I used to get frustrated with how shitty I was at modeling humans etc. compared to more geometric things like guns. I realized it was because I was bad at drawi

I used to get frustrated with how shitty I was at modeling humans etc. compared to more geometric things like guns. I realized it was because I was bad at drawing (with a pen and paper); think about how many hours people spend learning to draw, and then add another dimension to that. "Modern" graphics are the equivalent of CGI-filled Hollywood blockbusters: incredibly expensive in both time and money and, most of the time, superfluous. As a single person or small team, you'll probably want to do something more personal and stylish. Even DOOM or Papers Please-level graphics are achievable by a single person in the timeframe of about a year or less, if you have a good idea of what you want. Your idea for an easy tool to manipulate off-the-shelf meshes is a good one. Lots of successful games have used stock models lately, Goat Simulator comes to mind.