For this, I wanted to imply texture, rather than masking it in Photoshop. I added soft highlights to the dress and sharp highlights to the shawl and shoes to imply a different fabric.
As the title suggests, I simplify my line work in one of a few ways. For this character, I dropped a high contrast scan in Adobe Illustrator and expanded the image.
This was one of those days where you set out to draw one thing and end up with something completely different. I have always struggled to draw the female form, but every once in a while, an idealized figure appears on the page against my will... I say against my will because when I drew this I had been trying to draw a man with a cowboy hat...