General question about object making

#1 It depends on the artist, their familiarity with the package, and the complexity of the model/scene/animations. It can also take a considerable amount of time to texture a model well, especially if it is animated. It is nearly impossible to give some general timeline as artists work very differently. Are you asking how long it will take someone who is learning Blender or how long it will take a veteran modeler in Max to make a barrel? Are they going to be making normal maps, specular maps, multiple skins? I can make a crate in seconds. I have the skins and know my box tools like a pro in Lightwave. But it would take me longer if I were creating the textures from source photos. The model wouldn't take long, however, but that's a very simple model. A sword will depend on the complexity and texturing. A simple tapered blade with a boxy hilt would take next to no time for even an inexperienced modeler. Making a nicely decorated sword worthy of a King, however, would take significantly longer with much more precision and love.

There's really not any way I can reliably answer the question other than to say "it depends".

#2 Thanks David, your info was very useful actually. The reason why I'm asking is I have been spent this entire year learning coding, scripting, etc. I still have a long way to go but next year I might be ready to actually start making a game. I was trying to get a general feel on the art side of things, if I sacrificed quality and put in the time to learn it could I crank out a bunch of simple objects myself or would I look into hiring someone to do the art work. Your response does give me a feel for it so thank you!

#3 Use programmer art to prototype. Then, when you have a solid prototype, shop it to artists. People are much more willing to work on a game that they can play than one that is in idea form and may never actually materialize.

#4 Well when the time comes I doubt very much I will seek out the "free" help but would be willing to hire someone for the project. I've even thought about out sourcing it to an off shore artist (yes I know, the dreaded outsource). But I do get what you are saying, make some quick and dirty cheap objects to use and then replace them later with some real art.