Sometimes I'll use a standard texture, but usually in a way you wouldn't recognise or notice. Those were about a week or so each. Cyan is a great place to work, full of incredibly talented, fun, and Imaginative people. Having the opportunity to work alongside people of that calibre is inspiring for someone like me, who has, for most of my 3d life, been working in complete 3d isolation. Operating as a freelance artist has its benefits, but places like Cyan make you realise just how limited your creative scope can be when on your own.
Creative collaboration opens up all kinds of new possibilities and new ways of thinking.
And I make a lot of new friends. I've learned a lot that way. I would have jumped at the chance to tap into the 3d online communities we have now when I was starting out, and I see no reason why people shouldn't benefit from the vast resource of knowledge out there. Hehe, too long if you ask my wife. I normally spend lots of time on-line.