What is the term for texture that is suggested but not physically felt?

Answer Details

Simulated texture (also called visual or implied texture) is texture that is suggested visually in a two-dimensional artwork but cannot be physically felt. The artist uses techniques such as shading, colour variation, and brushwork to create the illusion that a surface is rough, smooth, soft, or hard, even though the actual surface of the painting or drawing is flat.

Real texture, actual texture, and surface texture all refer to texture that can be physically touched and felt. For example, the rough surface of an impasto painting or the raised threads of a woven textile have actual texture. Simulated texture, by contrast, exists only as a visual illusion on a flat surface.