Quote: "The uv map is really bad"
Why is it bad? Sure each part of the limbs maybe separated but with some good 2D work this shouldn't be much of an issue, the actual UV map is fairly well made and uses a lot of the mapping space which is rare to see around here.
Quote: "Dont use smoothing to make it look better"
If by smoothing you mean MeshSmoothing then why not? If he MeshSmoothed that hand by 1-2 iterations he may well end up with a rubber glove like model but doing a MeshSmooth does not mean it's impossible to edit the mesh afterwards to tweak it. After all his fingers are currently extruded rectangles, if you MeshSmooth this then you'd end up with a cylinder with a rounded edge at the finger tips, unless I'm mistaken all fingers are more or less like this.
Quote: "There's no skill or art involved."
True there is no skill involved with just applying such a filter/modifier but does this not go for extrude, chamfer and any other tool to make your life easier? As there is such a technique as Subdivision Modelling whereby you make a low detailed mesh which is easy to edit and meshsmooth it which is ideal for organics.
