I wanna start a project but I don’t know if i’d have to buy anything… Would I have to buy models for weaponry, and environmental objects, or could I make them myself.
You want to make your own project but you dont have money to spend?
1st you got knowelage in concept art, modelling, rigging, animation, sound design, programming, level design and bunch of other xD?
If the answer no you first need to learn 1 of this by your self (pref using a professional online school the best got usualy 29,90$ mounthly not the best you found tutorials in youtoube but you need 10x more time to learn our found a nice chanel)
After you need a team in with you need 1 persone per knowelage our max 2 knovelage per person. When you got a little team you maby made a decent project if you alone you spend ears to learn evrything and at the end you understand that alone you do max games like tetris in best way.
Anyway there is some programs that got student access like all program from autodesk like maya, 3ds max, mudbox and more other. But if you start use them for commercial use you need to buy license. Good think of this programs that you gor 3 years of free access they are the best programs for this work and if you make a good digital curricolum you can found a job in studious. Bad think is that if you want to sold any of your creation you need to pay money for license.
There is an altenrative for 3D modelling and animation you can use Blander but is no so efficent and professional how autodesk product and usualy out of date.
If you want to make money to make a team and maby make a intresting project i suggest you to learn programming with blueprint you can do the same think with blueprint that you can do with c++ and you dont need to learn C++. In unreal engine you found alot of tutorials for blueprint. After you got a perfect knowelage you can make usefull blueprint and sold them on marketplace without any coust. after you can learn maya for modelling and with blueprint earning you can pay maya lecense and made few 3d models for your blueprints to sold them more easely. After you know maya and unreal engine go to substance for texturing is free until you use it for learning and 29,90 mounthly for indie developing. There is alot of ways all depend if you got knowelage our money our time.