And wouldn't that 6 megapixel image you started with be "cheating," because you didn't handpaint every bit of that texture? How can tweaking dials on Vicky to produce a shape be art - surely you need to create an entire model from scratch? Questioning is always good but eventually, it reaches a point of Reductio ad absurdium and you find yourself digging the dand to make the silicon to make the chips to build the computer...instead of enjoying Poser. I agree with SothArtist's ILM anology. Yes, you can write a script, build a set, sew the costumes, set up the camera and act out all the parts in a film and I'm sure it would give a sense of accomplishment. That doesn't detract from the craft of the director who works with others who provide all of those functions to fulfill his or her vision. If you have a flair for modeling or creating textures for your work, by all means do it, but don't think any less of your work if you don't.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken