Welcome to Dark BASIC and TGC. Fun is to be had here!
What things have you tried so far using Dark BASIC? Have you tried the classics like Pong, Tetris, Break Out etc.?
As you've probably discovered there are quite a few examples and a tutorial that come with Dark BASIC and much can be learned by looking in the Code Base and Code Snippets board. A fair amount of trial and error may be required as is the case with learning a lot of things but if you get stuck on something in particular then feel free to post a question and someone is bound to help you out. Do a quick search on the topic before hand though otherwise some people may get a bit annoyed!
In terms of modelling software, head over to 3D chat where I believe there is a stickied post listing some good options.
Bump mapping is moving on to using shaders. Until you're comfortable with Dark BASIC I wouldn't recommend getting into that just yet but a useful thread exists in the WIP board entitled Ultimate Shader Pack which has a download containing a vast array of useful shaders free to use and learn from.
Hope I've helped a bit but without knowing exactly how far you are I don't know what else to suggest! Please feel free to ask more questions and I or someone else will help as best we can.
[Edit]Typos! Sorry![/Edit]
