For this project, I wanted to create a pot that resembles ancient terracotta, it took a while but I'm happy with the end result. Though these pots were used for cooking, I think that they would look amazing in a garden or front lawn.

For inspiration I looked at some pots from the Herodian Era (37 BC to 70 AD) in Jerusalem. All pots from that era took a roundish shape with usually 2 handles.

Step 1: Skeleton

The first this I did was create the skeleton of how I want the pot to look. This was simple, as I just used 9 regular polygons (about 20-30 sides each) and lines. Just by looking at it on an angle, you can already see the pot's shape forming.

Step 2: Filling in the Frame

The second thing I did was to fill in the skeleton with shapes so I could get a basic pot. After tweaking the size of the polygons and adding a few extra as well, it was starting to look like how I imagined it.

Then I painted the whole thing white and hid most of the lines. Now My plan is to add the handles

Step 3: Handles

This were probably the most hardest part. Making the shape of the handles was a test of trial and error. Eventually I got a shape I liked. To make the handles 3D and more circular I added more sections to the handle skeletons. This helped make the pot more realistic. Then I filled the handles with shapes and hid some of the lines. The handles look really tiny, but that's the size of the handles in the Herodian Era.

Step 4: Hollowing Out the Pot

At this stage, we can't really call it a pot, its fully solid. So to make this into an actual pot we will essentially do the same thing we did in step 1, we will make a skeleton in the inside, and fill it with shapes. This was moderately hard but not too difficult, just time consuming.

Step 5: Refining Look, and Taking Out Lines

Now I'm going to start taking out the lines, and refining the details a bit. This will make is look better and more realistic. At the same time, I'm also going to smoothen the surface, to make it look like an actual pot, and not a poly one. It doesn't show much in picture though but now the pot is smooth. Not as smooth as I would like to have it, but it's good enough.

Step 6: Tiny Details

To give it that "old" look, I decided to add some cracks and chips here and there. They aren't that noticeable but still look really nice

Step 7: Adding Color

For this pot I wanted it to have a faded brown color to give it a pottery feel to it. I used a light shade of beige for this pot.

Step 8: Material and Pot Features

I wanted this pot to be made of terracotta, as they are porous and absorb any excess water that might cause the roots to rot.

I also added a hole at the bottom of the pot to drain excess water and to further prevent root rot. There are 4 holes in total with each one being 1/4 inches in diameter as recommended by Purdue University.