Just as a hint - since you were talking about “what a good orchestrator does”… for a natural sounding string ensemble it is highly recommended to record the individual lines one at a time instead of playing chords. I do know that this is much more work, but it is for sure something that will add to the quality of your arrangements (since the lines can move independently concerning note-lengths and also concerning “emotion”/expression) and of your recordings.
Having said that, of course the way you are starting is common practice - as a shortcut so to speak.