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Resources Worth Checking Out

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ShadowCell

Rendered Romance Contest Participant

Mar 23, 2025

resource guide
Resources Worth Checking Out

SDXL/Pony

If you don't have the system requirements for FLUX, or don't want long generation times; then start here - Pretty much a LoRA to cover everything you could want already out there. Start with Pony Realism & CyberRealistic Pony first if you're new to AI.

S+ Tier

  1. Pony Realism 🔮 https://civitai.com/models/372465/pony-realism My favourite SDXL/Pony checkpoint. I like to rock both v2.2 & v2.1 (I think they're both worth checking out, but def start with v2.2, as 2.1 seems to produce more anomalies. I still regularly switch back to using 2.1 regardless though). Put this at the start of your positive prompts to instantly improve results "score_9, score_8_up, score_7_up"

  2. DucHaiten-Pony-Real https://civitai.com/models/477851/duchaiten-pony-real (Still 'realistic', but heavily stylized, & I love the style. It's biased more towards Asians, but this actually works surprisingly well to its favour when you mix it with caucasian LoRAs or ReActor composite image blending (where you blend a bunch of different face models together).

  3. DucHaiten-Pony-XL (no-score) https://civitai.com/models/376450/duchaiten-pony-xl-no-score (Variant) I still really like v5.2, so maybe check that out after the newest versions if you like those.

  4. MeichiDarkMix_Reload https://civitai.com/models/643227/meichidarkmixreload Similar-ish (also heavily stylized like DucHaiten). I've had great results regarding versatility. I prefer this to DucHaiten, it also produces less deformaties/weird anatomy/busted fingers, etc. Also produces less abstract, sharper detailed images (especially backgrounds).

  5. 2DN https://civitai.com/models/520661?modelVersionId=933040 (I should preface this by saying I don't really like anime typically, but in terms of less realistic checkpoints; I find I often quite like the outputs on this one). If you're new; less realism usually = more forgiving/lax tweaking to achieve good results).

  6. GDP_PonyXL https://civitai.com/models/571319/gdpponyxl (Less realistic, stylized checkpoint). Similar to above.

  7. Dr. Pibb PonyXL https://civitai.com/models/499918/dr-pibb-ponyxl (Less realistic again, but this one just 'works'. The image outputs just look good without much effort, & it fills in all the blanks in the image prompt really well, & without tons of weird stuff going on in the image).

  8. CyberRealistic Pony https://civitai.com/models/443821?modelVersionId=1478064 (Realistic, but less versatile than Pony Realism. Quite similar though, & very good).

  9. Real Dream https://civitai.com/models/153568/real-dream (Similar to Pony Realism, but not as good).

  10. Realism_By_Stable_Yogi https://civitai.com/models/166609/realismbystableyogi Orientated towards realism, but I often find the outputs look slightly weird as a result/uncanny valley effect). Make sure you read guide/download Stable_Yogis_PDXL_Negatives, etc, otherwise outputs will suffer badly. Good inpainting.

  11. Jib Mix Realistic XL https://civitai.com/models/194768/jib-mix-realistic-xl (I haven't had the chance to use this one much, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. Great at mythical fantasy & surreal content)

  12. epiCRealism XL https://civitai.com/models/277058/epicrealism-xl

  13. Speciosa Realistica https://civitai.com/models/488361/speciosa-realistica (Very unique - You may fall in love with the style). Asians, Stylized Realism.

  14. Juggernaut XL https://civitai.com/models/133005/juggernaut-xl (Realistic / Apparently the most downloaded checkpoint ever).

Sadly there's a bunch of other models in my permanent collection I'd link, but the creators removed them ;(

A Tier

(Either limited in some way checkpoints, or just not as good as the S Tier list above, or they just lack that special something, something)

  1. ZavyChromaXL https://civitai.com/models/119229/zavychromaxl (Realism capable, Surreal + Fantasy Art - Doesn't do adult content)

  2. DreamShaper XL https://civitai.com/models/112902/dreamshaper-xl (Realism capable, Mythical, Fantasy Art - Doesn't do adult content)

  3. PowerPuffMix https://civitai.com/models/805817/powerpuffmix (Most similar to Pony Realism. I don't have anything particularly meaningful to say about it... it's just good)

  4. Jib Mix Pony Realistic https://civitai.com/models/515034/jib-mix-pony-realistic (Realism - This probably belongs more in S Tier, but I just never really seem to personally want to use it/prefer other options). J1B stuff is generally great across the board though.

  5. Crystal Clear XL https://civitai.com/models/122822/crystal-clear-xl (Realistic, Midjourney-looking, Fantasy-ish)

  6. ForRealXL https://civitai.com/models/432244/forrealxl-v10

  7. IDENTITY DISORDER (PONYXL) https://civitai.com/models/362232/identity-disorder-ponyxl-v25 (Somewhat abandoned/resources removed)

  8. Phony Pony Pepperoni Evolution https://civitai.com/models/1196991/phony-pony-pepperoni-evolution (I really liked phonyponypepperoni_v4 especially, but sadly the creator has removed a lot of their checkpoints from Civitai. You can still probably easily find them on other sites though. Very unique style).

  9. Magica Pony Realism https://civitai.com/models/560814/magica-pony-realism (Fantasy)

  10. Pony Diffusion V6 XL https://civitai.com/models/257749/pony-diffusion-v6-xl (I really don't care for this checkpoint. I think the base model is rather poor by itself, & I'm not a fan of 'anime' either...but it's very popular, so I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention it. I'm inclined to think its popularity is due to a massive furry following though, which isn't something I have any interest in). I'd advise not starting with this if you're new; it's fickle generating consistently good images.

LoRAs (Essentials)

FLUX

  1. https://civitai.com/models/686814?modelVersionId=1126217 Jib Mix Flux (If I'm using FLUX, it's probably this one most of the time).

  2. https://civitai.com/models/778691?modelVersionId=1129380 Fluxmania

  3. https://civitai.com/models/118111?modelVersionId=982160 Copax TimeLess

  4. https://civitai.com/models/938037/copax-flux-realistic Copax flux realistic

  5. https://civitai.com/models/978314/ultrareal-fine-tune UltraReal Fine-Tune

  6. https://civitai.com/models/843551/fluxdev-dedistilled FLUX.DEV DEDISTILLED (Dedistilled = expect generation times to increase noticeably)

  7. https://civitai.com/models/1094778/hyper-flux-dedistilled Hyper Flux Dedistilled (Dedistilled FLUX Hyper variant) = expect those added generation times to go back down again.

  8. https://civitai.com/models/662112/gguf-flux-unchained GGUF: Flux Unchained

  9. https://civitai.com/models/141592/pixelwave PixelWave

  10. https://civitai.com/models/684924/real-horny-pro-v3 Real Horny Pro V3 (Dated, & should be the last option you check out on this FLUX list, but still interesting outputs/aesthetic)

SD 3.5

Don't bother with SD3, it sucks. SD3.5 is also a bit of a running joke/meme as a result; but I think SD3.5 medium can actually generate some really good image ouputs (much faster than FLUX/lower system requirements also). Third party LoRA support suffers due to the lingering stigma though (& iffy licensing). It's way more versatile/flexible than XL with regards to using weird resolutions/aspect ratios, etc, & not getting broken anatomy/weird deformed hands as a result. In terms of the actual outputs I think it's actually really capable (at times great, even), but its 'leper' status probably means you don't want to invest in something with poor 3rd party community support treating it like a pariah.

I generated this in SD 3.5 medium https://civitai.com/images/45274249

It's a curious thing to ponder whether Stable Diffusion will really be able to recover from FLUX stealing the limelight.

Illustrious

More open, & very versatile, with usually better prompt adherence than SDXL/Pony. You're more likely to be able to prompt a random popular character, & get a good likeness back without even needing to use a LoRA from my experience. Fast generation times, too. Seems to be the best option in terms of business licensing. Great third party community support. It scales/performs really well at high resolutions without needing to use hires fix, as well.

(SDXL/Pony LoRAs aren't compatible with Illustrious checkpoints btw).

  1. https://civitai.com/models/959736/rillusm Rillusm by ZyloO

  2. https://civitai.com/models/1125067/cyberillustrious-or-cyberrealistic CyberIllustrious | CyberRealistic

  3. https://civitai.com/models/1152359/reijil reijIL

  4. https://civitai.com/models/1053104/illustreijl?modelVersionId=1278876 IllustreijL

  5. https://civitai.com/models/1025051/illustrij Illustrij

  6. https://civitai.com/models/1123090/posilustrij?modelVersionId=1262307 posILustrij

  7. https://civitai.com/models/917668/perfectrsbmix-illustrious-real-anime-sfw-nsfw PerfectRSBmix (Illustrious Real-Anime SFW-NSFW) (This one has really caught my eye lately)

  8. https://civitai.com/models/1309123/shift Shift

  9. https://civitai.com/models/926443/ntr-mix-or-illustrious-xl-or-noob-xl?modelVersionId=1166878 NTR MIX | illustrious-XL | Noob-XL

  10. https://civitai.com/models/1180280/one-illustrious-mix One illustrious mix

  11. https://civitai.com/models/1239956 DarkMix Mojito Illustrious - 3D Semi-Realistic

  12. https://civitai.com/models/1030120/alchemist-mix-illustrious-realism?modelVersionId=1227613 Alchemist Mix (Illustrious Realism)

  13. https://civitai.com/models/1058624 AnBan_Illus

  14. https://civitai.com/models/1228973/illustrioussat-ior-imitation-of-reality IllustriousSat-IOR (Imitation Of Reality)

  15. https://civitai.com/models/1094522/circusmix CircusMix

  16. https://civitai.com/models/860856/illustriousxlmmmix?modelVersionId=1094739 illustriousXL_MMMix

  17. https://civitai.com/models/1110783/ilustmix iLustMix

  18. https://civitai.com/models/1224788/prefect-illustrious-xl Prefect illustrious XL

  19. https://civitai.com/models/1078146/steinillustrious SteinIllustrious

  20. https://civitai.com/models/571641/imaginative?modelVersionId=1312103 Imaginative

  21. https://civitai.com/models/1196991?modelVersionId=1360903 Phony Pony Pepperoni Evolution (RealillustriousPhonyPony)

  22. https://civitai.com/models/520661?modelVersionId=1175889 2DN

  23. https://civitai.com/models/140272 Hassaku XL (Illustrious)

  24. https://civitai.com/models/827184/wai-nsfw-illustrious-sdxl WAI-NSFW-illustrious-SDXL

  25. https://civitai.com/models/795765/illustrious-xl Illustrious-XL (Not a fan, but it's popular)

Illustrious LoRAs

SD 1.5

If you're on an entry level system, this might be your only realistic option to generate images locally. That, or you might get lucky with sub 5 second image generations that can still look good at times. Otherwise, avoid it if you're new; because SD 1.5 is a headache to deal with, & will constantly output broken images with weird anatomy/multiple hands, etc, causing new users needless frustration (consider 1.5 to be like the Dark Souls of checkpoints, with FLUX being the equivalent to easy mode in terms of getting good results easily lol).

Does comic styles well, & there's some obscure/unique LoRAs out there no one bothered porting over to anything else. You can also spam the quick image generations as a basic template to get roughly what you want, then remaster again using something like FLUX to expand complexity & detail (a bit like hires fix).

If you notice most of your images are looking trash, then try sticking to these resolutions; 512x512, 768x768 (square), 768x512, 768x576 (you can switch these around to go from landscape/portrait), 912x512 (16:9 widescreen). Widescreen resolutions/aspect ratios tend to cause it to double characters, or cause a mess with anatomy. SD1.5 is just very fussy & prone to breaking easily, but avoid using weird custom resolutions/aspect ratios to avoid creating more issues! I feel the resolutions SD1.5 was trained on too restrictive & low, this is why SDXL is such an improvment (optimized around 1024x1024 pixels).

  1. https://civitai.com/models/22922?modelVersionId=72396 Lyriel

  2. https://civitai.com/models/4384/dreamshaper DreamShaper

  3. https://civitai.com/models/151774/westerncomicmix-by-mrmonster-or-model WesternComicMix by Mr_Monster | Model

  4. https://civitai.com/models/240267/realistic-comic-book Realistic Comic Book

  5. https://civitai.com/models/4201/realistic-vision-v60-b1 Realistic Vision V6.0 B1

  6. https://civitai.com/models/81458/absolutereality AbsoluteReality

  7. https://civitai.com/models/147927/ownwaifureal3dmix OwnWaifu_Real3dmix

Hunyuan

Video Generator - But set it to one frame, & you have a very realistic, uncensored image generator comparable to FLUX in terms of realism (which is what it's based on). LoRA support is now quite widespread, & really taken off.

With temporal tiling support, the system prerequisites for using this are now massively reduced. If you can run FLUX comfortably, then you can probably run this (at least some quantized variant of it). Still, expect to spend 5-10mins generating a few seconds long video on a 12GB Nvidia card. Frame interpolation (similar to Nvidia DLSS Frame Generation, but for video AI) helps with generation times.

It also has a "Fast" variant for quicker generating.

Upscalers

Flux Tools

Consisting of Flux Fill, Depth, Canny & Redux.

Especially FLUX Fill (One of the best inpainting tools around). You can use this suite to replicate artistic styles, fill in missing details, or massively alter existing ones (among other things). This really requires an entire dedicated guide though, so I won't go into details here.

Style LoRAs

XL/Pony (LoRAs)

Character

FLUX (LoRAs)

Misc.

Krita

Photoshop alternative basically (but without the overpriced DRM/subscription BS).

Open Source, & no strings attached free (actually designed more around digital painting, but a powerful photo editor, nonetheless). But what's noteworthy is that you can get plugins to enable Stable Diffusion/A.I. support from within the photo editing enviroment itself! If you ever thought inpainting was a bit **** in whatever you're currently using, then this will enable really advanced fine control to edit.

Thumbnail Gallery of Resources (at least the ones found on this site)

I designed this article for people to quickly middle mouse click through groups of links/tabs at a time, presented here a rough personal ranked order/set of relevant categories; but here they are presented again (Civitai links only) in a thumbnail collection (without notes/ranking/sometimes bad picture thumbnails that don't do them justice). https://civitai.com/collections/8511267

Checkpoint Collection (all mixed together FLUX/SDXL/Pony/SD3.5/SD1.5) https://civitai.com/collections/8511178

(This whole guide is an on-going work in progress, continually updated).

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