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The astonishing ability of computers to turn entirely imaginary objects into realistic representations is obvious just by watching pretty much any recent blockbuster movie. I know I go on about it a lot, but it bears repeating that with 3D printing you can take it a step further: turning entirely imaginary objects into their physical counterparts. This isn't the first time I've compared renders to reality (or is it the other way around? I forget), but the question of how close they can get remains a bit of a fascination.

So what do you think? One of these images is a render, created using Blender Cycles. The other is a photograph of a 3D print generated from the same model and cast in bronze. Which is which though?

If you're not sure, click on the image for a larger version, and leave a comment if you think you've figured it out!