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>Should I work on simplifying the forms?
I know you probably meant transitions. All these art terms are confusing.
- transitions: gradations between shadow and highlight that communicate the form
- form: the shape (if you run your finger over your cheekbone, you can feel it's round form)
- planes: the angular sections of the face that catch light and cast shadow
We want to simplify transitions, and ENHANCE forms/make them easy to understand. If the forms are simplified, the face will flatten and lose depth. Like the scleras: by making sure the shadows and highlights on the sclera communicate it's form clearly, it makes the image more visually appealing. If we simplify the form of the sclera, it will become flat. D&B "carving" is the act of bringing out depth by choosing which highlights and shadows should be exaggerated, which clutter the image and should be simplified, and where we should create shadows and highlights where there are none to make the forms easy to understand.
I always hate to say it but to do the d&b "carving" phase of the high end edit correctly it really requires understanding of drawing and painting. Mainly perspective, planes of the face, how light behaves/how to render it, and ideally how to paint faces from scratch. Without that, you'll just be simplifying the shadows and highlights and hoping it doesn't end up looking weird.
