You could use regular pliers to make a jin, although there are special tools for such things, they aren't really going to be necessary for beginners.
As far as making it look good, some of that is preference, but I think a lot of people leave their jin far too long. When branches die, they usually don't stay whole for long, they break, maybe a few times, getting closer to the trunk each time, they get sun bleached and brittle, snow loads and strong winds break off chunks.