Addendum (7-31-25): I decided I'll still upload non-commissioned character models, but only for more niche characters that aren't super popular/aren't popular nowadays (i.e., retro anime).
This won't be a popular decision, and I even expect to upset a few people, but so be it. Moving forward, I've decided only to upload character models that have been commissioned on my Patreon or Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/metalchromex/make-you-a-stable-diffusion-anime-character-model or https://www.patreon.com/MetalChromeX).
In short: the reason is time, money, and general frustration with the state of things, both in the AI "scene" and the state of the internet (read: it becoming increasingly censored at a rapid pace). For anyone who cares, I've explained my rationale for this in greater detail on my X page (https://x.com/metalchromex/status/1949932519341650378, warning: NSFW images of Marin Kitagawa).
So what does this mean for YOU? Not that much? I'd say over half of the models I do are commissions these days anyway (with a few being people throwing me largely completed datasets and asking me to make a model, which I said 'sure' on). Additionally, since I've done a large chunk of the characters I'd been wanting to do anyway (most big or semi-big characters already have Illustrious XL models), I probably won't be doing all that many character models for fun moving forward. The ones I create for fun will primarily be to create image sets for Patreon members, such as this Yukiko Kudo (Shinichi/Conan's mother from Detective Conan) character model.
If there's enough backlash, I'll look into alternative methods to provide access to these models. However, I've been having a hard time justifying the time spent creating character models when my return on "investment" is limited.
As a little bonus, here is a sample of some safe-for-work Yukiko images I did while testing my new model of her. Isn't she such a cute mom!?
