I am the editor of my schools yearbook, and when I saw this art and thought it would be a great idea for the cover. Now I am wondering where i could possible do it (3d photoshop maybe?)
It would be possible, of course, but difficult. 3D work like this is usually best done in more capable 3D applications.
Good design is often a balance between what one would like to do and what one can realistically make happen considering one’s time, resources and ability. If you don’t already know how to do this kind of thing, which your question indicates is likely the case, you probably ought to have a fall-back design ready to go.
You could look for free stock.These ones here might cost a couple bucks but they will give you search tags. Royalty free does not mean you can just download them. It is a term that means you pay one standard price for any use, as opposed to Rights Managed where you’d pay through the nose based on how many times you printed it.
On your budget I’d recommend the free app Blender to quickly create those assets.
I could see the 3d elements being rendered in Illustrator, and perhaps the final shading being done in photoshop (maybe AI as well, i’m not thoroughly skilled in 3D)
The background could be a stock photo of your choosing, apply what appears to be a ‘box blur’.
I assume you’d have the 3D elements swapped out with something pertaining to the school. But the overall feel of this sample piece doesn’t speak yearbook to me. It speaks tech, software, social media - not something to be cherished for years to come.