to Create Items and Molds

Name	Item/Mold	Quantity of clay	Quantity of produced items
Bowl	Item	1, 4	1 or 4
Cooking pot	Item	4, 24	1 or 4
Crucible	Item	2, 13	1 or 4
Crock	Item	2, 14	1 or 4
Flowerpot	Item	4, 23	1 or 4
Jug	Item	5	1
Planter	Item	18	1
Shingles	Item	4	12
Storage Vessel	Item	35	1
Watering Can	Item	10	1
Anvil mold	Mold	28	1
Axe mold	Mold	11	1
Falx blade mold	Mold	12	1
Hammer mold	Mold	12	1
Helve hammer mold	Mold	6	1
Hoe mold	Mold	12	1
Ingot mold	Mold	2, 5	1 or 2
Lamellae mold	Mold	11	1
Pickaxe mold	Mold	12	1
Prospecting pick mold	Mold	13	1
Shovel mold	Mold	11	1
Clay Oven *	Other	69	1

*Does not need to be fired to function

Video Tutorials

Explanation of clay firing v 1.15	Alternative Explanation of clay firing since 1.15