### Overview

SAKURA_Illustrious_v0.8_Hybrid is an SDXL-based model (Illustrious/Pony) designed to achieve a perfect balance between soft, clean lighting and sharp, characteristic facial structures.

This model is a hybrid merge of my private prototype "SAKURA_Illustrious" and the excellent "demonpony_v10" by andy4643.

### Technical Details (Block Weighted Merge)

To create this hybrid, I developed a custom Python script for precise hierarchical merging (Block Weighted Merge).

- Base & Lighting (100% SAKURA Illustrious):

The Text Encoders, Input Blocks, and Middle Blocks are fully inherited from SAKURA Illustrious. This ensures stable backgrounds and clean, soft lighting.

- Face Structure (30% DemonPony):

Specifically targeted Output Block 3 to retain the characteristic facial sharpness of DemonPony.

- Skin Texture (85-90% SAKURA Illustrious):

Adjusted Output Blocks 4 and 5 to eliminate skin "greasiness", resulting in a smooth, high-quality skin texture.

### Recommended Settings

- Base Model: SDXL / Illustrious / Pony

- Sampler: Euler

- Steps: 30

- CFG Scale: 3.5

- Clip Skip: 2

- VAE: Crystal - VAE [SDXL/Illustrious]