/3/ - 3DCG

do you think a gamedev has to learn 3d modeling and art to the same degree a "real artist" has to?
the difference is that an artist has to work for customers and always focus on doing one task as good as possible, whereas a gamedev just has to make models good enough for their own game and then call it a day. also a gamedev doesn't need to reach a quality level for movies.
that being said, what's the bare minimum an gamedev should learn/master to have a comfortable workflow to make assets? and what should a gamedev ignore to save time and get more stuff done?
if we all had infinite time i wouldn't ask this question, but since i want to get a game done in my lifetime i seriously need a plan how to approach asset creation in a realistic way. i dont want to shortcut my way through everything, but i also dont know what boundaries i should enforce on myself to focus on getting assets done.
also i what's a good way to approach buying or downloading free assets? should i use premade assets whenever possible or does using too many assets mean too much risk regarding sloppy licensing/copyright terms?
also should i learn anatomy and stuff in depth or should i focus on just using other peoples models as references and work around that and not bother too much about understand all the details?

well, tldr: what shortcuts can i take and what shortcuts will bite me in the back?

ofc there's no definite answer to this, but maybe someone has some experience doing lots of art for their own game!?