There are many modeling programs out there from free to a few thousand dollars. I have been modeling since last year and use Wings 3D, Amapi 6.1 (Both Free). And just purchased Carrara and Hexagon 1.2 last month plus Hexagon 2.0 this weekend. Daz3D has Hexagon 2 on sale right now for $1.99 for Platinum Club members.

Start with some tutorials and simple props to learn to basics of the program and modeling techniques.  For programs you will need a program suited for organic modeling. Hexagon is good and I have seen some fairly good models from Wings. You will need a UV Mapper program such as UV Mapper Classic or Pro. For morphs several of the modeling programs are capable of this. You will need Poser Pro Pack or above to rig and bone the figure. You will also need a paint program to create your texture maps ( Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop or Gimp to name a few)
And lot of free time to learn to model human figures plus the other softwares.