It's true. I always use a silly analogy when people ask me about bulking up ...

"Michaelangelo didn't carve David from a pebble. He used a big boulder."

In your case, I would say to start weight training (beginner's article is at top of this forum in the EXERCISE LINKS topic) ... get used to the moves ... after about 2 weeks, see how your body is adapting (feel of muscles, metabolism, etc) ...

Then, I would say start to get your calories to a level where they would encourage muscle growth (a.k.a. ANABOLISM).

Then the magic starts.