Although this question gets asked many times, I'm glad it does.
I thought I was going to be able to process and tan my own hides in a reasonable amount of time, but I think I'm going to buy all my skins (and rawhide) from now on. I just can't see the benefit of tanning my own if I need more than 2 hides a year. Doing one or two skins is enjoyable, but I found that more than that will wear me out.
Home tanning hides is for the hard-core primitive enthusiast. If you are one...then dive right in....you'll love it.
In my opinion, and to answer your question, you make furs and buckskins the same way, and here are the steps to both:
Buy or trade from a reputable source.