Speaking as a beginner in the video games industry in general, what is required of a professional texture artist? What is expected in terms of deliverables, skills and abilities? What crucial attributes should I go about getting/improving before attempting to crack into this field?

Fortunately I already have an arts degree and the resulting portfolio, at the moment it needs more examples of work that demonstrate an understanding of texture design, but I'm confident enough that I can pull that off.

The degree actually covered most of what was suggested in #27, but I was wondering what the specific demands on a texture artist actually are. When a company begins production, what deliverables are the texture artists generally expected to contribute to the team/product? I can't seem to find this information.