I’d recommend Maya LT since it’s actually affordable at $30/month. For modeling/texturing/animation is has almost all the tools from the full version. Just you can’t render and certain things are removed (like plugins).
You also need to know Photoshop to create textures. You can get a subscription for $10/month from Adobe.
Some books on C++ would be helpful. I’d recommend C++ Primer or C++ Primer Plus (no relation).