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Beth, it seems to me that you have to be careful about keeping dark areas flat and ridge-free because they have a tendency to pick up shine and glare (especially when photographed). I personally have started to fanbrush (and scrape) darks and keep them as medium-free as I can until the final layer (which sometimes is the first layer in the case of darks). Mediums often seem to cause ridges; I guess it depends on the medium. Opaque, ridgey whites help achieve three-dimensionality because they physically move toward the viewer as well as optically move forward.
These are maybe issues of painting styles. People who are working toward photo-realism try hard to keep it all flat, it seems to me; but the neo-classicists are also trying to keep a very smooth surface. I'm neither of these but I admire a lot of their work.
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