I will say that it is a deep subject that may distract you from your other pursuits, but here's some stuff that you may find useful/interesting:
Unreal 4 Game Engine:
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/what-is-unreal-engine-4
(There are others, but this one allows you to work with it for free until you decide to do anything commercial, then its a small percentage. It also looks the best across many different styles and aesthetics.)
Mesh Creation Tools:
Maya/Autodesk (Pricey, but excellent - 30day Trial) https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview
Blender (Free, but obfuscating menu design is distracting to some) - https://www.blender.org/
Procedural Texturing Tools - Allegorithmic "Substance" Tool Suite - https://www.allegorithmic.com/
(The textures can be produced from photo/scan inputs as well - very powerful toolset.)
I'd love to see you do something with these, if you have some time to invest.
Feel free to ask any questions, I'd be happy to answer or at least point you to someone who can.
I see, thanks for the explanation and the links. Phew... don't think I can put any more on my plate anytime soon..
I have done a few simple things with blender, like my steampunk dragon, but these things are rather crude and simple, as I "render" the old fashioned way..
Then I say grab Unreal 4 and Substance Painter to give it a go. You have decent models to work with already.
I realize it takes out time from things, but it could open other avenues you haven't explored.