4 ms·
I finally got access. Here are the pelicans! https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgist.github.com%2Fsimonw%2Ff789d2784fc6c5b8
by simonw 1mo ago
I finally got access. Here are the pelicans! https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgist.github.com%2Fsimonw%2Ff789d2784fc6c5b870cc80f0b7cd9d01 https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer?url=ht...
The "max" one at the bottom took 4 minutes 2 seconds and cost 63.206 cents.
For comparison, here those new Astra pelicans are in a grid with the GPT-5.6 pelicans: https://static.simonwillison.net/static/2026/gpt-6-and-5.6-pelicans.html https://static.simonwillison.net/static/2026/gpt-6-and-5.6-p...
- sanex 1mo agoEven the "low" pelican is better than most other models.
- matt_heimer 1mo agoIt's subjective but I think only gpt-5.6-sol XHIGH is comparable to gpt-6-astra LOW in quality. And it's 24.11 cents vs 9.55 for astra low.
- sanex 1mo agoSomething I've noticed especially with fable at work is it seems to be smarter, so it takes fewer tokens and burns less of my usage than smaller models would for similar tasks.
- psii 1mo agoInteresting that the composition is stable across different runs. There is much more variety in other models.
- simonw 1mo agoEspecially interesting that once Astra gets to high, xhigh, max it uses the same aesthetic.
- saaaaaam 1mo agoI think the Gemini 3.8 Flash ones the other day were superior pelicans. Particularly the murderous one who was going to squish his tiny cousin. Interesting that terra xhigh effort is cycling right left, in opposition to the prevailing pelican left to right direction.
- irthomasthomas 1mo agoTechnically on par with gemini flash 3.8, but I give Astra more points for style, and for breaking from the pack by not adding the headgear, and the fish in a basket.
- drivers99 1mo agoIt's a different prompt. It says his prompt was "Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle" but one I saw earlier this week specifically talked about the blue helmet and fish in a basket.
- irthomasthomas 1mo agoI don't think so: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49538217 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49538217
- drivers99 1mo agoIt looks like I misinterpreted the bottom of this page[0] where it says: > A seaside scene: a white pelican in a blue helmet pedals a red bicycle along the beach, one wing gripping the handlebar, its big orange beak and pouch out front, webbed feet on the pedals, and a fish tucked in the front basket for later. I thought that was the prompt from how it was worded. I guess it's part of the response. [0] https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgist.github.com%2Fsimonw%2F17318f748f8c2b476051ddc2ebeb94a7 https://tools.simonwillison.net/markdown-svg-renderer?url=ht... scroll to the bottom
- jumploops 1mo agoThe "max" pelican looks very serious, almost as if it's determined to win the race!
- 6thbit 1mo ago63 cents is quite cheap isn't it? If you compare vs Fable5.1 Max @ a whooping $3.30
- ed-is-ai 1mo agoPretty nice pelicans!
- shiandow 1mo agoThe most interesting part to me is the bike. I don't think any of them would actually work, but the mistakes feel somewhat human.
- tehlike 1mo agoAt this point in time, we should be able to switch to 3D pelicans in a navigable environment.
- eh_why_not 1mo agoFWIW, they had a similar-looking pelican (with the red bandana on the neck and all) in their release video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOC3DisEOfg&t=119s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOC3DisEOfg&t=119s
- alexwige 1mo agoLove it! You should do a big table comparing pelicans for all the models you tested across all the big companies!
- ccanassa 1mo agoThis is very sus, I got almost the same pelican with Fable 5.1.