personally i do mostly by hand myself, but I guess I'm practiced enough at it that it goes pretty quickly. i can generally model, UV map, render normal maps, create textures, and finish a first pass at an art asset in a single 8 hour period, depending on complexity (like, a piece of furniture).

But yeah, when you're first getting into it, there is a bit of a learning curve. Just takes practice really.

Even if I had pelting available, I don't think I'd just take it as is. i'd still want to hand-tweak.