Is this a photo or a 3d render?

Hi there,

This is a 3D render created with Sketchup and rendered with Kerkythea.

Thanks for asking!

Was it difficult does it take a lot of skill? I'm not familiar but it looks impressive.

None of it was "difficult" per se, but I've been using Sketchup and Kerkythea for a few years. I'd probably qualify as an intermediate modeler with Sketchup and a beginner with Kerkythea rendering. If you've never used 3D software before, I guess it could be difficult - but this particular model only took about an hour to create. It would've taken less time, but I had a hard time figuring out how to smooth the junction between the spheres and cylinders.

Kerkythea rendering was the easy part, I used a "canned" glass texture and rendered with very minor adjustments to the stock startup settings.

If you're interested, both programs are free and have their own respective forums for help, easily found with a Google search.