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Zeitgeist — a spike by Chris Gathercole
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  2. Simon Willison — Creator of Datasette; co-creator of Django/

Quick Study

Blog · Watch/Read · (gathered 2026-10-29)

  • Simon Willison developed “Quick Study,” a web-based tool that rapidly transforms uploaded images into painted versions using simulated brushstrokes, showcasing AI’s capability (specifically Claude Opus 5.5 High) in generating creative code.
  • The tool paints images in passes from coarse to fine brushes, offering choices of medium (oil, watercolor, pointillist), detail level, and duration (2-10 seconds), and leverages Sobel edge detection for its processing.
  • Users can input images via file picker, drag-and-drop, or clipboard, and then compare, repaint, or download the finished “study” as a PNG, demonstrating a practical application of AI-assisted image manipulation.