Вопреки тому что глина казалась сухой, ученик вылепил чашку.

Yes. Вопреки тому что means something like contrary to the fact that, despite the fact that, or although.

In this sentence, it introduces a contrast:

• the clay seemed dry
• but the student still managed to shape a cup

A learner should know, though, that вопреки тому что is understandable but somewhat bookish or formal. In everyday Russian, speakers often prefer:

• хотя = although
• несмотря на то, что = despite the fact that

So this sentence could also be expressed with:

• Хотя глина казалась сухой, ученик вылепил чашку.
• Несмотря на то, что глина казалась сухой, ученик вылепил чашку.

This is because вопреки тому что is functioning as a whole conjunction-like expression.

A useful way to think about it is:

• вопреки on its own is usually a preposition meaning contrary to
• it normally takes the dative case
• тому is the dative form of то

So literally, the structure is something like:

• вопреки тому = contrary to that
• что... = that...

Together: contrary to the fact that...

You do not need to treat тому here as a separate word chosen freely every time; it is part of the established expression вопреки тому что.

Yes. Вопреки normally takes the dative case.

Examples:

• вопреки правилам = against the rules / contrary to the rules
• вопреки ожиданиям = contrary to expectations
• вопреки совету друга = against a friend’s advice

That helps explain тому in вопреки тому что, because тому is dative.

Because after the verb казаться (to seem / appear), the predicate adjective is often put in the instrumental case.

So:

• глина = nominative subject
• казалась = seemed
• сухой = instrumental feminine singular of сухая

This pattern is very common:

• Он казался уставшим. = He seemed tired.
• Она казалась спокойной. = She seemed calm.
• Дом казался пустым. = The house seemed empty.

You may sometimes encounter nominative after similar verbs in some contexts, but with казаться, the instrumental is the standard pattern learners should expect.

Сухой here is the instrumental singular feminine form of сухая (dry).

The adjective сухой has several forms depending on gender, number, and case. Here it agrees with глина, which is:

• feminine
• singular

But because it comes after казалась, it appears in the instrumental:

• nominative feminine: сухая
• instrumental feminine: сухой

So глина казалась сухой literally means the clay seemed dry.

Because the subject is глина, and глина is a feminine noun.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine: казался
• feminine: казалась
• neuter: казалось
• plural: казались

So:

• глина казалась because глина is feminine singular
• if the subject were камень (stone, masculine), it would be камень казался сухим
• if the subject were тесто (dough, neuter), it would be тесто казалось сухим

Вылепил is the past tense, masculine singular form of the perfective verb вылепить, which means to mold, to sculpt, or to shape out of a soft material such as clay.

Why this form?

• ученик is masculine singular, so the past tense is вылепил
• the verb is perfective, so it presents the action as completed: he successfully made the cup

Compare:

• лепить = imperfective, to be molding / to mold in a general or ongoing sense
• вылепить = perfective, to mold and finish

So the sentence focuses on the result: the student made a cup.

Yes, in many contexts слепил could also work, and it also means molded / shaped.

However, there can be a slight nuance:

• лепить / слепить is the very common general pair for shaping something by hand
• вылепить can emphasize shaping something out of material into a finished form

In a clay context, both are quite natural. Вылепил чашку sounds perfectly good and highlights the formed result.

Because чашку is the accusative singular form, and it is the direct object of вылепил.

The student molded what?
→ чашку

Since чашка is a feminine noun ending in -а, the accusative singular changes to -у:

• nominative: чашка
• accusative: чашку

This is a basic and very common pattern for feminine nouns.

Because the first part, Вопреки тому что глина казалась сухой, is a subordinate clause introducing a contrast.

Russian uses a comma to separate this subordinate clause from the main clause:

• subordinate clause: Вопреки тому что глина казалась сухой
• main clause: ученик вылепил чашку

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like:

• Although the clay seemed dry, the student molded a cup.

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible, though different orders can sound more natural depending on emphasis.

The given sentence is neutral and clear:

• Вопреки тому что глина казалась сухой, ученик вылепил чашку.

You could also place the main clause first:

• Ученик вылепил чашку, вопреки тому что глина казалась сухой.

That is grammatical, but it may sound a bit heavier or more literary. In practice, when a sentence begins with a concessive clause like although / despite the fact that..., placing that clause first is very common.

Both are possible, depending on context.

• ученик often means pupil or school student
• in broader contexts, it can also mean student, learner, or even disciple/apprentice

In this sentence, without more context, student is a reasonable general translation. If the context is specifically a schoolchild in an art class, pupil might fit even better.

Yes, a few things make it useful for intermediate learners:

1. The conjunction

   • вопреки тому что is less common than хотя or несмотря на то, что

2. Case after a verb of seeming

   • казалась сухой shows the instrumental predicate after казаться

3. Past-tense gender agreement

   • казалась agrees with feminine глина
   • вылепил agrees with masculine ученик

4. Object case

   • чашку is accusative singular

So even though the sentence is not long, it contains several important grammar patterns at once.