Techniques are provided for generating a digital image of simulated handwriting using an encoder-decoder neural network trained on images of natural handwriting samples. The simulated handwriting image can be generated based on a style of a handwriting sample and a variable length coded text input. The style represents visually distinctive characteristics of the handwriting sample, such as the shape, size, slope, and spacing of the letters, characters, or other markings in the handwriting sample. The resulting simulated handwriting image can include the text input rendered in the style of the handwriting sample. The distinctive visual appearance of the letters or words in the simulated handwriting image mimics the visual appearance of the letters or words in the handwriting sample image, whether the letters or words in the simulated handwriting image are the same as in the handwriting sample image or different from those in the handwriting sample image.