bobulate:

Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics (1994!) showed how an abstract sketch of a simple smiley face is a more effective representation than a detailed photograph when one intends to appeal to a broad audience. The lack of detail allows room for a greater resonance, engaging ideas that go beyond a single person’s vision. Audiences are free to interpret the drawing, projecting their own stories upon it.

For the greatest resonance, use the least amount of detail.

Although I haven’t read the books myself, people have suggested to me that this is the reason the Twilight novels are so successful. The characters are so badly developed and devoid of detail that they’re the literary equivalent of a smiley face.