Progress on projects

[Estaar]

I normally don't worry about this, but since animals are fierce in some of the locations I'm in, I have been wondering the following:

1. Does progress on a gathering project also depend on how much time you have actually been active in the project between each project tick, or do you get the same result if you are active at every tick (and for example hidden inside a building between the project ticks)?

2. Does your skill level determine how long it takes you to gather a certain resource? Say you need to collect papayas and you are an awkward forester. Does this mean it will take you that much longer to gather the same amount than if you were an expert forester?

[Chroma Key]

1) It doesn't matter where your char is between ticks, so long as she/he is participating at the right time (on the project when the tick hits), the project will progress as usual.
2) Yes. One of my chars is awkward at weapon making, and she can only make about 8.5% progress a tick on a day long project. My expert's hourly progress on the same kind of project is 18.1%.