I just need to figure out how to acquire my own materials.
How would a bunch of linguists know the answer to this?
There are forges at smithies in various towns, though they don't all have all the equipment. The one in Whiterun (right next to the front gate) is the best place to go to learn - there's a small quest with the lady there that acts as a walkthrough of the various bits and pieces. You can get ore from mines, or by buying it from the Smiths. You need a pickaxe to get the ore out - there's almost always one lying around in a mine somewhere. They're heavy and annoying to carry around, though. You can also find gems while mining. Seams will become depleted after you've mined them (though not while the NPCs are). Once you have ore, you head to a smelter (big round oven), and there you can make ingots (some metals need more than one ore to make an ingot). Smelters are found at some smithies and outside mines. If you learn the Transmute (Alteration) spell, you can turn your iron ore into silver and the silver into gold. And then make expensive jewellery to sell. You'll also need leather and leather strips - any animal pelt, and use the tanning rack. More expensive/larger pelts make more leather. Leather can be turned into leather strips, but you'll need both. The forge is where you create new items - depending on your level and what ingots and leather and leather strips you have in your inventory. The workbench is for improving armour and the grindstone is for improving weapons (how much depends on level). You'll need the same materials that you used to create them to improve items. Generally, you don't need to bother mining - you can steal or buy everything you need. You will need to level up and pick perks in order to create or improve certain types - get the enchanting one as soon as possible! The others. eh, up to you. They're handy, but you may have more important places to put perks.
