Texture
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| texture | 肌理 | jī lǐ |
| actual texture | 实际肌理 | shí jì jī lǐ |
| implied texture | 视觉肌理 | shì jué jī lǐ |
| impasto | 厚涂 | hòu tú |
How a surface feels
- Texture 肌理 is the surface quality of a work — how it feels or appears to feel.
- Actual texture 实际肌理 can be physically touched (thick paint, collage).
- Implied texture 视觉肌理 is the illusion of a surface, made with marks.
Texture you can physically touch, like thick paint, is ____ texture.
Actual texture can be touched; implied texture is an illusion.
Making texture
- Techniques include stippling, hatching, and dry-brush.
- Impasto 厚涂 is thick paint that stands off the surface.
- Value and pattern can suggest rough or smooth without any real texture.
Actual or implied texture?
Sort each example as actual (touchable) or implied (illusion) texture.
Implied texture is an illusion made with marks, not something you can feel.
Implied texture looks rough or smooth but the surface is flat.
Thick paint that stands up off the surface is called ____.
Impasto creates actual, touchable texture.
Select all ways to create implied texture.
Stippling, hatching, and dry-brush imply texture; gluing sand is actual texture.
Match each term to its meaning.
Actual = touchable; implied = illusion; impasto = thick paint.
Texture and interest
- Contrasting smooth and rough areas adds interest.
- Texture can also direct the eye to a focal point.
- In photography, texture comes from light, focus, and surface detail.
A drawing can show texture without any real roughness — that is implied texture, made with marks and value. Do not assume texture requires thick materials; skilled mark-making can make smooth paper look like fur, bark, or metal.
Thick, ridged brushstrokes of impasto paint give actual texture you could touch. In contrast, a pencil drawing of the same rough bark uses careful marks and value for implied texture — the paper is smooth, but the eye reads roughness.
Texture is surface quality. Actual texture can be touched (thick paint, impasto, collage); implied texture is an illusion made with marks and value. Contrasting rough and smooth adds interest and can lead the eye.