Agent draws an oriole's nest stroke by stroke: Fable 5.2's first hand-drawn piece uses 30,000 marks

RileyRalmuto · x · 2026-11-10

Developer RileyRalmuto unveiled the "Sketchbook," a custom drawing suite built over 6 months that simulates the full physics of hand drawing—pressure, velocity, ink viscosity, angular momentum, drag, dry time, and eraser properties—so agents can draw "by hand" as realistically as possible.

Fable 5.2 chose graphite on paper for its first piece: an oriole's hanging nest rendered in 30,000 pencil, charcoal, and chalk marks, 100% code and drawn line by line—every over-under strand crossing was a deliberate, shaded decision. The single blue strand reflects real oriole behavior, as they weave human string into nests.

Notably, the agent critiqued its own work in the artist statement, saying the strands curve too evenly—"real dry grass kinks"—and attributing the flaw to itself rather than the tool. The piece holds up at double size, and the tool estimates only half of a page's stroke capacity was used.

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Agent draws an oriole's nest stroke by stroke: Fable 5.2's first hand-drawn piece uses 30,000 marks

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