What are some options for adding customized characters for someone new to it?

And maybe you don’t realize you don’t have to have character models that would impress Naughty Dog just to have characters in a game. I’ve been trying to learn every other side of development including marketing for several years already and I haven’t found any character designer to join any projects. I’ve looked. I don’t need photorealism. I need quest givers. Whats the point of the Marketplace if everyone thought you have to make everything from scratch like you guys think?