CHECKPOINT USER MANUAL

chahamanstyle_watercolor4steps

A 4-step watercolor checkpoint. The look is already distilled into the weights. It is meant to be sampled in four steps, not finished with a long schedule.

Required KSampler settings

Steps = 4 CFG = 1.5 Sampler name = Euler Scheduler = simple

Positive prompt must begin with: chahamanstyle_watercolor

1. What this checkpoint is

chahamanstyle_watercolor4steps is a finished watercolor model. Pigment bloom, paper grain, soft edges, and transparent washes are in the checkpoint itself. You do not need a separate style LoRA to get the look.

It is a short-schedule model. Quality comes from the distillation, not from extra steps. Sampling it like a normal SDXL checkpoint (20–30 steps, CFG 5–7, DPM++ 2M Karras) will smear the wash and fight the training.

2. Required sampler

Use these settings every time. They are not a starting suggestion.

Setting

Value

Note

Steps

4

Required. Do not raise this.

CFG

1.5

Required. Stay between 1.0 and 2.0.

Sampler name

Euler

Required.

Scheduler

simple

Required.

Denoise

1.0

Full generation. Use 0.35–0.55 only for img2img.

ComfyUI KSampler

• steps: 4

• cfg: 1.5

• sampler_name: euler

• scheduler: simple

• denoise: 1.0 for text-to-image

Do not use

• DPM++ 2M, DPM++ SDE, UniPC, or LCM samplers

• Karras, exponential, or normal schedulers

• CFG 4–8, or the usual SDXL default of 7

• More than 4 steps to “improve” the image

3. Resolution and VAE

• Native size: 1024×1024. Portraits 832×1216. Landscapes 1216×832.

• Stay near 1 megapixel. Very wide canvases weaken the wash.

• Use the SDXL VAE if your loader does not bake one in. A bad VAE shows up as dull paper or color banding.

• CLIP skip 1 or 2. Skip 2 is slightly softer, which suits watercolor.

For a larger file, generate at the native size, then upscale with an image upscaler or Ultimate SD Upscale at denoise 0.25–0.35, still on Euler / simple. Do not upscale by running the KSampler at 8–12 steps.

4. How to prompt

The trigger is required. Put it at the very start of every positive prompt, before the subject.

Trigger: chahamanstyle_watercolor

Without that token at the beginning, the checkpoint will not reliably enter the watercolor handling. Do not bury it in the middle of the prompt, and do not put it only in the negative.

Useful words after the trigger: wet on wet, pigment bloom, cold press paper, transparent wash, ink and wash, soft edge, granulation, white of the paper, gouache accent.

Example: chahamanstyle_watercolor, a woman in a white sari standing in a monsoon courtyard, wet on wet, cold press paper, loose indigo and saffron washes, white of the paper left for highlights

Keep prompts shorter than a normal SDXL prompt. At CFG 1.5 the model listens to the first clear subject and the paint words. A long stack of quality tags does little and can muddy the wash.

A light negative is enough. Suggested: photorealistic, photograph, 3d render, hard outline, neon, oversaturated, deformed hands. Do not load a long photographic negative; it fights the paper texture.

5. LoRAs and refiner

• Character or clothing LoRAs can be stacked at 0.4–0.7. Above that they pull the image back toward the LoRA’s own render and off the paper.

• Do not stack another watercolor or style LoRA. The style is already in the checkpoint.

• No refiner pass. A second KSampler, even at low denoise, tends to dry the wash out.

• Face or hand detailers are fine after the main sample. Keep their denoise low, about 0.25–0.4, and their steps at 4 with the same sampler.

6. If the image looks wrong

What you see

Usual cause

Fix

Flat or plastic color

CFG above 2, or a scheduler other than simple.

Set CFG to 1.5 and scheduler to simple.

Muddy washes, burned edges

Steps above 4, or DPM / UniPC samplers.

Return to Euler, simple, 4 steps.

No watercolor look

Trigger missing, or not at the start of the positive prompt.

Begin the prompt with chahamanstyle_watercolor.

Prompt ignored

CFG at 1.0 with a very long prompt, or CLIP skip too high.

Keep CFG at 1.5. Shorten the prompt. CLIP skip 1 or 2.

Faces too loose

Normal for a 4-step style model.

Add a light face detailer after the KSampler, not more steps.

Quick check

If a picture looks wrong, confirm two things before changing the prompt body: the KSampler is Steps 4, CFG 1.5, Euler, simple, and the positive prompt begins with chahamanstyle_watercolor.