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How to make terracotta in Minecraft

If you’re wondering how to make terracotta in Minecraft, you’re in luck. It’s a versatile block that adds a unique touch to your builds. Minecraft offers a variety of building materials, from basic stone blocks to concrete, which can be dyed for a more aesthetic appearance. However, concrete isn’t the only block you can dye—Minecraft terracotta is another great option for adding color and style to your structures.

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Terracotta in Minecraft

Minecraft terracotta landscape

The biggest factor in how to craft terracotta in Minecraft, is getting clay to craft with. Clay occurs in block form and can be found in shallow lakes. It’s usually the second or third layer in a lake. It can occur in fairly large veins but most veins are small.

To craft terracotta in Minecraft, you need;

  • Clay block
  • Fuel

Obtain clay block

To obtain a clay block, you must mine it. When mined, it drops clay balls. You can then construct a clay block from the clay balls. You need four clay balls to construct one clay block.

To mine clay, look for it in shallow pools. It has a grey-ish color and can be mined with any type of shovel. Break it like you would a sand or dirt block. Collect the clay balls.

Craft Clay Block

Now that you have clay balls, you can make a clay block.

  1. Open the crafting table.
  2. Place the four clay balls in a 2×2 formation.
  3. Collect the clay block.

Make Terracotta in Minecraft

Terracotta is crafted in a furnace.

  1. Open the furnace.
  2. Place fuel in the fuel slot (coal, wood, seaweed, etc)
  3. Place the clay block in the smelting slot.
  4. Collect a terracotta block.

Dying Terracotta

Terracotta, much like concrete, can be dyed. To dye a terracotta block, you need the dye of choice and 8 terracotta blocks.

  1. Open the crafting table.
  2. Place the dye in the center cell i.e. the second cell of the second row.
  3. Place a terracotta block in all remaining cells.
  4. Collect the dyed terracotta.

How to Add Patterns to Terracotta

Now you know how to make terracotta in Minecraft, but if you want to get fancy with it, we’ll cover how to add patterns. 

  1. The key to making patterns is to create (or mine) glazed terracotta. First, you’ll need a dyed terracotta block, as covered in the tutorial above 
  2. Place your dyed terracotta block in the furnace again and bake it using any compatible fuel source. This will take a few seconds.
    1.  

Glazing Minecraft terracotta

  1. The end result is a patterned terracotta block. What the pattern looks like differs depending on the dye the block was before you glazed it
  2. Each glazed terracotta block has a specific pattern depending on the color. If you want to create the intended pattern with these finished blocks, laying them out in a counterclockwise sequence should get you the uniform pattern that many players are looking for. However, certain patterns may require a counterclockwise layout. You should be able to easily see when the pattern matches up and lay the blocks down accordingly.

Glazed Minecraft terracotta patterns

  1. To create larger patterns, just continue to place a square of four by four glazed terracotta blocks next to each other
  2. If desired, you don’t have to follow a pattern at all. Go nuts and make it your own!

Some handy things to know about patterned terracotta

  • They can’t be pulled by sticky pistons.
  • They can be pushed by sticky and regular pistons.
  • They won’t stick to honey and slime blocks.
  • The terracotta block must be dyed before it can be turned into a patterned block.
  • Because there are 16 dyes, that means there are 16 pattern types.
  • Magenta glazed blocks have an arrow pattern.
  • Yellow glazed blocks can form a sun pattern.
  • Cyan glazed blocks can form a creeper’s face.
  • Purple blocks look like a sword hilt.
  • Because they’ve been through a furnace twice, they are more brittle. You may not want to use them to repel creeper attacks.
  • You can buy glazed terracotta from expert-level stone mason villagers in exchange for an emerald.

Where to mine/find Minecraft glazed terracotta

Below, we have listed where you can mine and fine Minecraft glazed terracotta, but note that you can only mine these with a pickaxe:

  • Orange glazed blocks generate in Savanna Village, in the armorer houses.
  • White glazed blocks can generate in buildings in the desert.
  • Lime glazed blocks can be found in a desert village temple.
  • Purple glazed blocks are found in cold underwater ruins.
  • Light blue glazed blocks generate toolsmith houses within desert villages.
  • Yellow glazed blocks generate in Savanna villages in mason houses.
  • Trail ruins generate all colors of glazed terracotta except magenta, pink, and green.

Conclusion

Minecraft terracotta

Now that you know how to make terracotta in Minecraft, you can use it for practically anything. It’s also as blast resistant as stone. It takes a lot of time to construct enough to build an entire home out of, even if your home is small. If you’re ambitious, you can craft an entire home/base out of it, but you will be searching for clay for a long, long time. You may also have to make several trips since clay balls can only be stacked in stacks of 16 as opposed to stacks of 64, which is common for most blocks in Minecraft. 

Once you dye a terracotta block, you cannot change its color to a different one. It’s a good idea to check out the color you will get on a few blocks before dying everything. And remember, patterned/glazed terracotta is not nearly as strong as regular types, so don’t expect it to hold up as well against enemies.