lol i'm not even 18 and when i started i just winged it,ya know fool around with it.without even reading the manual i made a toon apple.the down side is thats befor i learned about groups it tok 5 models to make it lol.but just do at least most of the tutuorals in the book then just start from there.it helps to have ok drawing skills.my first real model turned out exactly how i drew back then(a year ago i'm much better now)and thats a bad thing.and if you in school try using a:m for school projects.heak open a buisness if you want.just goof off and get familiar with every thing.and read some tutorals.
oh and about the bone thing it about what realated to what...like for in stance.
thigh
----calf
-------ankle
------------toes
in this form when the thigh moves the calf ankle and foot move too.all you have to do is right click the boon and hit attach bone icon on the right
oh and if you wanna know how to model a body just look at the models in the built in library, just cheak the tutoral resourse area, or download one take caution of what you download.
it was for a project