Fancy plywood is very flat, and smooth. Fancy veneers can be plainly sliced, quarter sliced, or rotary cut (such as rotary cut fancy birch veneer). Usually, fancy veneers are natural wood. But artificial (man-made) fancy veneers (also called engineered wood veneers) are also available. Artificial fancy veneers look similar to natural wood veneers but are much cheaper. The raw materials for fancy plywood should be much better.